Tips? N Arizona, NM, CO road trip

[AZ_Craig]

Check out the Colorado National Monument near grand junction. It's incredible.

Second this. It's often overlooked. Driving the main loop is probably only a 2 hour endeavor, but allowing a full day to do some of the (relativley) short hikes in the park is well worth it. The Devil's Kitchen trail in particular is super cool, about 1.5 miles round trip with a few spots with ladders and interesting scrambles. It's super memorable and up there with some of the best hikes you'd find around the region.

Not sure if it's your thing either, but there are some great vineyards in the Fruita and Palisade area just east of Grand Junction, especially for red wine. I can send a few suggestions if you'd want.

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[swamp2]

Consider a day trip down to Ouray CO. Incredible passes there but they will likely be closed. You may be able to head into Yankee boy basin though.

Second that. Consider the entire Alpine Loop and wheeling options like Engineer Pass, Black Bear Pass, Imogene Pass

 

[chubbs742]

Second that. Consider the entire Alpine Loop and wheeling options like Engineer Pass, Black Bear Pass, Imogene Pass

OP is visiting in late April. Even with a terrible snow year, it's highly unlikely those passes are open.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

Here are some western Colorado tips:

Stop at Black Canyon National Park near Montrose. It's a very short detour and if you're on a time crunch you can be in and out in a couple hours. It's never busy. Hike the short trail at the end of the park if you have time.

Get a beer and a chicken sandwich at Pomona in Montrose.

If you want to do some wheeling then you can go north of Montrose to peach valley OHV area. Take Wave Rd up, get a nice peak into the canyon, take eagle down. It's a short technical route but my Badsquatch handles it fine. Don't go if it's wet, that mud hardens into concrete. That whole area is an interesting spot to explore in the adobes. The closer you get to the canyon the less dead everything seems.

Consider a day trip down to Ouray CO. Incredible passes there but they will likely be closed. You may be able to head into Yankee boy basin though.

Check out the Colorado National Monument near grand junction. It's incredible.

If you're looking for anything more particular to do in the area, PM me.

Awesome tips! Thank you VERY much.

 

[HotdogThud]

IMO, Turning north at Page is a mistake. Hang left on the 89 and take the road along the Vermillion Cliffs, it's so so worth it:

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

IMO, Turning north at Page is a mistake. Hang left on the 89 and take the road along the Vermillion Cliffs, it's so so worth it:

Not turning north at Page, but continuing southeast on the 98 until I hit the 160 which bends back up northeast towards the four corners. Overnight stops at this point of planning are: Cedar City (start) > Farmington (1 night) > Taos (2 nights) > Montrose (1 night) > home. Head out into AZ to NM, return NM to CO to UT. Reposting map. And THANKS everyone. Great tips so far.

 

[HotdogThud]

Not turning north at Page, but continuing southeast on the 98 until I hit the 160 which bends back up northeast towards the four corners. Overnight stops at this point of planning are: Cedar City (start) > Farmington (1 night) > Taos (2 nights) > Montrose (1 night) > home. Head out into AZ to NM, return NM to CO to UT. Reposting map. And THANKS everyone. Great tips so far.

Ah, didn't realize you were going the other direction. Here's what I'm saying:

The section just south of the arizona/utah border is where it's at. Pull off halfway down and turn everything off and you can hear the loudest silence you've ever heard.

 

[swamp2]

OP is visiting in late April. Even with a terrible snow year, it's highly unlikely those passes are open.

Point taken. That said, there is plenty of great pavement and dirt that will be accessible in the Alpine Loop area including some of the trails to those passes. Also, recall that the Park Service literally bulldozes passes like Engineer Pass to get the last bits of it open to off roaders as soon as possible each Spring. The area wants their wheeling tourists!

 

[dgorsett]

Point taken. That said, there is plenty of great pavement and dirt that will be accessible in the Alpine Loop area including some of the trails to those passes. Also, recall that the Park Service literally bulldozes passes like Engineer Pass to get the last bits of it open to off roaders as soon as possible each Spring. The area wants their wheeling tourists!

Each counties road department is different, San Miguel doesn't plow much, Ouray County plows aggressively. That said I would bet no major alpine passes will be open in April. Snowpack usually peaks in the Colorado high country about April 15, though this year really sucks. The usually shoot for the Fourth of July but with the lack of snow may make June this year. But, there are other non-alpine areas that will be good. Try to stay below 9000 ft

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

Thanks everyone. Any old school yet decent motel recommendations in Farmington, NM or Montrose, CO areas? Hoping to camp, but there’s a chance it’s too cold and I’d like to have backups.

 

[FoCoBronc]

Share good and bad after your trip. Might try something similar myself.

 

[Charley]

Here is a link to the Bushduck website where they collect info on the Colorado High Country Trail status. No updates for 2026, but you can look at the dates of openings for 2025. The Cinnamon Pass info has a link to a pic of a bulldozer after a bit of snow clearing.
Bush duck trail info

Agree with checking out Black Canyon at Gunnison and also the Colorado Monument (Watch out for the Bighorn sheep wandering around on the road)

If you go through Salida and Pocha Springs, look into going to Marshall Pass. 2 ways to get there from 285 at Mears Junction - the wide gravel maintained Marshall Pass Road (200) or hang a left at (203) shortly after starting it and have a bit of an adventure. Google maps show it well.

Have fun

 

[jtgensler]

I haven't done it, but if you're doing that area, Rimrocker from Montrose CO to Moab is something to consider.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

Here is a link to the Bushduck website where they collect info on the Colorado High Country Trail status. No updates for 2026, but you can look at the dates of openings for 2025. The Cinnamon Pass info has a link to a pic of a bulldozer after a bit of snow clearing.
Bush duck trail info

Agree with checking out Black Canyon at Gunnison and also the Colorado Monument (Watch out for the Bighorn sheep wandering around on the road)

If you go through Salida and Pocha Springs, look into going to Marshall Pass. 2 ways to get there from 285 at Mears Junction - the wide gravel maintained Marshall Pass Road (200) or hang a left at (203) shortly after starting it and have a bit of an adventure. Google maps show it well.

Have fun

Sadly Black Canyon at Gunnison is closed. Huge fire last summer (lightning). Probably part of the storms that kicked off the Grand Canyon fires.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

Also, outbound route update: Instead of spending the night in Farmington, NM (which doesn’t seem to have much charm, from my research), I think we’re going to bend north towards Cortez, CO and go east thru Mancos and Durango, and stay somewhere up there, before bending south at Pagosa Springs, towards Los Alamos. Then we jog NE to Toas, where we’ll stay for a couple nights. Anyone have any experience on CO rte 84 or NM rte 64?

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