The little book cliffs wild horse area grand junction. People on the front range make monthly pilgrimages to this epic spot for desert camping and mountain biking. This is an awesome stretch of blm land about five miles from the city with views of the book cliffs. The distinctive formations offer plenty of hiking, camping and more. The city of grand junction is located in the grand valley at the confluence of the gunnison and colorado rivers.
The tellerico trail is located in the little book cliffs wild horse range north of grand junction, colorado. From grand junction take i70 east to the cameo exit. Many times these concretions are quite fossiliferous while others contain beautiful crystals of barite andor calcite. The bookcliffs define the skyline of grand junction.
Find unique places to stay with local hosts in 191 countries. The elevations listed above are a little deceiving. Home to wild horses, theres always something new to see or do in the bookcliffs. Rome2rio makes travelling from book cliffs to grand junction easy. Its generally accepted this area begins in the west on the wasatch plateau near the town of price and comes to a gradual conclusion out east in the arid canyons just north of grand junction, co.
Friends of the mustang friends of the mustang is a very active and sociable group of horsemen. Main canyon, coal canyon, cottonwood canyon and spring canyon. Little bookcliffs wild horse area,debeque, colorado. Nearby, millions of acres of public lands overflow with forest and mountain campsites. Camping for free is generally referred to as dispersed camping, which is camping in approved areas other than campgrounds. The best ive seen that included both dispersed camping and. National forests hold most of the free camping in colo rado, followed up by blm land bureau of land management. The uintah and ouray indian reservation is on the west side of the book cliffs. Free camping in colorado how to find primitive dispersed.
The 30 best campgrounds near grand junction, colorado. Home to wild horses, theres always something new to. The desert mountains and cliffs that make up the bookcliffs also sometimes spelled book cliffs stretch almost 200 miles across western colorado and eastern utah. Dispersed camping is permitted throughout the area however north fruita desert campground offers 35 sites, each with a picnic table, fire ring, paved parking, vault toilets and direct access to a popular mountain bike trail system. You can simply use your smart phones gps to find camping near you or even use our trip planner to plan your route from coast to coast our community provides the best free camping.
North fruita desert recreation area colorado motorcycle. A nodule where a pocket of barite and calcite crystals may have been found, in the book cliffs area. No overnight camping is being allowed at a campground in eastern utahs book cliffs after a black bear broke into two unoccupied camping trailers. In the book cliffs, you dont follow a set trail like almost everywhere else instead, you choose a basic direction northwest, for example and just keep picking one of the three. This is a great place to hike, especially in the spring and fall when the weather is mild and the horses are readily seen. Twenty minutes east of grand junction, the small town of palisade on colorado s western slope is best known for their fresh produce, local wineries, and scenic hikingbiking trails. Camping, hiking, horseback riding and hunting are permitted throughout the wild horse range.
The best grand junction camping of 2020 with prices. The canyon is located a few miles east of mount garfield and is easily accessible from i70 the main interstate from denver to utah. The book cliffs appear mostly along the southern and western edge of the tavaputs plateau. Bookcliff campground at highline lake state park west of grand junction is one of the best and most popular summer camping areas on colorados western slope. Jan 09, 2016 blm site in grand junction colorado right below the bookcliff mountains.
Approximately 250 yards away from the parking area, look towards the northfacing cliffs just above the road. The longest trail in little book cliffs wilderness study area is ute a wellknown trail measuring 11. The book cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western colorado and eastern utah, in the western united states. Offroad jeep atv information for grand junction, colorado. You can simply use your smart phones gps to find camping near you or even use our trip planner to plan your route from coast to coast. These four larger systems are also accompanied by many smaller side canyons. If these spaces are full, continue north around the bend to the window rock trail parking area and use the window rock trail to connect down to the canyon rim trail. The wild horse area is characterized by four major canyon systems falling to gentle sloping plateaus covered in sagebrush and pinon juniper. We hope that our website highlights the wide variety of worship, fellowship and service opp. Nestled between the book cliffs and the colorado national monument, grand junction is the largest city between denver and salt lake. After a couple of miles there is a large parking lot with trailhead signs for hiking. Welcome, and thank you for visiting bookcliff baptist church online. The little book cliffs wilderness study area is characterized by gentlysloping plateaus, various small canyons, and four major canyon systems. Stretching 200 miles from grand junction, colorado to central utah, the book cliffs are the worlds largest continuous escarpment.
