The Colorado National Monument: Tips for Your Next Visit!

We recently visited the Colorado National Monument for the first time!! Since we're currently visiting the Grand Junction area (and loving it!), we entered the Monument from the eastern exit. This 23-mile scenic drive has countless stunning overlooks into the canyon below. When they coined it the “mini–Grand Canyon,” they weren’t kidding!

View of Ute Canyon from the Monument scenic drive

Colorado National Monument FUN facts:

• The 23-mile Rim Rock Drive is one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the United States—It can be steep and curvy at times, so beware!

• There’s an activity for everyone here! Whether it’s mountain biking, road cycling, hiking, or just taking in the views, this is a nature lover’s paradise  

• You can view rock layers that are billions of years old

• While the canyons may look like classic U-shaped glacial valleys, they were actually formed by flowing water eroding the rock layers at different rates

Gracen & Austin enjoying the Ute Canyon View overlook in our cozy CLIQ camp chairs

Our tips for visiting:  

• Bring a lunch/snack! We packed up our cooler with lunch and cold drinks and we’re so happy we did! The scenic drive takes about an hour without any stops so definitely plan for longer if you’re like us and want to pull over at every overlook!   

• Stop at as many overlooks as you can! Our favorite was the Ute Canyon View point 

• Bring a blanket or camp chair to the overlooks so you can relax, enjoy the views, and have some lunch. Our favorite camp chairs are from CLIQ—they pack up so easy and are lightweight enough to carry on our hikes!  

• Go early or late in the day! The sun can get intense out there midday so definitely remember to bring extra water too  

Overall, we really enjoyed our visit! I think next time we’ll start from the west entrance in Fruita :) Please let me know if you have any questions or feel free to visit the National Park Service website for more information. Happy travels <3