Stanley Canyon

Just west of the Air force Academy in the Front Range there is a creek and a trail up Stanley Canyon that leads to the Stanley Canyon reservoir.

Its a good afternoon hike on a weekend, not to long just a few miles, but rather steep and sometime rocky. It is however a beautiful trail following the creek ever higher until you get to the dam holding back Stanley Canyon reservoir.

While not so high as some of the mountain peaks around Colorado this is a view hike in a narrow rocky canyon

From Stanley Canyon

Over the centuries the water running down this canyon has made some strange rock formations

From Stanley Canyon

 

From Stanley Canyon

There is little water falls all the way up the canyon as you move higher.

From Stanley Canyon

 

From Stanley Canyon

Looking back down the canyon towards the Air Force Academy you can see how narrow the canyon is.

From Stanley Canyon

late in April there is still a lot of snow down inside the canyon where the sun cannot shine.

From Stanley Canyon

At last the Stanley Canyon reservoir. Its  small lake held back by an old earthen dam. It still has ice on part of it.

From Stanley Canyon

The spill way over the earthen dam feed the creek that still runs down the canyon.

From Stanley Canyon

On the way back down deep inside the canyon on an ice sheet, the footing is treacherous.

From Stanley Canyon

You can see the plains in the distance through the steep canyon walls.

From Stanley Canyon

More waterfalls along the trail.

From Stanley Canyon