Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area

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Things to Do in Grand Junction CO: Easy Hikes

Guest post written by Michelle Aspelin

We could come up with a list of a hundred things to do in Grand Junction CO. Would a long list of ideas convince you to move to Grand Junction? Possibly. But we like to write about our own personal experiences while living in Grand Junction to provide you with a deeper perspective.

When the weekend comes, what do you want to do? I’ll share some of our favorite places. Of course, there are more things to do in Grand Junction CO, so read Paul’s posts for ideas. I put some links at the bottom of this post.

You can go on a scenic drive any day of the week for as long or short as you want. You can be warm in the valley yet ski up on the Grand Mesa. When exploring a new area, we love going for a short drive after dinner to see what we can discover.

I like to get books from the Mesa County Libraries or buy them from the Friends of the Mesa County Libraries book sales. A lot of what we do in Grand Junction is because I read about it in a book and wanted to see it in person. I also follow a lot of local businesses tourism pages on Facebook and I see what events they are promoting.

Walk Around Town

Because of a Facebook post, one weekend we went to The Milky Way in Palisade. They had a birthday promotion of 50% off and we had never been. Great food and drink, cute place with small indoor seating and more outdoor seating in the backyard. We ran into a friend while there! After that, we walked around town and went into local shops, art galleries, and the Palisade Library. We cruised through books for purchase (building in the back of the library) and ended up checking out a few books from the library.

See my post about our Divide Road and Unaweep Canyon Experience. A special overlook I learned about by reading a book from the library!

During the summer we go to Palisade every Sunday for the fabulous farmer’s market. (Fruita and Grand Junction have farmers markets too.) Since it’s winter now, we’ve been missing it! When we go to Palisade, we always take the Scenic Fruit & Wine Byway as we make our way home. Sometimes stopping at a winery, distillery, or the pie shop for a slice of pie or ice cream.

The same goes for walking around downtown Fruita or Grand Junction. Always a fun activity with things to see, places to shop, and great food and beverages. We bought a sign about adventures to hang on our wall from a local shop in downtown GJ while we were waiting to be seated at a local restaurant next door.

Hiking for Beginners

Before we moved here, friends of ours in Minnesota gave us a book called Best Easy Day Hikes in Grand Junction and Fruita by Bill Haggerty, a Falcon Guide®. It has been very useful. If you are new to hiking, I highly recommend it. These easy/short hikes can be done in a morning or afternoon, or pack a picnic lunch and make it an all-day activity.

We are working our way through the list of short hikes in the book. Here are the ones we’ve done so far. We have enjoyed all of them for different reasons. I recommend you get the book for full details. We’ve done other great hikes too, like the Palisade Rim Trail and Miracle Rock in Glade Park to name a few.

Mica Mine (BLM Bangs Canyon) – The trail is at the bottom of the canyon, so it’s cooler here in the summer. You cross the riverbed sometimes, so be aware it may have water in it. It was very low when we were there. Mica is a shiny, flaky mineral.
Dominguez Canyon hike Gunnison River

Dominguez Canyon (BLM Dominguez Canyon Wilderness) – This is south of Grand Junction near Whitewater off Hwy 50. A great drive and hike. We saw some old cow cabins and dipped our toes in the Gunnison River.
Devils Kitchen (Colorado National Monument) – This hike prompted me to get the All Trails app on my phone because it wasn’t very well marked towards the end. Everyone says, “Stay on the trail.” but how do you do that when it’s not marked? The hike was great, steep at the end but we went inside the “devil’s kitchen” area. Not sure if that was ok, but others were there too. We saw a big horn sheep on that hike.
Monument Canyon (Colorado National Monument) – We’ve done the first part of this one a couple of times. It’s a 5-mile loop. You are likely to see big horn sheep here, especially nearing dusk. It’s a steep trail but there are steps. Amazing views of the canyon and Independence Monument.
Dinosaur Bones near Fruita

Dinosaur Hill (near CNM entrance in Fruita) – It’s good to learn about the history of the area, dinosaurs include. This was good, no bones to see, just informative signs.
Fruita Paleontological Area (McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area)– We saw dinosaur bones here, a great hike with many more trails in this area, like to an old cabin. Seeing the cabin is still on our list. There are lots of bones to see in nature in Moab too.
Trail Through Time (BLM Rabbit Valley) – It was very windy the day we went but still great to see actual dinosaur bones “in the wild” still stuck in the rock. There’s a cool campground up high that overlooks Rabbit Valley, and you can see all the way to the La Sal Mountains in Utah. This trail is near the Utah border.
Coal Canyon Trail (BLM Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range) – We drove this one during the time of year when driving is allowed. We didn’t get out and hike. This is where you can see wild horses. It was cool to see ribbons of coal in the rock as we drove by. The wall with coal is so close you can touch it as you slowly drive by. The gates into Coal Canyon Road are closed to vehicles from December 1 through May 31 during the foaling season and for wildlife protection.
Mesa Lakes Lodge Lake Loop

