No Name – It actually makes some sense when you consider it. But most of us don’t. Instead, we settle blithely into cruising speed, perhaps pausing long enough to comment on the beauty of the spectacular canyon admired out the car window as we pass through, almost always on the road to somewhere else.
There doesn’t seem to be any reason to stop at a place called No Name. If the moniker makers couldn’t be bothered to identify it with anything more clever than a crossword puzzle clue for “anonymous,” what could possibly be the appeal?
But imagine a Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan song of the same title, and it might merit more allure. Peel away the layers, feel for the backbeat and delve into the subtext of this forsaken junction, and its integrity emerges, made all the more attractive by an unbrandable authenticity. Just as the surrounding grandeur implies, there is much more to this place than meets the eye.
No Name is but one of five Interstate 70 pit stops in the oft-overlooked, 15 mile-long natural marvel known as Glenwood Canyon. The narrow, cliff-lined gorge carved some 2,000 feet deep by the Colorado River has long qualified as a scenic drive, but forgotten in the award-winning interstate architecture taking travelers to destinations like Aspen and Moab is the notion that, at one time, Glenwood may very well have ranked as Colorado’s finest wilderness canyon. And even now, despite the developmental impacts of a hydroelectric power plant, a railroad and a four-lane highway, this passage through the heart of the White River National Forest still offers some mighty rugged country.
Even more, it serves as a multisport mecca, its five exit portals all leading to an array of adventures ranging from rock and ice climbing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting and kayaking, scenic side hikes, fabulous fishing and even in-line skating on one of the state’s most impressive recreation paths.
When you consider it, there are potentially more reasons for recreation-minded outdoors enthusiasts to stop in Glenwood Canyon than to continue driving to that somewhere else on the agenda. Check out this list of activity options and you just might agree. It actually makes some sense.
Whitewater
The gorge that is Glenwood Canyon would not exist without the Colorado River. And although the biggest whitewater in the canyon was lost years ago to Shoshone Dam, built in 1909 to supply electricity to Denver, the trade-off is consistency.
Below the 2.5-mile diversion at the dam, a concrete boat ramp just below the Shoshone Powerhouse leads to the popular mile-long “Shoshone” whitewater run. A continuous flow of about 1,200 cfs of water is necessary to keep the turbines spinning in Shoshone, creating a short stretch of year-round Class III rapids after it’s dumped back into the riverbed. The river between the Shoshone and Grizzly Creek exits off the highway retains a straightforward Class III status up to about twice that flow, developing big-water hydraulics and waves that merit a full Class IV rating above 3,000 cfs.
At high flows, spectacular Class V-VI drops appear in the normally dry diversion section, including the daunting rapid known as “Upper Death,” best admired from shore. Although a handful of top kayakers now run the drop with some regularity, most opt to put in at “Life After Death” just below, getting the majority of their thrills in the “Barrel Springs” rapids the stretch is named after and continuing through Shoshone.
The whitewater peters out considerably below the Grizzly Creek takeout, offering an easy Class II float for novices and calm water for fishing for about 5 miles to the mouth of the Roaring Fork River, continuing slightly farther to the public takeout at Two Rivers Park (river right) in West Glenwood Springs.
Hiking
If you count the recreation trail, there’s a hiking option off every exit within the canyon. But several stops – including No Name, Grizzly Creek and Hanging Lake – offer more challenging nature hikes. The most popular by far is Hanging Lake, in the heart of the canyon.
The 1.2-mile trail originating near Shoshone Dam climbs 930 vertical feet from the base of the canyon and takes about an hour on average. The reward is a spectacular waterfall-fed pool formed by a geologic fault that caused the lake to drop down from the valley floor above. Hike the extra 200 yards above the lake to Sprouting Rock to see the full force of the creek shooting out a hole in the cliff.
Farther west, No Name Creek Trail is as long or short a hike as you want to make it. Winding its way up to the Flat Tops area, the steep side canyon to the north offers scenic views throughout the 3,700-foot vertical climb. After about 11 miles, the trail splits, one fork heading up East No Name Creek and the other bearing left and continuing along No Name Creek, where a loop back to Glenwood Springs is possible by meeting up with the Mitchell Creek Trail and eventually Mitchell Springs Road northwest of town.
