De Beque, Colorado

RIfle Falls is located up Rifle Canyon just outside of the town of Rifle on I-70 in Southern Colorado. After driving by the sign for this gem many times on my drives from Utah to Colorado I made a short detour to check out the falls and have some lunch.The state park is small with a some short tr...

Rifle Falls State Park is situated just 14 miles north east of major Colorado highway I-70. The park offers a wide variety of activities including hiking, fishing, biking, photography, camping, and spelunking (for the especially adventurous).There are several trails at Rifle Falls, the most popul...

This short loop trail starts and ends at Mesa Lakes Lodge, it is a little less than 2 miles round trip. From the lodge, we walked up the road towards our cabin (Bear cabin). Just past the cabin a trail starts that skirts the edge of the first lake and then winds around a few other lakes (Mesa Lak...

To do the entire 26-mile float, put in at the Loma River access, several miles west of Fruita and just a short drive from I-70. From the Loma access there is no other easy access point until 26 miles later, at Westwater in Utah.Once on the water you will be able to relax and enjoy the beautiful s...

Despite being one of the largest flat-top mountains in the world, Grand Mesa sees far fewer visitors than other areas of Colorado. Locals only an hour away in Grand Junction frequent the area for its plentiful fishing, camping, and off-roading opportunities, but few take advantage of its photogra...

If you're looking to backpack outside of the highly publicized areas of Colorado (aka the Rockies), head out to Western CO for some amazing experiences. Located 4 hours west of Denver along I-70 is the McInnis Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA). Overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM...

Put simply, Rattlesnake Arches is home to some of the most beautiful views you'll ever experience in the United States. This portion of the Rattlesnake Arches Trail follows along the upper rim of the canyon and allows you to experience 9 total arches within about 2 miles of hiking. The hike along...

Driving through Colorado National Monument was very easy and gorgeous. Very scenic drive with many lookouts to stop at. Every lookout has a spot to park and you can just jump out and photograph the book cliffs and canyons. I stopped at almost all of the lookouts and they are all breathtaking. I d...

Ute Canyon Trail is a mostly undeveloped 4.3 mile trail (8.6 round trip) in Colorado National Monument that offers technical descents, route finding, water crossings, and gorgeous red rock walls. The trailhead is just a few miles off I-70 from the town of Fruita—it's well worth the trip. Remember...

The trail is adjacent to an active dinosaur quarry, and while there were no scientists at work while we were there, apparently you can see paleontologists at work in the spring and summer.Take the interpretive trail up towards the small mesa and check out the signs pointing out fossils along the ...

This area is one of my favorites. Rabbit Valley is a great place with all kinds of activities available. Mainly we mountain bike here, but we have hiked and explored the canyons as well. There are traces of Native Americans that lived in the area hundreds of years ago, even a small arch too.From ...

If you're looking to take your first backpacking adventure, but want something that is manageable yet thrilling, this is what you're looking for. Located along the Gunnison River in Western Colorado, the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation area is easy to access yet full of adventure and be...