I don’t remember exactly how I heard of Rifle Ice Caves – it might have been a Facebook ad or article to be honest. As soon as I saw photos of this hidden treasure of Colorado, I wanted to go. The ice formations are only there in winter, and the caves are about 3 hours away, so I needed to make a trip out of it.

I got a long weekend for MLK day in January. The weather looked best for Sunday/Monday so I set off early on a beautiful Sunday morning for Rifle, Colorado. The drive is stunning. I drove through Summit County (where all the ski resorts are, passing through Dillon and Vail) where temperatures were dropping below 0. As you approach Glenwood Springs, the drive is just stunning driving through a canyon, an icy river flowing besides you and surrounded by dark red rocks covered in snow. My GPS took me kind of a bizarre backroad to the Rifle parks, but it was all beautiful.

As I did my research, I saw there is a really cool waterfall, Rifle Falls, only a few miles away, that looks awesome in winter. It’s in a state park, and now that I have a state parks pass, even more motivation to stop there. I was originally going to go there second, but I was eager to get out of the car and stretch my legs, so I decided to stop.

It was snowy, but not so much ice I needed my spikes or poles. The waterfall is basically right there and doesn’t require much of a hike. I had it to myself for a bit, and then went to explore a cave behind the falls. There are apparently several caves to explore. You can also hike above the falls, but seeing the falls was enough for me and I was eager to get to the caves.

The ice caves are in Rifle Mountain Park. Apparently, during the summer, this is a park rock climbers frequent. There were a couple of other cars and a sign for the ice caves. The area is beautiful, covered in snow and with a river. The first cave does not take long to hike to, but spikes and poles are a must, as the bottom of the cave is covered in ice.

There was a family in the first cave, and it’s not super large, so I decided to pass through the first cave and head to the second, which was a bit more of a hike. And magically, I had the second cave to myself for a bit.

The second cave was larger. It’s memorizing how the ice forms and looks blue. I took some photo with my tripod and selfie stick. I looked at the ice from different perspectives and enjoyed the dripping water noises. The magic of Mother Nature is that apparently, the ice forms slightly differently every year. I mainly heard of the first two caves, but I think there are more. However, the trail onward looked steep and I still wanted to enjoy lunch and the hot springs.

Once people came, I hiked back along the river to the first cave. This was now less busy and so I enjoy taking some pictures, as the blue icicles were particularly striking here.

I was getting hungry now, so I headed out and passed Rifle Gap State Park, which was beautiful with people ice fishing on the reservoir. I headed for the small town of Rifle. I’d read there was a good, small Polish place called Polanka.

It was casual with one woman cooking and working the register. I got some pierogis and potato pancakes, which were delicious. I then explored the small mountain town, which was cute and historic with stunning Mountain View’s. Rifle’s name has something to do with a rifle being leaned up against a tree by an early settler, as I recall. There is a lot of fascinating history in the area.

I headed back to Glenwood Springs, which I had passed though. I had a Marriott certificate that I used to book the Residence Inn Glenwood Springs. I also wanted to try out the famous hot springs. Even when I was a consultant and we passed through the place, it looked interesting.

There are two hot springs, the main Glenwood Springs and Iron Mountain Hot Springs, a smaller riverside spa with several pools. I decided to try Iron Mountain, but they were totally full and said to come back at 3. I decided to check the other hot springs. Both are beautiful in different ways. The Glenwood Springs Hot Springs are a giant pool under snow covered mountains, with a water slide even! I saw it and decided to wait an hour and try Iron Mountain again, and if I couldn’t get in, do Glenwood. I walked into the town and went to a brewery to grab a quick beer.

Like most Colorado mountain towns, Glenwood Springs has a charming downtown full of restaurants, breweries, and pubs, right across from the big hot springs pool. I headed back to Iron Mountain after.

They had a locker room with locks activated by wristband. Now, my best move on this trip might have been bringing a robe. I read somewhere in the reviews someone suggest that. You can bring or rent towels, but a robe is a game changer in changing pools in the 30 degree weather. I just bought a $10 one at Ross, nothing fancy.

