Colorado NM, Colorado protects an amazing landscape of red rock canyons and giant red monuments near the Colorado River.
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ILNP Park Review
Our Visit. We visited Colorado National Monument as part of a camping trip to western Colorado and southeastern Utah in June.
Our Weather. Hot and dry, about 90 degrees.
Monument Canyon, with its many formations, is what the park is best known for. The overlook at Monument Canyon View is the first opportunity to see the formations driving east to west (June)
Overall Impression. Colorado National Monument truly has a National Park feel to it. It’s landscape is phenomenally beautiful, and its vistas and hikes leave little to be desired. The fact that the monument is just a few miles from Interstate 70 and the bustling town of Grand Junction makes this an easy park to visit, even if you’re just passing through.
Minimum Time Required. You’ll need a minimum of 2 hours to visit, as this is how long it will take you to drive the rim of the canyon and hop out to enjoy a few of the vistas. Our favorite overlooks included Grand View, Coke Ovens Overlook, Artist’s Point and Ute Canyon View. Many of the overlooks include very brief hikes to rock platforms along the edge of a cliff. We recommend driving from east to west as the scenery gets more spectacular as you go, and the sun will be at your back most of the day, though west to east might be better for lighting in the late afternoon and evening.
A Longer Visit. If you have half a day, hike one or more of the short trails to get even more phenomenal views. We recommend Otto’s Trail and Coke Ovens Trail, each of which is around 1 mile round-trip. No matter where you look, you’ll see amazing rock formations. If you have a second day, try one of the longer hikes. We hiked a portion of Monument Canyon Trail which begins in a neighborhood outside the park before turning up into a red slickrock canyon. After teasing you for the first mile-and-a-half or so, the trail finally rounds a bend to reveal stunning views of the parks most prominent monuments including Kissing Couple and Independence Monument. Seeing these monuments from the base of the canyon offered a nice contrast to the hikes on top of the rim.
The Coke Ovens look quite different from the end of the trail than they do from a distance (June)
Suggestions. First, a warning about the cliffs. While most of the overlooks had railings, there were still plenty of places to run off a cliff if you decided to do so. None of the cliffs will surprise you if you’re paying attention, but keep small children near you! This is also a tough place for those who are afraid of heights or don’t like driving windy roads on the edge of a cliff with no guardrail.
This is also Colorado, and the altitude and lack of humidity mean you need to take and drink plenty of fluids no matter what time of year you visit. A word about potties. If we had one complaint about Colorado National Monument, it is the lack of restrooms. The ONLY restrooms in the park are at the Visitors Center and the nearby campground. None of the overlooks have restrooms, so plan accordingly!
Nearby Towns Fruita, Grand Junction (Colorado)
Other Nearby Attractions Robb State Park, Dinosaur Journey Museum (Fruita, CO)
Official NPS Website Colorado NM
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- If not for the sign on the road, you’d probably miss Balanced Rock as it’s perched high on the hillside (June)
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- Even the view from the Visitors Center is rather impressive. This is the beginning of Canyon Rim Trail which begins at the Visitors Center (June)
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- Otto’s Trail is a great little hike with phenomenal views in all directions (June)
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- Some of the parks most prominent formations including Kissing Couple and Praying Hands as seen from the Grand View Overlook (June)
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- Grand View is one of the better overlooks for viewing the parks most famous formations including Independence Monument seen here (June)
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- Monument Canyon, with its many formations, is what the park is best known for. The overlook at Monument Canyon View is the first opportunity to see the formations driving east to west (June)
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- Artists point offers a good view of many formations (June)
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- The Coke Ovens are some of the more famous and distinctive formations in the park. This is the view from the Coke Ovens Overlook (June)
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- Hiking down to the Coke Ovens (June)
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- The Coke Ovens look quite different from the end of the trail than they do from a distance (June)
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- Looking up at the road on the top of the cliff from the Coke Ovens Trail. Most of the road has no guardrail (June)
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- Fallen Rock Overlook is exactly as advertised, a view of an enormous rock that has fallen away from the cliff like a rock iceberg (June)
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- Another view looking west at Ute Canyon View (June)
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- Open cliff top at Cold Shivers Point (June)
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- The first part of Monument Canyon Trail winds around a neighborhood at the base of these red cliffs before turning up into the canyon (June)
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- Much of the hike into Monument Canyon is climbing up natural stairs in the slickrock (June)
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- Here’s a closeup of some of the sandstone which makes up the lower layers of the canyons (June)
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- View from the canyon floor near sunset on the Monument Canyon Trail (June)
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- The red rock formations, such as Kissing Couple, look very dramatic from the bottom of the canyon, especially near sunset. (June)
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- Taken only a few minutes after the previous photo, the formations look very different looking into the sun. This is Independence Monument from near its base (June)
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