Colorado National Monument: How to Spend 3 Hours Here

It seems like everyone is roadtripping to the national parks in Colorado.  Like, everyone!  But what about national monuments?  Colorado National Monument is quite the impressive hidden gem in western Colorado.

And while you might not have enough PTO to spend a whole day here, you should absolutely make time to stop here…even if it’s just for 3 hours.

So let’s dive into how you can spend 3 hours here!  We’ll discuss the cost, a great hike you can’t miss, and how to hit the highlights while roadtripping all over Colorado.  

Important Links

Colorado National Monument website

Saddlehorn Campground – Dry Camping Here

Know the Road – Rim Rock Drive

Shorter Hikes Here 

Longer Hikes Here 

Hiking Journal – Never Forget the Details of Your Favorite Hikes Again!

Camping Journal – Never Forget Your Camping Trips Details Again!

Fees

Like most national places, Colorado National Monument does have an entrance fee.  If you intend to just spend 3 hours here, this fee can seem a little steep.  However, I want you to remember that these places deserve to be protected for future generations and your fee goes straight to protecting this park.

Anyway, there are a couple different options for buying an entrance pass into Colorado National Monument.  

Types of Passes

Standard Pass – $25 – The standard pass will cover you and an entire car-full of visitors for up to 7 days.  So if you fall in love with this national monument, you can buy this pass and continue to return any time you want across a span of a week.  

Annual Pass – $45 – This pass ONLY makes sense if you plan to visit Colorado National Monument multiple times throughout the year.  This pass is only good for Colorado National Monument.  

America the Beautiful Pass – $80 – This pass is good for all national places (national parks, monuments, seashores, etc).  If you are planning on visiting 4+ national parks within 12 months this is the pass for you!  My husband and I have saved hundreds of dollars over 4 years by buying an America the Beautiful Pass each year.    

If you are in the planning stages of your trip, you can buy your pass here.  Again, I highly recommend the America the Beautiful Pass if you are planning on seeing more than 4 national places within a 12 month period.  

Location

Colorado National Monument is located in western Colorado, not too far from the Colorado-Utah state line.  From just about anywhere in western, Colorado, you can reach Colorado National Monument within 4 hours.

The Fruita Entrance is about a 30 minute drive from Palisade, CO, 1.5 hours from Moab, UT, and 4 hours from Durango, CO.    

Address: Saddlehorn Visitor Center 1750 Rim Rock Dr. Fruita, CO 81521

3 Hour Agenda

Colorado National Monument is pretty big with over 20,000 acres!  So sure, you could spend hours, days or even a week hiking/exploring here.  

However, if you are on a time crunch, here’s how you can spend about 3 hours here. 

For the Active Visitor

• Hour 1 and 2 – Hike the Monument Canyon Loop (5 miles loop) 
• Hour 2.5 – Drive Rim Rock Drive to Saddlehorn Visitor Center
• Hour 3 – Hike the Canyon Rim Trail to Book Cliffs View (1 mile out-and-back)

For the Driving Visitor

• Hours 1 – 3 – Drive the entirety of Rim Rock Drive (23 miles one-way)
• Be sure to stop at the Saddlehorn Visitor Center
• Stop at the MANY overlooks throughout Colorado National Monument

Whatever sort of visit you choose to have, you can easily spend 3 hours here and hit the highlights!  I personally would recommend taking the “Active Visitor” approach, since you’ll be able to see more of the park.

However, for those who come on a hot day, have little ones, or just don’t feel like hiking, Colorado National Monument is still an excellent place to spend half a day taking a scenic drive.

The Active Visitor

Let’s start with those of you who are taking the “Active Visitor” recommendation.  

The First 2 Hours

For the first 2 hours, you’ll be hiking the Monuments Canyon Loop.  You’re going to start at the Monument Canyon Trailhead parking lot and hike counter-clockwise.  The trail is about 5 miles long with 750 feet of elevation gain with an estimated completion time of 2 hours.  

Why counter-clockwise? This direction offers the best views of all the monuments.  And I highly recommend starting in the morning, as this will give you the best chance of seeing Big Horn Sheep.

Visitor Center and Rim Rock Road

Once you’ve completed the loop, you’ll head over to the Fruita Entrance of Colorado National Monument (a 4 minute drive).  You’ll drive on Rim Rock Road for about 12 minutes until you reach the Saddlehorn Visitor Center.  

While on Rim Rock Road, you’ll want to be cautious of cyclists.  This road is quite twisty-turny, and we saw many bikers biking along the narrow sections of the road.  On a positive note, there are several pull-offs that offer beautiful views along the way.

Once you reach the visitor center, there’s great information about the park and the road.  And of course there’s great souvenirs to check out as well.  

Once you’ve had your fill of the visitor center, follow the signs to the Canyon Rim Trail.  This trail is technically 2.8 miles out and back, but if you are on a time crunch, we just hiked to the 2 overlooks we could see (about a mile out and back).  

After you’ve hiked back to the visitor center, you’ve completed your 3 hours!  Now, you can either choose to stay longer, or head out the way you came and continue on.  

The Driving Visitor

If you’re taking the “Driving Visitor” recommendation, you’ll start by entering the park from the Fruita Entrance.  Once you’ve taken a photo of the Colorado National Monument entrance sign, you’ll pass the entrance gate (pay your fee or flash your pass) and start on Rim Rock Road.

You’ll drive through tunnels and you can stop at overlooks with beautiful views.  Around 4.5 miles is when you’ll come to the Saddlehorn Visitor Center.  If you are able to, I do highly recommend that you walk at least a portion of the Canyon Rim Trail.  This short trail starts behind the building and you can reach a beautiful view point about 0.5 miles into the trail.  

Once you’ve had your fill of the visitor center, you can continue driving this beautiful road.  I won’t spoil all the surprises, but this road is stunning!  

Remember to be on the look out for bikers, wildlife and of course drive the speed limit.  After you’ve made it through the entire length of the road, you’ll exit out the Grand Junction entrance.  From here you can continue on your merry way, or head back into the park for more adventures.  

Wait!  I Want More Than 3 Hours Here!

If you were as amazed as we were by Colorado National Monument, you can stay longer!  There are dozens of both short hiking trails and long hiking trails for you to explore (see important links above).  

You can even go dry camping here!  For just $22 per night, you can dry camp at Saddlehorn Campground and sleep under the stars.  

And if you are already planning on camping here, you’ll love checking out all the Peach Farms and Wineries of Palisade, CO.  With just a 30 minute drive you’ll find dozens of wineries where you can sip and explore.  There is also Colorado River State Park just up the road from the Fruita Entrance.

Our Experience

My husband and I didn’t have much time to spend in Colorado National Monument.  We were just passing through and we followed the “Active Visitor” agenda that I shared with you above.  

The hike was beautiful and the little bit of road we drove was jaw-dropping, and steep!  We truly wished we had had more time to explore and hike here, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us.  This time.

We hope to get back to Colorado National Monument one day, but for now, we have lovely memories and several beautiful pictures of this place.

Conclusion

From the stunning rock structures, to the excellent hiking, and of course the impressive Rim Rock Road, you can’t miss Colorado National Monument!  Even if you only have 3 hours to spend here, you’re going to love it!

As always, feel free to reach out to averagewildexperience@gmail.com with any questions and I’ll do my best to help.

-Happy Hiking!