The pools are beautiful and overlook the river and mountains. You can watch the geese as they pipe in peaceful spa music. Each pool has a different temperature ranging from 99-108 degrees. While it was busy and the pools were small, I still found I could squeeze into spaces easily as a solo person. I bought a hot sangria and enjoyed the pools, with a goal to watch the sun set.

I love hot springs (see Iceland, Costa Rica, China), so I had a grand time. My hotel, funny enough, was visible across the river, but I had to drive like ten minutes around to get there since I couldn’t float magically across the river.

As a former consultant, I’ve stayed at a Residence Inn (or 2, or 20), and this one is nice. I later found out they give a slight discount at Iron Mountain Hot Springs. I enjoyed a nice shower before heading out to the town for dinner. I saw a nice looking place earlier, so headed to Colorado Ranch House and sat at the bar. It had an upscale Western vibe (I mean don’t worry, upscale still means you can wear your flannel and boots) and I had a delicious salmon pasta, and everyone there was super nice.

I was tired and ready for an early night, especially since I might hike the next day. I knew the famous Hanging Lake was only 10 minutes away, and had read winter was beautiful and a good time to beat the crowds. However, I was concerned with how cold it would be in the morning, so I decided to wait and see.

It was very cold the next morning, like 12 degrees. I ate my hotel breakfast. The sun came out, and I had the gear, so I went online and bought my permit. The permit system is relatively new, but I read that Hanging Lake during the summer would sometimes get 1300 visitors PER DAY, and people were out of control swimming in the pristine turquoise waters and peeing everywhere.

Even in winter there is a permit, but you can park at the trailhead, right off I-70, and don’t need an assigned time. There were only a few other cars. With my spikes, poles, and 2 pairs of gloves, I set off. It was very cold still, like 18 degrees. The hike is within the Glenwood Canyon area and has stunning rock views. Just beautiful. I also worried that it was an uphill slog (but at least it would keep me warm?), even though it’s only 3 miles round trip, and to allow 3 hours, which is a lot in the cold.

The hike up was nearly empty. It was all snow covered, but seemed almost groomed? And very packed down. So the hike was not technically difficult. It was beautiful to hike alongside a snow-covered river. I passed two women (I never pass people!) and headed up. There started to be some gorgeous canyon views. The canyon kept a lot of the hike in the shade, but I worked up a sweat hiking uphill.

Towards the end, there was a railing and a steep overlook that challenged my fear of heights. I started to freak out a little bit, but eventually decided holding the railing was the best way up, and right after that, I was there. Much sooner than I thought.

I had the famous Hanging Lake to myself (for about 15-20 minutes). It’s an odd place, at the edge of this cliff, for a beautiful frozen fall and ice covered lake. The blue color comes from minerals, but it was too ice covered to get the vibrant coloring. However, the sun was out, and the place is beautiful. I enjoyed some snacks, water, and photo taking before others started to join me.

Heading back down the scary railing part was tough, but I held the railing again and at least knew what was coming, and after that, it was easy going downhill. I kept up my speed to keep warm, and passed many more people. The whole thing only took me a couple of hours, and I was pleased with myself on a known difficult hike. Plus, I had a very rare and special experience of enjoying Hanging Lake solo.

However, I was frozen to my core at this point and dreaming of hot springs again. I headed back to Glenwood and grabbed some lunch. Then, because it was Monday and I could use a coupon from my hotel, it was only $18 to go back to Iron Mountain Hot Springs. I headed back and it felt amazing to be hot again after my hike in the freezing cold.

Traffic would be bad no matter what time I left (ski traffic and accidents on I-70), and eventually I headed out. But it’s hard to complain about the most stunning views of snow covered mountains in the world when you’re in standstill mountain traffic.

It was an amazing trip and I highly recommend Rifle Falls and Ice Caves, Hanging Lake, and Iron Mountain Hot Springs in the winter (with spikes and poles necessary for the hiking). Even if you get stuck in ski traffic (not if, you will), you can stare at the beautiful scenery that people come from around the world to see.

Recommended Gear: I am able to get a small commission through affiliated ads for recommending this gear; however, I only recommend things I use and love. Kahtoola Microspikes are amazing and I used them for the Ice Caves and Hanging Lake adventures to help grip the ice.