Grizzly Creek Trail, situated between Hanging Lake and No Name, is a less steep day hike along the eponymous stream on the north side of the canyon that also offers decent seasonal fishing.
Cycling
The scenic recreation path spanning the length of Glenwood Canyon is a great option for novice cyclists seeking a relatively flat ride. Just park at any of the exits within the canyon or at the easternmost portal west of Dotsero and start spinning. From the west, the paved path picks up right outside of the famed Glenwood Hot Springs and Yampah Vapor Caves, introducing the option of a double dip.
Mountain bikers looking for more of a challenge might consider the Boy Scout Trail, originating just south of Glenwood Springs and traversing the south rim of the canyon before finishing downtown (there is a steep out- and-back option on the Boy Scout Trail proper off Eighth Street, although the longer loop ride is more popular). Winding along the ridge overlooking No Name, the intermediate-level ride offers a bird’s-eye view of the canyon, town and Roaring Fork Valley that most never see.
To find the trail, head south on Highway 82 about half a mile beyond mile marker 3, then turn left on Red Canyon Road (County Road 115). Climb 3 miles to County Road 120 and turn left, following the dirt road 1.5 miles to a parking lot on the right (a good start for the optional car shuttle). From the parking lot, ride 2 to 3 miles up the 4WD road through a saddle and descend a quarter of a mile to the left turn at Bear Canyon (just before a steep uphill). Keep an eye out for a singletrack trailhead on the left (after about a mile) with a sign saying you’re 7 miles from Glenwood. The singletrack ends with a steep descent to Eighth Street.
Climbing
Glenwood Canyon’s limestone and granite walls offer a potpourri of rock and ice climbing opportunities, from bolted sport routes up limestone crags and multipitch traditional lines up sketchy rock first set by climbing royalty to internationally renowned horizontal mixed routes and ice waterfalls.
While plentiful, most of the climbing is on the difficult-to-access south side of the canyon, which involves hopping rocks across the Colorado River at low water or paddling across at high water. Patchworks of private property make access even trickier. Following are a sampling of the routes in the canyon.
Just east of the Bair Ranch rest area on the north side of the canyon is a limestone fin with several bolted sport climbing routes.
A micro pullout on the westbound lane just before the tunnel accesses a handful of cracks and bolted routes on a granite block that practically juts into the interstate. Not aesthetic, but the rock is quality.
Farther west at the Hanging Lake exit are a variety of boulder problems both at the river level and up the Hanging Lake Trail.
Just west and above the Hanging Lake Trail parking area is Glenwood Falls. In the winter this frozen cascade provides popular mixed routes for the growing breed of climbers who travel seamlessly between ice and rock.
Between the Hanging Lake exit and the Grizzly Creek exit, the south side of the canyon boasts its largest granite buttresses. Historical and classic routes, including the nearly 40-year- old “Sucking Wind,” can be found on those dark slabs.
Across from the Shoshone Powerhouse and a good two-hour technical scramble above the river is a huge roof that leads to an experts-only ice spire. Known as Alcatraz, ice ace Will Gadd called this line “among the top three routes in the world.”
Hiking north up Grizzly Creek leads to the so-called Mud Wall, an overhung wall of often loose sandstone and limestone first explored by Colorado climbing patriarch Layton Kor.
On both sides of the No Name tunnels, up No Name Canyon on the north side of the canyon, are popular sport climbing destinations. Known as the Poux and Super Poux, the limestone sport crags offer moderate (5.6) to super-hard (5.13) routes.
Staff writer Jason Blevins contributed to this report.
Staff writer Scott Willoughby can be reached at 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com.
Get to know Glenwood
For more information on Glenwood Canyon, contact the following:
River activities
Rock Gardens Rafting: 800-958-6737
Fishing: Roaring Fork Anglers, 970-945-0180
Hiking
White River National Forest headquarters in Glenwood Springs: 901 Grand Ave., 970-945-2521
Climbing
Summit Canyon Mountaineering: 970-945-6994
