On Walkabout On: The Waldo Canyon Trail

Basic Information

• Name: Waldo Canyon Trail
• Where: Manitou Springs, Colorado
• Distance: 6.2 miles
• Difficulty: Medium (Elevation gain of 1,145 ft)
• More Info: LocalHikes.com

GPS Map & Elevation:

Narrative

The hike up to Waldo Canyon is one that I have had many people who live in Colorado Springs recommend that I try out sometime.  The trailhead to the hike is located just outside of Manitou Springs off of Highway 24.  I have driven by this trailhead a number of times on the highway during the weekend and the parking lot is usually packed.  So when I decided to finally try out this trail I woke up early and was at the trailhead by 6:30 AM and was first vehicle in the parking lot.  The trailhead is located on the far right side of the park with the trail beginning with a staircase climb:

Somebody made sure to dump all their trash at the trailhead for someone else to pick up which was something I found quite annoying.  Anyway the trailhead has a sign that has a map of the route:

I found it interesting that whoever posted this map couldn’t do simple math because starting at 7,100 feet in elevation and ascending to 8,150 is not a 2,250 foot gain in elevation, but instead 1,150.  Anyway I ascended up the staircase and from there I could see that even in the early morning hours Highway 24 is a pretty busy road:

At the top of the staircase there is a little lookout and a marker that shows this exposed quartz rock that stands out quite strikingly from the red rock around it:

The viewpoint also had a good view once again of Highway 24 heading north towards Woodland Park:

The entire beginning section of the trail is actually not all that enjoyable because of the noise of the traffic down below.  Fortunately from this lookout the trail began to head deeper into the Rampart Range and away from the highway:

After a short walk I could no longer hear the highway noise and began to enjoy the walk.  The terrain was a mix of dry scrub land mixed with sections of thick forest:

As I ascended higher up the trail I had some nice views of Manitou Springs down below the trail:

Usually when hiking in the region I see some wildlife, mostly deer but on this hike I didn’t see anything other than this squirrel:

I continued to ascend up the mountain and eventually came to a section of thick forest:

The trail descends a bit at this point into the forest:

The trail leads to the head of a valley that has a beautiful little meadow where people can camp at if they so desire:

From here the trail splits in two where hikers have the option of going left or right to complete the loop section of the hike:

I decided to go right and the trail immediately begins to ascend out of the valley and up another hill side.  As the trail gained altitude the trees thinned out a bit and provided some nice views of the  10,707 ft (3263 m) Cameron Cone that towers above Manitou Springs:

I also began to have some nice views of the 14,115 ft (4302 m) Pikes Peak:

As I continued up the mountain was also able to start getting some views of the 12,367 ft (3,769 m) Almagre Mountain behind Cameron Cone:

Here is a closer look at Cameron Cone and Almagre Mountain behind it:

I could also see Manitou Springs sitting in the valley way out in the distance:

At this point the trail had entered it highest elevation as it crosses over a ridgeline above 8,000 feet:

So there is no obvious peak or summit on this trail, it is just a path that crosses a ridgeline of mostly small bushes and pinon trees.  However, this ridgeline is high enough to where it provides some great views of the eastern face of Pikes Peak:

Here is a view of Cameron Cone and Almagre Mountain from the top of the ridgeline as well:

I also had a nice view looking down into Waldo Canyon that reminded me of many of the canyons I have seen in the American Southwest:

At the end of the ridgeline the trail began to descend into a dense forest once again:

It was at this portion of the trail that I had my last views of Pikes Peak and Cameron Cone from the ridgeline:

As the trail descended down the hill side it followed this small creek that had very little water in it:

The walk down the trail along the creek was pleasant though and a nice way to descend down the valley:

I eventually ended up back at the junction of the loop trail and determined I had made a good choice going to the right at first because the morning was still cool and thus being exposed on the ridgeline to the sun was no big deal.  The last half of the loop that descends down the forested valley was a nice cool walk back down the mountain.  From the junction I passed back by the meadow again and covered the last 1.2 miles of the walk pretty quickly.  I made sure though to continue to enjoy the various views of the Rampart Range that the trail passes through:

I once again had another view looking towards Manitou Springs as well as being able to see Colorado Springs out in the distance:

Then I eventually began to hear the car noise again which meant I was once again near Highway 24:

I eventually reached the staircase again and descended down the stairs back to the parking lot adjacent to the highway:

Conclusion

When I got back to the parking lot there was a lot more cars there.  On the way down the trail I had passed by a number of hikers going up the trail.  At the staircase I probably past about 15-20 people who appeared to be part of a elderly hiking group heading up the trail.  So it appeared I made a good decision to come early because the lot was filling up.  Overall the hike was pleasant, but not really all that challenging because it only gains just over a 1,000 feet in elevation and besides the staircase the gain in altitude is very gradual.  For many beginner to average hikers this is probably the type of trail they like, but for someone like myself I like a trail where I have to sweat a little bit more to finish it.  The views along the hike though are pretty good especially of Pikes Peak.  I highly recommend this trail for beginner to average hikers looking for a nice weekend outing especially with young kids which I saw a number of people bring with them up the trail.  Also I didn’t see any mountain bikers but I read that Waldo Canyon is a popular spot for mountain bikers.  Once up the staircase the trail is wide and in good shape throughout.  This trail should also be a pleasant day out for mountain bikers as well as hikers.

Have you been up this trail?  What did you think about it?  Please let everyone know in the comments section.