Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument was established in 1911 by President William Taft and looks more like Arizona than the mountains of Colorado. It has that beautiful southwestern desert look. It is located near Grand Junction.

Hiking and biking are enjoyable ways for tourists to see the canyons and high walls of this 32 square mile park. Climbing the rock formations and horseback riding are also popular. In the winter, there is cross-country skiing.

There is local wildlife to see. Expect to find bighorn sheep, various reptiles, porcupines, jack rabbits, desert cottontails, mule deer, coyotes, ringtail cats, foxes, bobcats, bats, mountain lions, squirrels, chipmunks, and a few black bears. Have your cameras ready, but do not try to feed the wildlife or approach them.

Take Highway I-70 to Grand Junction, and take Exit 31 which is Horizon Drive. Then just follow the signs through Grand Junction to the east entrance.

For travelers going Eastbound through the Grand Valley: Take Highway I-70 to Exit 19 which is Fruita, and go south on Highway 340 to the west entrance, which is approximately three miles from Fruita. The Visitor Center and Campground are four miles up from the west entrance.

Colorado National Parks

There are 14 Colorado national parks to explore in the state and each one has beautiful scenery and unique features for you to experience.

You can camp, hike, fish, swim, watch birds and wildlife, learn about nature, boat, play in the snow, and just enjoy the incredible beauty of Colorado in these gorgeous national parks. The whole family will enjoy nature in any of them.

Here is the list in alphabetical order:

Arapahoe National Recreation Area is near where the Colorado River starts. There are five reservoirs in this area. They are Monarch Lake, Shadow Mountain, Granby, Meadow Creek, and Willow Creek.

Bent's Old Fort is a rebuilt fur-traders fort from the 1830s on the Santa Fe Trail. It was originally built by the Bent brothers and has been reproduced with authentic period antiques and reproductions of antiques and also has artifacts that were found at the fort.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a 2,000 foot deep canyon cut by the Gunnison River two million years ago.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is near Dolores, Colorado and is known for being the richest archaeological area in the United States.

Colorado National Monument is a beautiful wonderland of canyons.

Curecanti National Recreation Area is over 60 miles long and has the largest reservoir in Colorado, the Blue Mesa Reservoir, along with two lakes.

Dinosaur National Monument has a wonderful fossil quarry and sandstone canyons.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument was created by a volcanic eruption 35 million years ago.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve has two sand mountains that each stand more than 1,000 feet high and is more than 565 square miles in size.

Gunnison Gorge NCA is filled with sandstone cliffs, a river canyon, pinon and juniper woods, and adobe hills.

Hovenweep National Monument has canyons with stone towers. Pueblo Indian dwellings from 900 years ago are located here as well.

McInnis Canyons NCA is filled with canyons, arches, rock spires, and the Colorado River.

Mesa Verde National Park has more than 600 cliff dwellings built into canyon walls and more than 4,000 archaeological sites.

Rocky Mountain National Park is perhaps the most famous of the Colorado National Parks. It is located near beautiful Estes Park and is the largest in the state. It is filled with streams, lakes, valleys and mountain peaks. The beauty here is incomparable.