Destination: Colorado National Monument
Closest Town: Grand Junction
About: Located on the southern side of Grand Junction this mars-like landscape sits atop the Colorado Plateau. From the seat of your car, you can view the beautiful red canyon walls and strange rock formations along Rim Rock Drive.
Route: i70 to Exit 238 Fall River Road (directions)
Distance: 267 Miles
Time: 4 hours to park
Trip Length: Few hours

On our way to Flaming Gorge, we took a quick detour to Colorado National Monument. This is a long drive from Denver but if you are in the Grand Junction or Vail Valley area this could be a quick day trip.

Established as a National Monument in 1911 the park features giant canyons and rock formations that liken itself to Moab’s Arches and Canyonlands National Park. We were totally blown away by how pretty this area was. We had no idea part of Colorado looked like this!

The park features numerous hiking trails but we opted for the leisurely drive 23-mile on Rim Rock Drive. There are 19 pullouts or scenic overlooks along the way, so we were constantly pulling, over jumping out and walking around. The drive straight through the park with no stops takes about an hour. We stopped a few times and did the entire trip in less than two hours.

I take so many snaps and insta stories that I need to share on the blog so I put together a quick “edit” here! I didn’t add any cool music so it a little windy, might wanna turn it down a little. Would love to know what yall think!