How to see the Southwest’s best red rock formations—without the crowds

The Colorado National Monument is blissfully quiet—a rare occurrence in national parks in the Southwest—even though it is located a few miles west of Grand Junction, the largest city in western Colorado.

The Grand Canyon attracted more than four million visitors in 2024, but the Colorado National Monument, also known as the mini-Grand Canyon, welcomes 488,000 people a year.  

“One of the best advantages of the Colorado National Monument is that even on its most crowded day, you have that opportunity to find silence and solitude,” says Zebulon Miracle, a local historian and anthropologist. “The Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone—they're all places that everyone should absolutely go and see, but it's tough to find that sense of quiet.”

For parkgoers looking for a less-crowded destination to explore the grandeur of red rock formations, here’s what you need to know about visiting the Colorado National Monument. 

From Indigenous presence to preservation

Archaeological evidence suggests that people have lived in or passed through this part of western Colorado for approximately 11,000 years. 

John Otto fell in love with the red rock cliffs and canyons when he visited the area in 1906. Eventually, Otto created trails by hand, making it easy for people to visit areas previously considered inaccessible. And in Washington, D.C., he lobbied for the protection of the land that would become the Colorado National Monument.  

“In the early part of the 20th century, many westerners took this type of scenery for granted, but Otto could see the potential in the area and had a vision for creating a great national park in the heart of the Uncompahgre Plateau,” says Greg Gnesios, a local tour guide. “In the end, he had to settle for a much smaller area than originally envisioned.” 

Unfortunately, his relentless campaigning wasn’t enough to sway the U.S. Congress to make it a national park, but it did inspire President William Howard Taft to declare roughly 20,000 acres of land along the Umcompahgre Plateau a national monument, making Otto the first park superintendent. 

Visiting the Monument 

For most visitors, Rim Rock Drive—a 23-mile ribbon of road that clings to canyon rims and threads through tunnels—is the best way to see the Colorado National Monument

“Doing the drive, you go through over a billion years of the Earth’s history,” Miracle says. “There’s this layer cake geology that makes the area's story easy to follow.” 

The oldest rocks, 1.5-billion-year-old granite, anchor the canyon floors, while layers of sandstone and siltstone compose the towering cliffs. Each band marks a significant time when seas, sand dunes, and river deltas existed. In a 360-degree panoramic view, visitors get a glimpse of millions of years of history.

Scenic overlooks along roads offer incredible views of the Monument’s canyons and bizarre rock formations, including Window Rock, Pipe Organ, Kissing Couple, Praying Hands, and Sentinel Spire.  

From the Grand View Point, visitors can see the Independence Monument, the tallest freestanding rock formation in the area. The iconic landmark got its name because, at its base, Otto’s wife, Beatrice Gulliver, began carving a passage from the Declaration of Independence into the rock, but she never finished it. 

On Flag Day in 1911, Otto famously climbed the 450-foot sandstone pillar to plant the American flag on its summit. A similar tradition occurs for the Fourth of July. Local climbers hoist Old Glory to the top of the monument in Otto’s honor. 

While driving (or biking) through the Colorado National Monument, visitors will find the biggest rewards along its 43 miles of established hiking trails, ranging from easy rim walks to challenging descents into the canyons below. 

“If you want to do a long backpacking trip through the entire Monument, you can. If you have small kids, there are easy trails, too,” explains Miracle. “It really offers opportunity no matter what level you’re looking for.”

For families with kids, Gnesios recommends the Coke Ovens Trail, a one-mile round-trip path that leads to a stunning viewpoint over bulbous, hollowed-out rock formations shaped like beehives, and Devils Kitchen Trail, a 1.5-mile footpath that takes hikers among hoodoos (tall, thin spires) and crags (rugged rock faces)  and offers visitors the opportunity to see cacti, wildflowers, and waxy, drought-resilient shrubs. 

For a more challenging option, try Monument Canyon Trail, which descends into the canyon, offering views of the rust, apricot, and copper-colored sandstone walls, and Serpent’s Trail, the original road into the park, known for its 16 switchbacks, once known as the "crookedest road in the world."  

Beyond the trails and overlooks, visitors can explore the monument’s landscape at a slower pace. Stop at the small Saddlehorn Visitor Center, featuring exhibits that trace the area’s geology and also delve into John Otto’s role as a preservationist. 

Nearby, Saddlehorn Campground is known as one of the best campsites in western Colorado for its incredible sunsets and dark skies for stargazing. Although not celebrated for its dense wildlife, the Colorado National Monument is home to various animals, such as desert bighorn sheep, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, coyotes, mule deer, rock squirrels, and collared lizards.

It may not receive the accolades that other canyonland parks receive, but Colorado National Monument is this area’s ‘heart of the world‘, according to Otto, a champion for the 32-square-mile gem, finally gaining national attention.