After researching some area hikes, we went to the Visitor Center to inquire about suitable hikes for us that we could do over the coming few days. Some of the hikes that sounded good to us required driving on a dirt road for 4-8 miles. We wanted to find out more before heading out.
The ranger told us to skip the "Hanging Garden" hike as it was boring and not many flowers would be around. We said okay....then went right to that trailhead, which was 2 minutes from the Visitor Center. We loved it!! Not boring at all! There were some flowers blooming in the desert too, though there were no orchids growing in the "hanging garden"-just ferns. Still and all, we had a fun time and enjoyed the views and the landscape.
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| Hanging Garden Hike |
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| blooms in the desert |
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| more blooms |
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| cool landscape |
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| interesting rock environment |
The trail was very well marked the entire way....even I couldn't get lost if I wanted to. We enjoyed this short 2 mile round trip hike, and would recommend it to anyone else.
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| this way! |
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| cairn on the trailside |
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| rocks were so cool |
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| more blooms |
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| and yet more blooms |
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| lovely view of the lake from the trail |
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| stay on the trail Susie |
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| lala...follow the yellow brick road.....lala |
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| we are not alone here! |
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| view from the ridge...waiting for the class trip to catch their bus back to school:) |
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| again...looking down below from the ridge |
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| such a nice view |
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| the kids are leaving soon:) |
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| here is the "hanging garden"-due to seepage of water from the top of the rock |
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| close up of the "garden"-in a few months, orchids will be here as well |
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| lichens on the seepage trail |
We thought we had the place to ourselves, when suddenly we heard lots of talking and laughing, etc. Lo and behold, this was a destination for a high school art class field trip! There were a bunch of kids having a great time, and a few teachers who seemed to be counting the minutes...ahhahah. They were packing up and getting ready to leave as we rounded the corner for the hanging garden.
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| Bubye kids! |
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| nice and cool up here |
The views were really nice, especially of Lake Powell in the distance. The water looked so blue and refreshing compared to the red rocks and desert environment. After we finished this short hike, we went back home for some lunch.
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| another view of the lake...so blue! |
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| heading back down the trail |
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| cool trail, huh? |
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| and cool rock formations too |
As we neared our campsite, the lake looked so blue, just had to take a few more pictures. The color seems to change constantly! All enjoyable!
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| stopping at the overlook for another picture! |
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| the colors are captured so clearly here |
After lunch, we headed around the other side of the campground to check out Lone Rock. This is a swimming/primitive camping area that allows camping right on the beach. We parked our car at the top of the hill in the paved parking area, and walked down the dirt/sand road towards the beach. You can actually drive down, with your RV, trailer or tent, and camp anywhere you want. I don't know....the idea of getting stuck there is not appealing to us. We were chatting with a young family that had just set up their 5th wheel, and they were afraid of getting stuck so they didn't go any closer to the water. They were saying that they heard of people who had to get towed out at $150 a pop. Yikes! Needless to say, we didn't even drive our car down. Its a nice walk:)
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| Heading out to Lone Rock |
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| ready for a nice walk down the beach? |
There are many paths for your car/RV/trailer, but good luck! Its looked very easy to get stuck. There were about 3 or 4 tents set up along the beach, and a couple of RV's and trailers interspersed. Its deceiving when you look at the pictures, but there is a hill leading all the way down to the beach. Even when you think you are there, you aren't. You have to jump down an embankment to get to the water.
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| how did that trailer get down there on these "roads"? |
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| an RV made it down the beach pretty far as well! WOW! |
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| the view was really nice from the top of the beach |
The views from Lone Rock Beach were really nice, and it looked like a nice peaceful place to camp. I don't know for sure though. I can imagine with generators running (RV's and trailers), and maybe a bit of partying....that peaceful serene feeling may just be imaginary. Still, it was a nice trek down to the beach (and a bit of a workout going back up to the car)!
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| there is still an embankment/cliff to get down to get to the water |
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