When we decided to spend four months in Colorado our intention was to visit as much of the state as possible. We knew as we moved around this fairly large state the scenery and vegetation would vary depending on our elevation and location, but we didn’t expect to discover an area of that looked like this!
Colorado National Monument
What a contrast to the jagged mountains and dense forests where we’ve spent most of the summer. It’s looks a lot more like Utah than Colorado over here. There’s a good reason for that. The very western edge of Colorado is located within the Colorado Plateau, a vast land of high desert and scattered forests that stretches around the four corners region including northwestern New Mexico, southern and eastern Utah, and northern Arizona. This red rock wonderland full of canyons, cliffs, arches, and pinnacles contains ten national parks, including a few you may have heard of such as the Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, and Mesa Verde. It also contains 17 national monuments such as Grand Staircase-Escalante, Sunset Crater, Canyon de Chelly, and of course, the Colorado National Monument.
A massive wall of red rock
The Colorado National Monument is located near the Utah border next to the city of Grand Junction. Over millions of years tributaries of the Colorado River carved through the edges of the high plateau bordering the river, creating a stunning area of colorful maze-like canyons, sculpted spires, pinnacles, and other jaw dropping sandstone creations.
We began our exploration of the monument with a trip on the 23 mile historic Rim Rock Drive. This narrow and winding road follows along the top of the plateau past the towering red rock cliffs and sculpted rock formations.
Rim Rock Drive
We stopped at several of the scenic overlooks to take in the expansive views.
Independence Monument
Ute Canyon
Wedding Canyon
We also spotted a group of Bighorn sheep by the side of the road.
Sheeps!
The monument contains over 40 miles of hiking trails. The heat at this time of year, combined with all that around the house stuff we completed during our visit, meant that we only managed to fit in one hike. Someday we’ll have to come back either later or earlier in the year when the temps are cooler for some more hiking. The trail we picked was the Corkcscrew Loop. This 3.5 mile hike started with a trek up a steep rocky hillside which then flattened out and meandered alongside a tall cliff before heading back down.
On the Corkscrew Loop trail
Our new friends Todd & Russ joined us for the hike. Since we rarely get the opportunity to hike with other people, it was fun to have some company. This was also their first time hiking among scenery such as this, and their excitement was quite infectious.
Tim, Russ & Todd enjoying the view
The Colorado National Monument was another one of those unexpected gems that we knew very little about before visiting. I read about it on a few blogs, and on a whim decided it would be a good way to round-out our journey through Colorado. We’ve now visited seven national monuments around the country and have really begun to appreciate their smaller size and lack of crowds as compared to the often zoo-like feel of many national parks. There are a total of 109 national monuments scattered around the U.S. and as we continue to explore new states I am excited to visit more of them.
12 comments
We were at Colorado National Monument just a few weeks ago and stayed a few days. It was wonderful but we didn’t see any big horn sheep, lucky you and we did get caught by a flash flood on a trail. I agree about really liking the monuments. I’m so behind on my blog I’m still posting about our time there.
We do feel lucky that we saw the sheep. They’re such cool animals- love those big horns! The flash flood sounds scary, but I can see how a sudden rain storm could easily spawn floods in those canyons.
Wow! It does look like a doppleganger for Utah!
Right? Since we might not make it back to Utah for a few years, it was nice to get a little taste of those pretty red rocks.
Colorado National Monument looks amazing. We have to stop next time w are in the area. We have driven past many times heading to/from Utah
Definitely worth a stop. It’s a pretty small area so you could easily explore it in a day or less.
After reading about this on other blogs I have also added it to our list. But I agree, later in the year (or earlier) might be better. The Corkscrew Loop looks like a trail to add to the list as well. Thanks!
It’s definitely a must visit. I really enjoy these smaller monuments over the larger national parks because you don’t need days (or weeks) to explore them. I am thinking fall is probably the best time to visit. I bet it’s just gorgeous in October when all the Aspens and Cottonwoods turn golden yellow!
What a beautiful area of CO! I’m only familiar with the traditional mountainish areas surrounding Denver. I can’t wait to visit!
I was so surprised by the scenery on the western side of the state. Very different from the typical Colorado mountain environment. You’ll love it!
Just gorgeous — and your photos are fantastic. We also really enjoy the National Monuments and appreciate that they’re not insanely overcrowded like the National Parks can be. I just looked at a list of the National Monuments and realized that they’ve been some of our favorite places—even the San Juan Islands (our current location) are a National Monument. Very cool! We haven’t been to Colorado NM but it’s now definitely at the top of our list.
There’s a different feel to the monuments as compared to the national parks. We loved Yellowstone and Glacier, but the crowds really get to you after awhile. So happy that we have so many wonderful nationally designated areas to visit around this country :)