CAYO DISTRICT, BELIZE
Summary
From Black Rock Lodge head uphill thru green jungles for a short but fairly steep trek. The summit offers sweeping views of the surrounding hills and jungle, complete with a matching green bench to sit on while you enjoy your sandwich!
Trail Stats
Mileage: 2.9 miles round trip
Elevation: 1,213 feet
Toilet available: Yes, at the Lodge
Sandwich Spots: Yes
Parking: At the resort
Stats from AllTrails as we did not record this one
Trail Details
Heading out from our base camp in San Ignacio on George Prince Hwy, we drove to Black Rock Lodge. Once off the highway, it’s a lovely drive on fairly well maintained roads. Impressive as most of the roads are dirt or gravel and it had been raining for days on end.
You’ll pass through lovely orchards and a horse ranch as you drive toward the looming hills. Following the gorgeous Macal River, the road narrows to a single lane through lush verdant forests.
Nearing the lodge, there’s a small waterfall along the road. Due to incessant rains (have I mentioned just how much it rained on this trip?) this pretty water feature became an amusing road feature as well. Fairly certain it made Doug’s day, splashing through the giant puddle while the waterfall cascaded onto the car.
Arriving at Black Rock Lodge, there’s plenty of parking on the premises. After wandering through the grounds and walking along the river for awhile we decided to head up hill.
Black Rock Lodge Summit trail is fairly easy to find as you amble through the grounds. Starting out the trail is wide and well marked. If it’s raining, the footing is slick mud with slippery leaves. As you are headed to a summit there’s certainly elevation gain, a few sections are quite steep. Watch what you reach out to grab for assistance. Many of the plants are a tad prickly.
Every so often there’s a bench placed along the trail if a break is required along the way. The last few hundred feet or so to the summit are steep. Atop Black Rock Summit there’s another green bench. Perfect for sitting and enjoying that sandwich. Views include the surrounding hills. It’s all green. In all directions. Green and more green blobby hills. An impressive quantity of green. And that coming from someone who lived in the ever present green of the greater Seattle area. If you like superabundant shades of green this is your hike.
To return, simply turn back and head down hill. The resort will happily welcome you back. If you have extra time there are other trails in the area. The river trail is supposed to be lovely (and a lot less steep). The resort also rents out tubes to float down river (when it isn’t flooded) if that appeals.
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