Happenin’
Places › Colorado › Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument

Photo: Victoria Stauffenberg / Public domain · source

🏜️ Canyons & deserts

Colorado National Monument

Fruita, CO · Grand Valley, Western Colorado

About

Colorado National Monument sits above the Grand Valley, where Wingate sandstone cliffs drop into red canyons. Rim Rock Drive runs 23 paved miles between the Fruita and Grand Junction entrances, threading three tunnels to canyon overlooks. Independence Monument, a 450 foot freestanding tower, rises a mile southeast of the Saddlehorn Visitor Center, and Otto's Trail reaches a rim view of it in half a mile. Monument Canyon Trail is the longer walk, six miles one way and 1,440 feet down, passing the tower at 3.5 miles. Entry is $25 per vehicle for seven days, or $15 on foot or bike, with no permit or reservation. The road suits a sedan and stays open year round, closing a day or two after heavy snow, ice, or rockfall. Tunnels clear 16 feet at the centerline but only 10 feet 6 inches near the curbs. Summer canyon heat tops 100 degrees with no water below the rim, so carry your own.

Highlights

No permit or reservation needed$25 per vehicle, 7 days ($15 on foot or bike)23 mi paved Rim Rock Drive, sedan friendlyOpen year round, brief snow and ice closuresTunnels: 16 ft centerline, 10 ft 6 in near curbs450 ft Independence MonumentNo water sources, 100+ degree summer heat

Getting there

Related places

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park Canyons & deserts

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park

Gainesville, FL · North Central Florida

Devil's Millhopper is a 120-foot-deep, 500-foot-wide sinkhole near Gainesville that hides a miniature rainforest where Florida almost never has one. A boardwalk and 132 steps descend past fern-draped limestone walls and trickling cascades to the cool, shaded bowl at the bottom. The seepage waterfalls run strongest in late winter and early spring, when the streams are at their fullest.

Grand Canyon National Park Canyons & deserts

Grand Canyon National Park

Tusayan, AZ · Grand Canyon

One of the world's great natural wonders, the Grand Canyon is a mile deep, up to 18 miles wide, and 277 river miles long, carved by the Colorado River over millions of years. The South Rim is open year round and packs the most accessible viewpoints, lodges, and trailheads, making it the side most visitors choose for a first trip. Sunrise and sunset set the layered red rock walls ablaze, and the sheer scale rewards anyone willing to make the journey.

Zion National Park Canyons & deserts

Zion National Park

Springdale, UT · Southern Utah

Zion National Park is a canyon wonderland in southwest Utah where the Virgin River has carved a deep gorge through towering walls of cream, pink, and red Navajo sandstone. Soaring cliffs, hanging gardens, and slot canyons make it one of the most dramatic and accessible parks in the country, with a free shuttle that carries visitors deep into Zion Canyon. It rewards both casual sightseers and serious adventurers, so it is well worth the trip for almost any traveler.

Part of these collections

Curated guides that feature Colorado National Monument.

Best Slot Canyons and Red Rock in the US15 places

Best Slot Canyons and Red Rock in the US

The sandstone country of the Colorado Plateau and its edges: corridors sanded smooth by flood water, arches by the thousand, hoodoo amphitheaters and thousand-foot buttes. Fifteen places, honest about which ones need a permit, a Navajo guide, or a high-clearance truck, and which you can simply walk into.