Day Trips from Grand Junction

A Curated List of Adventures

One of the things I love about living in Grand Junction, CO is how easy it is to get out and explore amazing areas. We can start the day in the Grand Valley and, within a couple of hours, be surrounded by mountains, forests, rivers, historic mining towns, and some of Colorado’s most beautiful scenery. (The San Juan mountains are one of our favorite places!)

That’s one of the lifestyle benefits of living in Grand Junction that doesn’t always show up in a real estate listing. You don’t have to live in a mountain town to enjoy the mountains. Grand Junction gives you a home base on Colorado’s Western Slope, with plenty of opportunities to explore beyond the Grand Valley without making every adventure into a major vacation.

In fact, that’s why I created “Live Your Vacation in Grand Junction” and used that for my Facebook and Instagram so you can watch videos about living here and the lifestyle we enjoy. People travel from all over to visit this area and we get to experience it all year long. I am so thankful we moved here.

We’ve taken day trips to small mountain towns, driven over stunning mountain passes, walked through historic sites and ghost towns, and experienced some unique things throughout Western Colorado and beyond. (Ask me about the two festivals we happened upon in Telluride! LOL)

What I love the most is that the drive to the destination is just as fun and scenic as the destination itself. Because of the elevation, you can see for miles and miles in all directions. We are constantly saying, “Wow! Look at that!” or, Michelle will say “Pull over! I need a picture of that!” A winding mountain road, a stunning overlook or stopping in a tiny Colorado town to eat or have a glass of wine turns an ordinary Saturday into an adventure.

This page is where we’re collecting day trips from Grand Junction, based on places we’ve actually visited ourselves. We share what we saw, what we did, where we ate, and anything else we think might be useful if you’re thinking about making a similar trip.

As we continue exploring Colorado, we’ll keep adding to this collection. If you’re considering moving to Grand Junction, I hope our day trips give you a glimpse of what life here can look like when Colorado is your backyard.