Dripping Rock Trail in Winter

Dripping Rock Trail is the perfect winter hike for families. The destination is fun and often amazing, and it’s a flat, easy walk. This is a great trail in the summer, too, but when we hiked Dripping Rock Trail in Winter we definitely weren’t getting in the water to splash around.

One year the Dripping Rock had turned to icicles.

This gentle trail is paved the entire way and leads to a really cool overhang where water comes pouring down. The hike is only about 1 mile round trip. Our boys love to look in the water and walk through the tunnel as we begin Dripping Rock Trail. In the winter, we didn’t see too much, other than a few robins and a dipper. The trail was mostly clear, but there were a few icy spots.

This hike begins right before the canyon, so you are near the mountains.

We always have to look for fish in the stream below (even in the winter).

We like this hike, but we were a little disappointed in the amount of dog poop that we had to hop around. This got better farther up the trail, but it was pretty bad right by the parking lot, so watch out. This is a dog-friendly trail, but if you decide to hike with your dog, please remember to clean up after her.

Since the trail is paved, we were able to avoid the mud, and the temperature was just right. We did this hike after a warm spell in February, so most of the snow was melted. There were patches on the sides of the trail, but we never had to walk through any snow, so we hiked in tennis shoes. We even climbed down to the edge of the water and stayed mostly clean by sticking to the rocks and dry places. Our boys are pretty good at avoiding muck, though. And it is definitely slippery going down, so be very careful.

We have enjoyed finding beauty on all the winter hikes that we have tried.

The trail is paved the entire way. There was limited snow on this trip.

One time when we hiked, the trail was much more icy.

We did climb down to the normal spot to view the dripping rock. It wasn’t too muddy!

Once we got to the dripping rock area, we carefully headed to the bottom. One February it looked just like it would in summer time with lots of water dripping out of the bank. Another year, the water had frozen into beautiful icicles. We hiked both times the first week of February, so it will depend on the year what you might find.

It may have been a little drippier in February, but not much.

The icicles were so neat to see at Dripping Rock.

You can walk right up to the icicles, but please don’t break them.

We only spent around 45 minutes on this hike, and the trail is wide and clear, so you could definitely push a stroller or wheelchair. There wasn’t anyone else on the trail, and we love spending a few moments out in nature as a family. This is definitely a favorite hike because the water is always dripping, and it is so fun to watch. And the frozen icicles were amazing! This was our favorite way to see Dripping Rock Trail in Winter.

Be careful crossing the river. You don’t want to get freezing feet. Mom was taking no chances.

We couldn’t believe the brilliant green colors we saw in February. It brightened the whole hike!

This was a fun winter hike, and we think it would be great in early spring, too.

If you need an easy, fun hike: give Dripping Rock a try! Directions and more details on our original post. We have a list of Easy Winter Hikes if you want a few other ideas, too.