Mesa Lakes Area Trails (Grand Mesa National Forest) – We have done this a few times with friends and visitors. Trails go through the woods and around small lakes. Mesa Lakes Lodge is there, that’s where we park and get some appetizers inside when we are done. We went snowshoeing here in the winter. You can ice fish too. Bring bug spray in the summer months.
Colorado Riverfront Trail (Colorado River) – This is one of our favorite walks. We usually park in Las Colonias near the bridge and Camp Eddy campground. We had family stay at Camp Eddy for a month, two thumbs up! We cross the Colorado River or just walk down the trail towards the boat launch, beach, and lazy river. The zipline is here too that goes over the river. This trail can take you all the way to Palisade or Fruita too! Good for walking or biking.

To wrap it up, there are a lot of great things to do in Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade and the surrounding communities. These are just a few. You can read a post about each city to learn more. If you are considering a trip to the Grand Valley and maybe moving here, Paul would like to show you around the area and maybe schedule a few properties to show you in person while you are here. Connect with Paul.

Other posts you might enjoy as you find things to do in the Grand Valley.

Two-Day Itinerary in Grand Junction, Why Move to Grand Junction

Golf Courses in Grand Junction

Why Move to Fruita

Why Move to Palisade

Guest post written by Michelle Aspelin

by Michelle Aspelin

Local or Nearby Attractions

Divide Road and Unaweep Canyon Experience

Guest post written by Michelle Aspelin

Scenic Routes & Byways Colorado by Stewart M. Green from the Palisade Library

I’m excited to tell you about our Divide Road and Unaweep Canyon experience. It was very cool, like a treasure hunt for us. A great idea on a long list of things to do in Grand Junction and the surrounding area.

I like to read books about Colorado. I check them out from the Mesa County Libraries or buy them from the Friends of the Mesa County Libraries book sales. I have purchased a few from our local Barnes & Nobel too. A lot of what we do in Grand Junction is because I read about it in a book and want to see it in person.

Divide Road on the Uncompahgre Plateau Inspiration

One of the books I discovered while browsing through the Mesa County Library in Palisade is called Scenic Routes & Byways Colorado by Stewart M. Green. It’s so good I may purchase it. My version is from 2013 and there’s an updated version.

In the section about Unaweep Canyon the author talks about Divide Road. I have seen it on maps before and am aware of where it is on the high plateau. But when I read this passage, I said, “Let’s go!” Unaweep Canyon is supposedly the only canyon in the world drained by two creeks. A divide in the mid-canyon separates the East Creek and West Creek drainages. The Ute Indian name Unaweep means “Canyon with Two Mouths.”

Big Horn Sheep on CR-141

To get there, drive south out of Grand Junction on Hwy 50. In Whitewater, turn right onto CR-141 towards Gateway. Go about 25 minutes and turn left onto Divide Road, it’s well marked. CR-141 is a beautiful drive through the Unaweep Canyon. We saw big horn sheep along the side of the road before we turned onto Divide Road.

If you get a chance, drive all the way to Gateway near the Utah border. You will see some of the most incredible 2-billion-year-old granite walls and lush green valleys. Just beyond Divide Road, you can stop in a small parking area to see rock climbers on the 500’ steel grey cliffs of Mothers Buttress, Television Wall, and Quarry Wall. We saw people stopped with binoculars watching climbers on the sheer cliff walls. The land they climb is owned by The Access Fund, a national advocacy organization that leads and inspires the climbing community. Along CR-141 is some of the most impressive granite we’ve seen since the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Here’s the passage in the book that inspired us to go there in March.

“Divide Road begins just past a ranch. This gravel road twists more than 100 miles down the spine of the Uncompahgre Plateau, giving access to a vast swath of remote backcountry. Take a left turn here for a short drive up Divide Road to a stunning viewpoint above Unaweep Canyon. The gravel road climbs a couple of miles up to the site of the abandoned Taylor Granite Quarry, a rock quarry that operated in 1928. Park before a cattle guard and walk down to the cliff edge for one of western Colorado’s most spectacular overlooks, Unaweep Canyon stretches westward. The highway below uncoils like a long snake up the sagebrush valley floor. Gentle slopes, forested with scrub oak, pinon pine, and juniper, slant upward to abrupt, towering granite cliffs. Above, steep slopes lean back to the valley’s sandstone rim high above the floor.”

