Glenwood Canyon Rest Area
I-70, Glenwood Canyon, near Glenwood Springs, CO
Glenwood Springs, CO
Riverside rest stops built right into a deep river canyon, where a highway break puts you steps from the Colorado River and the canyon bike path.
The rest areas built along Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon are among the most scenic highway stops in the country, and they are far more than places to park and stretch. Because the canyon is so narrow, the rest areas were designed to double as access points to the river and to the paved recreation path that runs the length of the gorge, so a simple highway break can turn into a walk or ride beside the Colorado River beneath thousand-foot cliffs.
Strung along the canyon at spots like No Name and Bair Ranch, and at the Hanging Lake stop, these rest areas were built as part of the celebrated highway project that threaded the interstate through the gorge without spoiling it. They give travelers a genuine taste of the canyon without any of the effort of a long hike, and they serve cyclists and paddlers as trailheads and launch points along the way.
What Guests Love
- A highway stop that lands you right beside the Colorado River
- Direct access to the canyon's paved bike and walking path
- Sheer canyon walls rising overhead as you stretch your legs
- A far more scenic break than a typical interstate rest stop
Worth Knowing
- The rest areas double as trailheads for the canyon bike path
- Some stops give river access for rafters and kayakers
- The No Name and Hanging Lake stops connect to canyon trails
- In winter, weather and rockslides can close the highway, so check ahead
Details
Glenwood Springs, CO
Learn about Glenwood Canyon Rest Area
Rest stops with a river view
These are not ordinary rest areas. Squeezed into a canyon with sheer walls rising on both sides and the Colorado River rushing past, they were designed to fit the tight setting and to connect travelers with it. Pull off the interstate at one of the canyon stops and you can walk a short distance to the riverbank, feel the spray, and look up at cliffs hundreds of feet overhead, all within a few steps of your car.
The stops were built as part of the same forward-thinking project that carried Interstate 70 through the canyon on elevated viaducts and through tunnels in the early 1990s. Rather than treat the rest areas as an afterthought, the designers made them gateways to the canyon's recreation, which is why a routine break here can become the highlight of a day's drive.
Gateways to the canyon bike path
The single best feature of the Glenwood Canyon rest areas is that they open onto the canyon's paved recreation path, one of the finest riverside bike-and-walking paths in the West. From the parking lots, cyclists and walkers can set out along the river deep into the gorge, traveling at their own pace beneath the towering walls, and return to the same stop.
That makes the rest areas function as trailheads. A family can pull off for lunch and take a short stroll along the water, a cyclist can use them as launch and turnaround points, and a rafter can carry a boat down to the river. The path links the stops together, so travelers can sample as much or as little of the canyon as they have time and energy for.
The No Name and Hanging Lake corridor
Near the western mouth of the canyon, the No Name stop takes its name from the small community there and offers access to the canyon and its trails. Farther up, the Hanging Lake rest area serves as the jumping-off point for the demanding hike to Hanging Lake, the famously beautiful blue-green pool perched on a cliff shelf, whose fragile setting is now protected with a managed reservation system.
These stops connect the highway to some of the canyon's most prized places, letting travelers step out of interstate traffic and into a world of cliffs, waterfalls, and river. Even for those not attempting the longer hikes, the corridor offers short walks and overlooks that make a canyon rest stop worth lingering over rather than rushing through.
The canyon and Glenwood Springs
The rest areas sit inside Glenwood Canyon, the deep gorge the Colorado River has cut through the mountains over millions of years, exposing rock more than a billion years old in its walls. The setting is what makes these stops special, a chance to experience one of Colorado's most dramatic canyons without leaving the highway corridor.
At the canyon's western end lies Glenwood Springs, a resort town built around its large mineral hot springs, an ideal place to soak after a day on the road or the bike path. Between the scenic stops, the river, the path, and the hot springs town just beyond, the Glenwood Canyon rest areas turn an interstate crossing into something worth slowing down for.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Glenwood Springs
Glenwood Springs
About 6 miles west
A resort town with large mineral hot springs pools, vapor caves, and river rafting at the canyon's mouth.
Hanging Lake
In the canyon
A fragile blue-green lake on a cliff shelf, reached by a steep hike from the Hanging Lake stop with managed access.
Glenwood Canyon Recreation Path
At the rest areas
A paved bike and walking path running the length of the canyon beside the Colorado River, accessed from the stops.