Grand junction is lobbying for the new site for the blm headquarters, a process now underway. Felix suggests indian park as the best place for viewing horses. Arizona 6 colorado 947 new mexico 45 utah 532 nevada 27 wildflowers. And an enterprising person can easily string together their own loop in the cnm. In grand junction, they define the regions impressive skyline and offer plenty of opportunities for outdoor fun and recreation. The book cliff mines were coal mines located near grand junction, colorado, united states. This geological wonder cuts through beautiful desert terrain and parallels steep canyons and raging rivers, making it a yearround destination for scenic viewing, hiking, camping and rafting below. Between price, utah and grand junction, colorado, highway 6 and interstate 70 cross 170 miles of barren and windswept terrain. Beginning near helper, utah, and joined at green river, utah, by a second escarpment, the roan cliffs, the 2,000foot 610metre tall mountain wall, winds a 250mile 400km course along the tavaputs and roan plateaus, ending near grand junction, colorado. There are many lines up the book cliffs in grand junction, co. Baryte and calcite found in concretions ranging from a half an inch to over 6 feet with some concretions in a linear configuration, up to the size of a sedansaloon.
Rome2rio is a doortodoor travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Cross the colorado river and drive past the public service power plant. The little book cliffs wild horse area, grand junction. Bookcliff mountain bike trail in grand junction, colorado. Grand junction is a topnotch adventure town outside online. The nearby book cliffs that make up grand junctions magnificent northern skyline are a series of cretaceous sandstone mountains and cliffs. Stretching 200 miles from grand junction, colorado to central utah. These colorado cliffs look like books on a shelf outthere. See more ideas about grand junction, grand junction colorado, colorado. Digging into the pocket of a nodule in the book cliffs area, working hard trying not to damage any crystals. Little book cliffs wild horse area hma bureau of land. Grand valley blm orv area grand junction, colorado. Best trails in little book cliffs wilderness study area. The little book cliffs wild horse area if spectacular wildlife sightings are on your bucket list, the little book cliffs wild horse area is the place for you.
The area begins about 50 air miles south of vernal, utah and extends south to the book cliffs divide. Directions there are two routes to access the little bookcliffs wsa. Truthfully, this area is more of a car camping area with some nice day hikes. Bookcliff is a doubletrack mountain bike trail in grand junction, colorado. Small country farms, orchards burgeoning with fruit, winemakers busy at their craft and chefs stirring it up. The area is especially popular in the spring and fall, when mountain trails are still covered in snow and the desert isnt too hot. Your guide to the grand junction bookcliffs rmhp blog. Delta county features playgrounds from 4,000 ft to 11,000 ft. The book cliffs are a range of eroding, steepsloping cliffs, also called escarpments. The mancos formation and its stratigraphic equivalent to the east known as the pierre shale, often contain concretions. Youll want to camp with the cool kids on 18 road, also known as the book cliffs. Whether you have offroad toys, such as mountain bikes or atvs, or if you just want a relaxing evening or weekend away, youll find what youre looking for.
Beginning in the floor of the valley the trail follows a route that leads to the top of the little books cliffs near corcoran point. This small area is known as the, little book cliffs and includes the western slopes famous peak, mt. The area is specifically designated for wild horses, so wild horse habitat is the primary concern here. The drive would be lonely but for a constant companion. Spectacular canyons cut deep into sandstone, and even granitegneissschist, rock formations. Looking for a local nursery and landscaping company in the grand junction, co area.
