I will never forget back in 2005 flying from Phoenix to Grand Junction, all the flights were oversold to Denver so I decided to go to this airport. When the plane started to land, I was looking out the window as we descended into the city, and my jaw dropped. Just below us was the most beautiful red rock and an amazing highway going through it.

Looking at the highway at the West Entrance of the Colorado National Monument

Now this was before cell phones and Google Maps were just starting up, so after the jet landed I picked up my rental car and pulled out the map book to find out how to get to this place.

After a bit of research I found out this place was called the Colorado National Monument, I wrote down some notes on a piece of paper on how to get to this location, then proceeded to make my way to the West entrance.

The entrance sign at the West entrance of the Colorado National Monument

I only had about 4 hours to kill before I needed to start driving to the mountains, I was meeting up with some friends in Breckenridge for a long weekend of skiing.

My trip to the Colorado National Monument was short and sweet that day, I was blown away by the beauty around every corner and I told myself I will be back someday.

The view from the highway in the park

Fast forward a few years, I ended up moving full-time to Colorado and wanted to take my girlfriend (now wife) to this amazing place. Being early Spring and still a bit chilly to camp out we decided to get a hotel in Fruita, Colorado.

This small town located at the West entrance of the park is a great place to stay, there is a handful of good hotels plus some great restaurants in the area.

Downtown Fruita Colorado in the Spring

On a nice Spring morning, we decided to hike Monument Canyon Trail located just off of Rim Rock Drive, this 23 mile road has red rock towering in every direction.

A good tip for getting into the Colorado National Monument is having the National Park Pass, if you don’t have one it’s a $10.00 entrance fee to get into the park.

National Park park runs around $80.00 a year

Hiking the Monument Canyon Trail is not for the faint of heart, as you descend into the canyon you will be exposed to some big cliffs. I did put Amy to the test on this hike, I will post a video below where you will see her not wanting to hike down any further.

Big Horn Sheep while hiking Monument Trail

We did spend a few hours hiking in and taking some amazing photographs, about halfway down we saw some big horn sheep playing around on one of the cliffs.

We did spend a few hours hiking in and taking some amazing photographs, about halfway down we saw some big horn sheep playing around on one of the cliffs.

Winter is a great time to see the Colorado National Monument

This park is well worth seeing at any time of year, we have gone back after a big snowstorm hit the area and talk about amazing. We also camped out at the SaddleHorn Campground in the Spring & Fall months when the temps were at their best.

Setting up camp at SaddleHorn Campground

One last good tip if you travel to this location, be sure to set a couple of days exploring the park. If you don’t mind hiking there are so many amazing trails, plus the sunrises and sunsets are to die for.

The highway on the West Entrance of the Park

If you just want a nice scenic day drive this is well worth going out of your way for, anyways be sure to check out the video below and be sure to check out the video below.