Hanging Lake — Glenwood Canyon, CO
Score: 70/100 — Good conditions | Hard | 2.8 mi | 1,020 ft gain | NO DOGS
Hanging Lake is sitting at 70/100 this morning and the five-day forecast says 100/100 through Tuesday. That's the cleanest setup we've had on this trail in 2026. AQI 39 (Good), zero rain on the forecast, highs in the low 70s by the lake parking lot, and the snow that was clinging to the upper switchbacks two weeks ago is finally gone.
Mark and Hank are not coming. Hanging Lake has been a no-dogs trail since 2019 — White River National Forest's special-use designation makes it one of the very few CO trails where rangers will turn you and your dog around at the trailhead before you even start the climb. Kelly's mom is taking the boys for the day. If you've got dogs and a free Saturday in May, save them for Mt Falcon or Roxborough — both will score in the 80s this weekend and let you bring leashes.
But if you can leave the dogs at home and want a high-payoff Colorado day-hike where the conditions are about to be perfect, this is the trail and this is the weekend. The only thing in your way is the permit system, which is back online for the May–October season and which trips up a fair number of out-of-state visitors every year. Let me walk through the score, then the permit reality.
What 70/100 Actually Means Today
The score is doing its usual three-way math: weather, air quality, and trail conditions. None of the three is pulling the score down hard right now — the 30-point deduction from 100 is mostly about it being early in the permit season plus a 39°F overnight low at the trailhead, which leaves a thin layer of ice on the shaded upper switchbacks until the sun gets on them around 9:30 AM.
Weather is the strongest factor in your favor. Current temp 39°F, feels like 30°F, wind 10 mph with 13 mph gusts. By 11 AM today the trailhead will be in the mid-50s and by the time you're climbing it'll feel like 60. Tomorrow (Tuesday, 5/12) the high jumps to 74°F. The whole back half of this week is climbing — 74, 75, 69, with rain chances never above 13% until the weekend after next. If you have ANY flexibility on which day this week to go, today through Thursday is the sweet spot.
AQI is excellent — 39, Good, ozone primary. This is the kind of number you don't even think about. Breathe normal, push your pace if you want, don't worry about the climb. Glenwood Canyon air in May is genuinely some of the cleanest you'll get in Colorado before the summer ozone season kicks in. Take advantage.
Fire risk is low. Nearest active fire is 231 km out and the 50-km radius is clean. This is one fewer thing to track than you'd have in July. The thing to know about Glenwood Canyon specifically is that I-70 has been closed for fire/mudslide reasons multiple times in recent summers — that's not a today concern, but if you're driving in from Denver, glance at CDOT's I-70 page before you commit, especially if you're coming over the next two months.
So why isn't this a 90? Two reasons:
- The upper section still has shaded ice patches in the morning. The trail climbs 1,020 feet in 1.2 miles on a tight grade with wooden footbridges and railing-flanked switchbacks. The first three switchbacks past the second bridge stay shaded until late morning. Microspikes are still helpful for an 8 AM start. By 10 AM, they're overkill.
- It's a 1,020-ft-in-1.2-mi grunt at altitude. Even with perfect weather, this is a Hard-rated trail and people coming from sea level will feel it. Kelly and I have hiked this five or six times together and she's a stronger hiker than I am — every time, both of us are breathing hard by the third switchback. Plan on 90 minutes up, 30 at the lake, 60 down. Two-and-a-half to three hours total.
Saturday (5/16) is far enough out that I'd hold off on calling the conditions, but the trend is right. Sunday (5/17) is more of a coin flip — the storms tend to roll in over the second weekend of May historically. If you can pull off a weekday, do that this week.
The Permit Situation Is Not Optional — and the Booking Trick
This is where most of the trouble happens. Hanging Lake requires a timed-entry permit May 1 through October 31. No permit, no hike. Rangers check at the trailhead and at the parking lot, and they will send you back to Glenwood Springs.
You book on Recreation.gov. The Hanging Lake page lists time slots in two-hour windows starting at 7 AM. Each permit covers one car and up to four people. The price runs around $12 per person plus a $2 reservation fee — your card gets charged when you book, not when you show up.