The little book cliffs wild horse area grand junction 2020 all. I agree that this camping location is convenient to grand junction and that the stars and sunsets are beautiful. Just eight miles northeast of grand junction, the little book cliffs wild horse area encompasses more than 36,000 acres of rugged canyons and plateaus. The size of the area, and difficult terrain, can make it a very challenging place to hunt. Located just eight miles northeast of grand junction, the area, spanning more than 36,000 acres, is home to 90 to 150 mustangs, including palominos, paints, grays, blacks, bays, sorrels. Excellent opportunities exist for solitude and unconfined. Whether you just need to know where to camp nearby or you want to plan a free camping road trip, weve got you covered. Water is not available and shade is limited so come prepared. The nearby island acres campground in colorado river state park used to be the closest place for rvers in town until november 2017 when a 14acre resort opened to the public only a mile from the. Hiking, camping, and wild horses near grand junction. Cross over the colorado river and continue on the dirt road good for all cars. The compact campground, sitting at the southwest corner of 160acre highline lake, offers 31 shaded and grassy campsites for tents, rvs, and trailers. Bookcliff campground and highline lake state park make perfect base camps for exploring the grand valley area, including grand junction, colorado national.
They are so named because the cliffs of cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the southfacing buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. To the west is the colorado national monument, a little grand canyon of red rock formations, steep dropoffs and high vantage points, including the 23mile rimrock drive. By the time grand junction was three years old, it had become apparent to its citizens that they needed a good coal supply if the town were to grow and prosper. Book cliffs geological feature, utah, united states. Red rock buttes rise above the colorado river, calling to hikers, bikers, and climbers. Experience the majesty of the american west in grand junction, a small city in western colorado. I70 and u s highways 50 and 6 link grand junction with the state and the nation. The bookcliffs, which border grand junction, define our regions skyline and offer plenty of. To the east is the grand mesa with lakes, forests, a scenic byway and terrific fallcolor displays. The trail system and associated camping provide great opportunities to experience the diverse terrain of the desert environment along the base of the bookcliffs. The little book cliffs wild horse range is located in northwest colorado, about 8 miles northeast of grand junction. Part of the southern edge of this wsa is dominated by the 2,000foothigh face of the book cliffs.
Little book cliffs area 22 big wash round trip distance. Find all the transport options for your trip from book cliffs to grand junction right here. Wild horses captivate at little book cliffs grand junction. Chenoweth, geological consultant, grand junction, colorado publication. We chose this one because it was close and seemed step. Bookcliff campground at highline lake state park west of grand junction is one of the best and most popular summer camping areas on colorado s western slope. Grand junction, colorado campground grand junction koa. In town, rv parks with full hookups sit near vineyards and golf courses. When you come to the dirt road continue another mile. Book cliffs to grand junction 2 ways to travel via taxi. The area is strewn with litter of all types, but mostly the type that was used as a shooting target first. Main canyon in the little bookcliffs wild horse area is a part of the main book cliffs range extending from the western colorado, to the eastern utah.
Grand junction and the colorado national monument have become an essential place for offroad, onroad, and bicycling events. Mountain bike the book cliffs, north fruita desert campground. This is an area of desert land high on the colorado plateau, with pinion and juniper forests on the plateau. They could do a lot better job with this particular piece of land, the closest to the current office. The little book cliffs wild horse area consists of 36,1 acres of public lands characterized by gentle sloping plateau dissected by four major canyon systems main, coal, cottonwood and spring canyons with many side canyons.
A word of warning though, this is not a pristine camping location. Little book cliffs wilderness study area has 17 trails in the vicinity, including 16 hiking trails, for trail running and 14 for other activities. A hidden gem hubby and i were looking for a nice easy hike since we spent a whole day on the top of the. Another scenic option just 30 minutes from downtown is the saddlehorn campground in colorado national monument.
Book cliffs, geological feature of eastcentral utah and western colorado, u. Much of the range is accessible by foot and fourwheeldrive vehicle. Free tent and rv camping is easy to come by, as long as you know where to look. Monument canyon colorado national monument locally referred to as the monument is a national park service unit near the city of grand junction, colorado. The viewing platform is right in front of a small pulloff parking area for the book cliffs view. Located east of grand junction, this area has nice canyons, a network of trails and sparsely used jeep roads. The trail is located off of exit 46 on i70, the cameo exit east of grand junction and palisade. Hiking trails in the grand junction, colorado and surrounding area. This small area is known as the, little book cliffs and. You can walk up to the panel that contains a camellike figure and a handful of other figures and shapes. Camping closed at utahs book cliffs because of bears. View grand junctions wild horses visit grand junction. The book cliffs area is an exceptional trophy elk and mule deer unit. Complete information about bookcliff campground in or near loma, colorado.