Main Route for Canyonlands / Four Corners -
Our recommended Main Route covers a loop mainly through southeast Utah and southwest Colorado (see the diagram at right), giving the visitor a balanced experience of beautiful high mountain country, the spectacular canyonlands, and outstanding Indian cultural sites. Again, many side trips off the Main Route are readily available to accomodate your special interests. The route is easily reached from the major cities described above. You can drive this route in a few days, but we'd suggest allowing a week. All of the places mentioned below are discussed in this travel guide.
The description of this route starts on I-70 at Grand Junction, Colorado, and goes counter-clockwise. Grand Junction is a small city, offering complete services and a variety of lodging. A good place to stop for the night camp would be at Colorado National Monument, west of town. The monument offers a variety of canyon country scenery and hiking trails.
Proceed west on I-70 into Utah. If you want to stop at Fisher Towers (featuring remote and exotic scenery) and travel the Colorado River Scenic Byway (steep, interesting canyon), leave the interstate at exit 202, and go south on UT-128. This will add several hours if you make stops. Otherwise, stay on I-70 west to exit 180, then go south on US-191 to visit Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. Be aware that the small national park campgrounds are not easy to get into. There are plentiful accommodations around Moab.
Expect to spend a full day or more touring Arches. The park is very busy in season, and getting around can be slow. There are many scenic pulloffs along the road as well as short walks to points of interest. However the hike to Delicate Arch is a "can't miss", and it will take most people a few hours round trip. The Fiery Furnace tour is also highly recommended and will take a couple of hours.
Canyonland's Island in the Sky District is roughly adjacent to Arches National Park. Leave US-191 and travel west on UT-313. Recreation (such as hiking and four wheel driving) here is rugged, time consuming, and requires some advance planning and in some cases permits. Such activities will consume more than one day, probably several. A drive through Island in the Sky and Dead Horse Point State Park will cover the spectacular vista points in a few hours.
Many guided activities can be obtained in Moab. The main ones would be white water rafting trips and jeep tours. Expect any guided tour to end up taking a full day. There are also good mountain biking opportunities around Moab.
Continuing south on US-191, turn west on UT-211 to enter the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. The Needles has more accessible recreation than the Island District. This includes both hiking and four wheel driving. A good (and extremely interesting) trail network allows for shorter day hikes. However there are no convenient vista points of the main canyons. (For spectacular vistas, including the famous Needles Overlook, enter the Canyon Rims Recreation Area off of US-191 about 10 miles north of UT-211.) To have a chance of getting a site at the very beautiful Needles campground, arrive very early in the day. Allow a full day to recreate here. If you are just driving through, skip the lengthy drive on UT-211, and visit the Needles Overlook instead.
Continue south on US-191 to Blanding. The Edge of the Cedars State Park is highly worthwhile if you are interested in Ancestral Puebloan culture. It includes an excellent museum as well as an excavated ruin site. There are many ancient artifacts on display at the museum. The Dinosaur Museum right in town is very entertaining. Expect to spend an hour or two at either place.
The most direct route to Monument Valley is south on US-191, then west on UT-163 (which becomes US-163). For the scenic route, travel west on UT-95 (the Trail of the Ancients), then south on UT-261 to US-163. There are numerous interesting stops along the way. They include:
- Butler Wash Ruins - two hours with some hiking required.
- Mule Canyon Ruins - an hour or less, a roadside stop.
- Natural Bridges National Monument - an hour or more to drive around, half a day if you take a hike.
- Grand Gulch Primitive Area - shortest day hike is a long, full day.
- Muley Point Overlook - a few minutes.
- Valley of the Gods - an hour or two to drive through.
- Goosenecks State Park - a half hour including the drive.
Expect to stay a full day at Monument Valley. To see the best attractions requires joining a guided tour. Gouldings Trading Post on the west side of US-163 has good lodging, camping, and tours. Expect the best photography to be very early or very late in the day.
From Monument Valley, proceed west on US-163 to Kayenta, Arizona, then east on US-160. If you are interested in cliff dwellings (and stunning scenery), a side trip south on US-191 to Canyon de Chelly is worthwhile. Access is by guided tour only but the tours in open six-wheel-drive trucks are excellent. This side trip would consume a full day. Continuing east on US-160, you pass the turnoff to Four Corners Monument. This is the site where the four states meet at one point. Note that an entrance fee is charged here.
At the junction of US-160 and US-491, you will find the Ute Mountain Tribal Visitor Center. The tribe offers guided tours into the Ute Mountain Tribal Park where you will find rock art and cliff dwellings in a very remote and unspoiled setting. The full day tour includes some very exciting but not overly strenuous hiking. This tour is extremely worthwhile.
Continuing east on US-160 in Colorado, you reach Mesa Verde National Park, site of the world's most famous cliff dwellings and a "can't miss" place. There are numerous ranger-guided and self-guided tours at the park, and some very exciting and scenic driving. The park has an excellent campground, and a very nice lodge with a good restaurant. Expect to stay two full days here to visit all the major points of interest. There are services, good accommodations, camping, and many restaurants in nearby Cortez.
From Mesa Verde, proceed east on US-160 to Durango. The "can't miss" attraction here is the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Reservations are advised for train tickets. We'd suggest taking the train from Durango to Silverton, then returning by the bus service - or have someone meet you by car. Most people have lunch in Silverton and spend a couple hours touring the town. Expect the excursion to take most of one day.
Proceed north on US-550, the Million Dollar Highway. The campground just north of Molas Divide is a beautiful place to stop. Plan to spend an hour or two in Silverton if you haven't done so already. If you have a four wheel drive, consider taking the Alpine Loop, CO-110, from Silverton to Ouray. This side trip will consume most of a day. North of Silverton, US-550 crosses the Red Mountain Pass at over 11,000 feet. The Red Mountain Mining District interpretive display just north of the pass is worth a brief stop.
The next town on US-550, Ouray, offers an excellent hot springs, a good break from driving. The short hike to Box Canyon is quite interesting, as is browsing the antique downtown area. Expect to stop here for a few hours. Continuing north, the highway offers more alpine scenery before dropping out of the mountains at Ridgway. From here, a very scenic one day side trip to the resort of Telluride is available by heading west on CO-62, then south on CO-145. Otherwise, a good stopping point would be Ridgway State Park which has an excellent campground. If you need a motel, proceed another 25 miles to Montrose.
From Montrose, a brief side trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is east on US-50. Expect to spend a couple hours. Otherwise, continue west on US-50 to reach Grand Junction, the starting point of this guide. Another worthy side trip is the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway. Proceed east from Delta on CO-92, then north on CO-65 to I-70, then west to Grand Junction. Expect to spend most of a day on this side trip. You may want to spend the night in this beautiful area.
Suggested itineraries from starting cities....
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