Day trip to Colorado National Monument

Only about 70 miles north of Montrose is the largest city of the Rocky Mountains “Western Slope,” Grand Junction.  The city is surrounded by 2 large plateaus that signal the end of the Utah red rock canyons and start of the Rocky Mountains.

I had always just skipped a visit to this park as the red rocks of Moab a couple hours West are certainly much more impressive, but now that I had a free day, it was time to check out Colorado National Monument!   The park consists mainly of a 20-mile road that rides along the rim of several sandstone canyons carved into the western plateau overlooking Grand Junction.

It was a great visual change of pace from the San Juans, and a fun way to spend the day!