Here's the trick that still works in 2026: Recreation.gov releases permits in two batches. The big batch goes live 90 days in advance — for this Saturday (5/16), that batch went live in mid-February and it's been sold out since the day it dropped. But the second, smaller batch comes online 48 hours before the day of the hike. As of right now, the Thursday-morning (5/14) and Friday-morning (5/15) slots have availability. For the weekend, set an alarm for Thursday 8 AM Mountain and refresh the page right at 8 — that's the 48-hour drop for Saturday. Same trick at 8 AM Friday for Sunday.
If you miss the 48-hour drop, the secondary option is the same-day permits, which open at 6 AM the day of. There aren't many but they're real, and they're how I got onto Hanging Lake last May after I'd been too busy at work to plan ahead. Set the alarm, refresh, book fast.
The shuttle situation is different from what it was a few years ago. As of the 2025 update, the dedicated Hanging Lake shuttle from Glenwood Springs has been phased back — most permit holders now drive directly to the rest area trailhead off I-70. Parking is included with your permit. Don't park along the highway shoulder; tickets are aggressive and the towing is worse.
What Today and This Week Look Like, By Day
Pulling from the dashboard:
- Today, Monday (5/11) — current score 70, high 72°F, no rain, AQI 39. Good day. Get on the trail before 10 if you can; the upper section will be drier and the parking will be open.
- Tuesday (5/12) — high 74°F, 1% rain, predicted score 100/100. Best day of the week if you can take a weekday off.
- Wednesday (5/13) — high 75°F, 6% rain, predicted score 100/100. Same deal. Slightly more chance of an afternoon thunderstorm, so start by 9 AM.
- Thursday (5/14) — high 69°F, 13% rain, predicted score 88/100. The first day this week with anything worth watching weather-wise. Permits for this day still have availability as of this morning; check Rec.gov directly.
- Saturday + Sunday (5/16, 5/17) — too far out for hard conditions data, but the trend is good. Permits gone for both unless you catch the 48-hour drop.
Gear For Today's 70
The dashboard flagged "insulation layer required" and that's accurate. Here's my actual pack for a Hanging Lake day at this score:
- Microspikes if you're starting before 9 AM. Pack them, throw them in your bag, decide at the second switchback.
- Light puffy or fleece. Trailhead is 6,300 ft and the lake is 7,323 ft. You'll warm up on the climb but cool down fast at the lake. The boardwalk at the lake has zero sun protection from the cliff above it.
- 2L of water. No water on the trail. The hike up takes longer than you think.
- Trekking poles if your knees care. The descent is a steep, jarring 1,020 feet in a mile. Mine care, so I bring them.
- Phone for photos, plus a real camera if you're serious. The lake is the photo. Don't blow it with a dead phone battery — the climb burns charge faster than you'd expect in the cold-then-warm cycle.
- A way to comply with the no-swim rule. This is non-negotiable. Swimming and wading in Hanging Lake or Spouting Rock have been banned since 2011 and the rangers patrol. Bring your photo discipline.
What you don't need today: gaiters, full crampons, an ice axe, or a 4WD vehicle to reach the trailhead. The Hanging Lake rest area is right off I-70.
The Real Question — Is It Worth It
Hanging Lake is one of two or three Colorado day-hikes that I'd put on any "you should do this once" list for someone visiting the state. The travertine-deposited shelves, the turquoise water, the cliff overhang with the waterfalls dropping into the lake — it's not hyperbole, it's just rare geology in a state full of dramatic places. The 1.2-mile climb is the price of admission and at a 70/100 conditions score with the forecast we have this week, the price is fair.
The two ways this goes sideways:
- You show up without a permit. Don't.
- You start late, the wind picks up the afternoon thunderstorm chance, and the descent on wet rock turns into a slow-motion ankle disaster. Start by 10 AM, you're back to the car by 1, you're driving back to Denver in clear weather. Start at 1, you're descending wet rock at 4. Don't be that hiker.
If you're doing this with kids over about age 8 and a willingness to take their time, it's doable. Under 8 it's a stretch — the railings are good but the exposure is real and the climb is long for short legs. Kelly and I waited until our niece was 10 before bringing her out. She loved it. Also did not stop asking why we left Mark and Hank at home.
Bottom line: 70/100 today, the rest of the week is better, permits are the only real obstacle. Book the 48-hour drop on Thursday morning for the weekend, or take a weekday and waltz in. The lake will look exactly like it does in the photos, the air will be the cleanest it gets, and you'll have one of those Colorado days you remember.
— John
📍 Live conditions for Hanging Lake →