22 July 2008
Stanley Canyon Trail
Posted by kris under: Trails .
Name of Trial: Stanley Canyon Trail
Total Distance: 4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,300 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: On Air Force Academy’s land off of Pine Dr.
Take the south entrance into the Academy and follow the road as it turns into Stadium Blvd or if you take the north entrance you will have to turn onto Stadium Blvd. Turn west on Academy Dr, then turn right onto Pine Dr and take a right on a dirt road on the right hand side of the of the road which will lead to the trailhead.
The trail starts out by going up a dirt road and you just follow the sign directing you towards Stanley Canyon Trail and Stanley Reservoir. After about 200 feet the trail becomes narrow and you start hike up the rocky incline. This part of the trail is a little hard to navigate because of all of the rocks but the view is great as you clime. After about half of a mile the trail meets up with a stream and you follow it the rest of the way up. If you hike the trail in late spring there is a good chance there will be ice or large amounts of water on the trail which can make the trail difficult to navigate. As it was, there were many places where you had to walk along slick rocks and loose gravel but the view made it worth it. You will see many small waterfalls and great rock outcroppings as you climb.
After about one mile of hiking up the trail, you reach the top of the incline and you start to walk through a valley with a very slit slop up (at this point my heart rate went down and my breathing slowed because it was basically flat). There are some great meadows that you walk trough with some nice wild flowers in them as well as aspen groves. You continue along the stream which is quite soothing and makes for an enjoyable rest of the hike. At the end of this part of the trail you reach the Stanley Reservoir which is not very large and it does not take long to walk around it if you choose to. Taking a break and just sitting there and enjoying the water is very relaxing. The trail does continue on from here, but at this point I turned around and headed back the way I came.
The walk back was nice for the first mile, the flat section, but once you got to the descent part it was a little tricky in spots because of the steepness of the mountain and the rocky/gravelly terrain. Over all I liked the hike, there were some great views of the Air Force Academy and the walk at the top was enjoyable and peaceful.
To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.
One Comment so far...
Marius Lyle Says:
17 March 2009 at 12:23 am.
helpful directions. thanks for posting! these are interesting hiking trails.
