Hanging Lake Trail closed Saturday for maintenance
Daily file photo |
EAGLE COUNTY — Members from Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers will host their annual Hanging Lake Trail workday on Saturday to help the U.S. Forest Service with maintenance. The trail will be closed to hikers.
Approximately 130,000 visitors climb the 1.2 miles to see the lake every year, and that number is on the rise, according to the Forest Service.
Trail maintenance will include installing chain for the barrier posts to protect the Spouting Rock habitat; removing graffiti from benches, bridges and rock walls along the trail; installing boards on the benches at the lake to prevent trash and gear from falling into the creek; and installing new signs.
“Hanging Lake sees such a high level of use, wear-tear, and defacement every year,” Eagle-Holy Cross District Ranger Aaron Mayville said in a new release. “Graffiti is a huge problem up there, and we rely on groups like the Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers to help us keep Hanging Lake looking as it should.”
In 2010 and 2011, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers worked on major reconstruction of Hanging Lake Trail. In 2015, volunteers worked on it again, installing new benches, additional stone steps and other trail maintenance.
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“We were very surprised to see how much more impacted the trail was just four years later,” said David Hamilton, executive director of Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers.
Colorado Department of Transportation will physically close exit 125 and the off-ramp overnight on Friday.
For more information about the management of Hanging Lake, call the Eagle-Holy Cross District Office at 970-827-5715.
