28 August 2008
Williams Canyon Trail
Posted by kris under: Trails .
Name of Trial: Williams Canyon Trail
Total Distance: 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,400 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: Glenn Rd. in Manitou Springs.
From Highway 24 take Manitou Ave. to Canyon Ave and take Canyon Ave until you reach Glenn Rd where you will want to park your car. If you can not park here then you can park at Soda Springs Park which is at Canyon and Park Ave.
Before you can go on this hike, you need to go to the main ticket window for the Cave of the Winds to fill out a waiver, which is good for one year. You need to do this because the start of this trail is on Cave of the Winds property.
Once you are at Glenn Rd and Canyon Ave hike up Canyon Ave which will take you under Highway 24. Soon you will come to a gate and a sign overhead that reads “Cave of the Winds Exit Only Please Use Entrance On Highway 24,” this is where the trail begins. You might notice some no trespassing signs, but if you have signed the waiver you are free to continue. As you walk through Williams Canyon you will see some great views of rock formations on both sides and some interesting caves. This part of the trail is an old road that will eventually lead up to the Cave of the Winds parking lot. Cars do not use the road anymore so you don’t have to worry about any coming down. This part of the trail alone makes this a worth wile hike.
After about 0.75 miles you will come to a switch back in the road, at this point you will want to go striate onto a trail in front of you. This trail allows you to continue to walk along the canyon floor. You will continue to walk along a creek bed, which may or may not have water in it depending on the time of year. At this point you will be walking through a very lush area of the canyon, with trees and bushes all around you. At about 1 mile you might see a trail that goes off to the right, you do not want to take this trail, instead continue along the creek to the left. Soon after this the trail will climb up the side of the canyon a bit and at the top there is a great view of the canyon along with some waterfalls and pool along the creek.
At about 1.75 miles there is a fork in the trail. If you go to the left you will go to the Waldo Canyon Trail and to the right you will go to Rampart Range Road. The one bad thing about going to the right is that you will be hiking close to a firing range which makes me always feel nervous. I went to the left and it is a great hike so you are not missing out by going this way. The trail starts to climb, but it is not very steep, all of the ways up until you reach Waldo Canyon Trail at the 2.5 mile mark. This part of the hike also has some great views as you get higher and higher and walking through the forest is very nice.
Once you reached Waldo Canyon Trail, you can hike along this trail for a will or head back the way you came. This is a great hike with lots of diversity between the canyon walls and the plant/wild life.
To see photos that I took while on my hike go to my Photo Gallery.
4 Comments so far...
Nigel-Burke Says:
28 November 2008 at 8:36 pm.
Again, thanks for the detailed notes.. I’d like to include this in my list of hiking trails for an early adventure next year!
www.engel-bedeutung.de Says:
2 December 2008 at 7:46 pm.
Hello I like your post “s Canyon Trail | Hiking in Colorado” so well that I like to ask you whether I should translate into German and linking back. Greetings Engel
payday loans Says:
16 March 2009 at 11:24 am.
Thank you for the very good details on the hike! I live in Utah and want to come to Colorado to see some of your beautiful state.I will put this hike on my list.How is the photography on it?
kris Says:
17 March 2009 at 11:12 pm.
There are some great views of both Colorado Springs and the mountains.
