Colorado - Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument is located in Mesa County of western Colorado, high on the Colorado Plateau. It was established in 1911 to protect 20,000 acres of beautiful landscape, vegetation, and wildlife. The park encompasses multiple canyons, each with unique cliffs and sandstone monoliths. The largest one, Monument Canyon, includes fascinating rock formations such as a 5,739-foot-tall sandstone pillar called Independence Monument, a linear set of pillars called Coke Ovens, and the 400-foot-high tower known as Kissing Couple. In addition, the park includes pinyon and juniper forest and hosts a wide range of wildlife, including red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, ravens, jays, desert bighorn sheep, and coyotes. There are many trails worth exploring and a paved road called Rim Rock Drive, which winds along the plateau providing excellent viewpoints and access to trailheads.

Beach Cave Desert Glacier Hot springs Forest Lake River Seeside Waterfall Wildlife

Bird watching Camping Dune bashing Fishing Horseback riding Landscape photography Nature trips Offroad riding Rock climbing Rock crawling Scenic drives Skiing Water sports Wildlife Wildlife photography

Looking for great locations for landscape and wildlife photography?

Photospotfinder can help you identify the best places to photograph landscape and wildlife.

Please log in to access all features, including an interactive map of photo locations and associated photo spots. Login

}