Divide Road and Unaweep Canyon switchbacks along the way showing steep elevation

Switchbacks on Divide Road near CR-141

We left about 11am and packed our hiking backpack with hats, gloves, snacks, water, and the bear spray, you never know.

Divide Road is beautiful, lots of switchbacks and elevation gain right away. There was some recent snow still on the road in some parts. Other parts were muddy or dry gravel. We are used to driving in snow being from Minnesota, but when the road is narrow, and you look down over 1000’ feet with no guard rail, it can be a bit intimidating! We went slow. See the photo.

I read the passage again once we were past the steep part. We saw the cattle guard and a little parking lot off to the left at the trailhead of BLM Trail #23. We thought, “That could be it.” We weren’t sure and decided to go further on Divide Road. We got to a spot with a lot more snow and decided to turn around. We headed back to the first spot to see if that was it. This area is called Cactus Park in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area.

BLM trail 23 sign post with icons for walking, horses, bikes, motor bikes, ATVs and vehicles

We later learned that the last icon on the post that looks like a jeep or ranger is actually for full size vehicles. Now we know!

There was another 4×4 truck in the tiny lot. We ate a quick snack. We weren’t sure how to read the signpost (see right) that marked the trail, wondering if we could drive it or if it was only for motorized bikes and UTVs, so we walked. I hadn’t looked up the trail before we left so we weren’t sure how far we had to walk to find the overlook. The book didn’t mention a BLM trail, but this was right next to the cattle guard. After about a half mile uphill all the way, we came to an opening and walked to the edge. We saw spectacular views of the Grand Mesa, West Elk Mountains, and the San Juan Mountains. It was amazing! Definitely a great view of western Colorado!

After that, we turned around to walk back and realized we were walking on the granite of the Taylor Granite Quarry! That was cool too. We had never been right on top of a quarry like that, they skimmed the surface, it wasn’t a big hole. We took more pictures.

Taylor Granite Quarry

But the book said the view would be of the Unaweep Canyon. We realized this wasn’t it. Just then, a guy on a dirt bike stopped for a break near us. We explained what we were looking for and determined that the place we wanted to go might be further up Divide Road. He told us about another cattle guard and a road that veered right to a popular overlook. Since we had already gone further on Divide Road and saw the snow, we said we’d have to come back in April or May and try again.

The biker shared that there are a lot of elk in the area, trophy bull elk. We heard something in the thickets while on the trail, but we think it was just a mule deer. We never saw it. He said there are bears in the area, but they are small and they leave you alone. Ha! Small but they leave you alone. We had our spray just in case. We’ve never encountered a bear in Colorado. There are several BLM campsites along Trail 23. Camping on BLM land is free. We got in the truck and headed back.

Still wondering where the overlook was, we passed over the first cattle guard again and right next to it was a small pull-off we hadn’t noticed before. We could see the canyon in the distance. Maybe this was it? We parked and got out of the Tacoma. Sure enough, we walked about 50 feet over rocks and sand, past bushes, to the opening and boy, it was stunning! Huge drop-off beyond the boulder outcroppings. We walked up to the edge, like the book said, near the fence of the property owner. We were giddy. We found it!

We looked out onto the ledge, and someone had built a fire ring from stones in the area at the very edge of the overlook. You can see it in the photo below. What a way to watch the sun set over the canyon.

We soaked it all in, took more pictures and said, “We need to put this one on ‘the list’ and bring our guests here.” It was so amazing and only about 30 miles from our place. Yet being in the wilderness like that, up so high, we felt like we were in another world. So thankful to see it.

Paul Aspelin in the Tacoma at the Unaweep Canyon Overlook

We had such a good time on our hike and happy we found the overlook. When we got back into GJ we went to REI to get a book on the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. This would be a very cool place to rent an ATV and go four-wheeling, and maybe camp in the future. They didn’t have a book or map with that much detail about each of the BLM trails.

Later, after we got the mud washed off the taco (what the locals call a Toyota Tacoma), I looked it up online and was able to print out an 11”x17” map of the conservation area trail system, see below. We will definitely go back. Going in March was great, no bugs, but a bit of snow. The guy at REI didn’t know the road we were on was open again after winter. Oops, we didn’t realize it ever closed. Always learning!

We left with great memories, photos and stories of our experience, and the desire to explore more. If you are looking for things to do in Grand Junction, we highly recommend Divide Road and Unaweep Canyon. There are many pull-offs along Hwy 141 to stop and take in the beauty.

Written by Michelle Aspelin