Grand Circle Gateway
Cities
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Denver and Grand Junction are gateway cities to Grand Circle canyonlands, rugged mountains and ancient Indian ruins in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah.
Founded in 1881, Grand Junction
is surrounded with spectacular scenery of the Rocky Mountains
and the history of the dinosaurs. Long before humans walked the
earth, Grand Junction was home to the largest dinosaurs in North
America. Visit active dinosaur quarries or see lifelike robotic
replicas at the Dinosaur To the west of Grand Junction on Interstate 70 are the red rock cliffs and sandstone canyons of the Colorado National Monument; to the east, less than an hour away, are the spruces, mountain wildflowers and 300 lakes of the Grand Mesa National Forest. While in Grand Junction, explore the area's two scenic byways, raft the Colorado River or savor a taste of Colorado at one of the area's 14 local wineries. To the west of Grand Junction is one of the most spectacular bike trails, the 128 mile Kokopelli's Trail through the canyonlands of Utah and Colorado. Or drive west on Interstate 70 and 191 south to Moab, Utah the tourist center for southeastern Utah. This is the base for exploring Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dead Horse Point State Park and the La Sal Mountains. Called the "mountain bike capital of the world", Moab challenges even experienced mountain bikers with the Moab Slickrock Bike Trail. The area's incredible red rock cliffs, stunning rock formations and desert scenery has also made this town a mecca for movie making from John Wayne to Indiana Jones. Visitors to the one-of-a-kind Hollywood Stuntman's Hall of Fame Museum in Moab can watch film clips of some of the industry's most amazing stunts and see the equipment that was used. Four miles north of Moab is Arches National Park with the world's largest concentration of sandstone arches. Created by years of erosion from freezing and thawing from Entrada Sandstone, more than 1,500 arches have been counted and new ones are continuing to form. Stop at the visitor center and learn about the park's geology, history and wildlife. There's a 21 mile paved road with scenic attractions and unusual rock formations along the way. However, the best way to see Arches is to hike its many trails. At the end of the paved road is the five mile Devil's Garden Trail which leads to seven arches, including Landscape Arch, the world's longest natural span. One of the most scenic hikes in the park is to its most famous arch, Delicate Arch, with a span that is 45 feet high and 33 feet wide. It is the arch that is now featured on the new Utah license plate. The three mile round trip hike to Delicate Arch starts at the historic Wolfe Ranch. The quarter-mile short walk to Double Arch is easy enough for young children. The turnoff to Dead Horse Point and the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park is at Utah 313, just six miles north of the Arches National Park on US 191. The highway leads up a high desert plateau then deadends with one roadway leading to Dead Horse Point State Park and the other to Canyonlands Island in the Sky District. The first stop is Dead Horse Point State Park where cowboys used to herd wild horses by fencing off the narrow neck of land that connects the point with the rest of the plateau. Considered the most spectacular state park in the Utah system, Dead Horse State Park, perched 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, provides exceptional views of Canyon country. The park has a visitor center, campground, hiking and nature trails. The Colorado and Green Rivers meet in Canyonlands and emerge as the Colorado River. The largest and most undeveloped of Utah's National Parks, Canyonlands was established in 1964. Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior under President Kennedy, decided this area should be a national park when he first toured it by plane to survey a proposed dam site. The park is divided into three distinct sections: Island of the Sky, the Maze and the Needles. Though there are few paved roads, air tours, hiking trails, four-wheel drive roads, and river rafting are all ways to experience this vast and remote land. One of the most expansive views of the park is >from Grand View Point in the Island of the Sky District. Crater View Trail is an easy one mile hike to the unusual rock formation, Upheaval Dome, that's in a crater three miles across and 1,200 feet deep. Continue the Grand Circle tour by heading south on US 191 and west to Utah 211 to visit Newspaper Rock on Bureau of Land Management land and see sandstone petroglyphs spanning 1,000 years of civilization. South on US 191 is Monticello located just east of the Abajo Mountains. The Needles District of Canyonlands and the daring four-wheel drive Elephant Hill loop "road" are nearby. It's only 21 miles from Monticello to Blanding and Edge of the Cedars State Park. This park contains ruins of Anasazi pueblos which were occupied from 750 A.D. to 1220 A.D. The state museum traces the history and culture of the area from the prehistoric Indians to early pioneers and has one of the most extensive collections of Anasazi pottery. Just 40 miles west of Blanding on Utah 95 is Natural Bridges National Monument. There are three impressive rock bridges which can be seen from scenic overlooks and hiking trails from the eight mile paved loop road. South on Utah 261 is Mexican Hat, the town that's named after a nearby rock that looks like an upside-down sombrero. Goosenecks State Park and Valley of the Gods are nearby. Valley of the Gods takes after its more famous cousin, Monument Valley. A 17 mile dirt road winds through the dramatic landscape. Four miles north of Mexican Hat is Goosenecks State Park with a vertical view down 1000 feet to the twisting San Juan River. The consecutive ribbon candy "s" turns in the San Juan River so closely spaced that it takes the river six miles to cover an "as the crow flies" distance of 1.5 miles. This is the longest "entrenched river meander" on the North American continent. From Mexican Hat, take US 163 east to Bluff, US 191 north and Utah 262 east to Hovenweep National Monument, to appreciate the masonry skills and architecture of the Anasazi. Hovenweep, a Ute Indian word meaning "deserted valley", protects six villages abandoned more than 750 years ago by the Anasazi. The site's occasional square towers are especially intriguing as the Anasazi usually constructed round rock towers. Were they built as observatory sites? Or for defense against other tribes? Archaeologists don't know the answer, but more can be learned about these ancient people of the Four Corners area at Mesa Verde National Park just 100 miles east of Hovenweep. Mesa Verde is located ten miles east of Cortez on US 160. Acknowledged internationally as one of the largest and most preserved ruins of an ancient civilization, Mesa Verde is a must see for anyone interested in knowing about the Anasazi culture. This area was an important trading center for Anasazi throughout the Four Corners and, at its peak, had as many as 5,000 people living in pueblos. By AD 1200, the Anasazi had such advanced masonry skills that they replaced pit houses with multi-story pueblos into the cliffs. One of the best known is Cliff Palace with more than 200 rooms and 23 kivas. Ruins Road provides the main access to the park. Far View Lodge offers unique dining and lodging accommodations and spectacular views of the mesa and mountains to the southwest. The Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores and Cortez Center in Cortez are other places to visit to gain further insight into the heritage and culture of the Anasazi. For a "hands on" experience, the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center offers archaeological vacations for people who want to participate in an on-site dig. From Mesa Verde continue east on US 160 to Durango. Situated between sandstone canyons and the San Juan Mountains, the city offers outstanding year-round recreation from river running, mountain biking, hiking, fishing and four-wheel driving. During the winter the San Juan National Forest has some of the best cross country skiing in Colorado. The most popular attraction is the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR to the mining town of Silverton. Durango is also one of the best places to start the 236 mile San Juan Skyway drive, recognized as one of the most scenic drives in the country. >From Durango head north on Interstate 550 to Silverton and into Ouray, "The Little Switzerland of America". To complete this scenic route continue west and south to Telluride and back to Cortez or follow US 550 and 50 north back to Grand Junction.
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From Denver take Interstate 70
west 258 miles to Grand Junction or fly into the Grand
Junction's Walker Field Airport. It is the largest airport in
the state west of Denver, has connecting flights to Denver, Salt
Lake City and Phoenix and is serviced by four major airlines as
well as Amtrak.
