Travel: Explore Colorado canyon country

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

The somewhat secret arches of western Colorado

Crown Arch in western Colorado’s Mee Canyon.

All photos by Stan Wagon

SUMMIT COUNTY — Utah may get all the press when it comes to natural sandstone arches, but Colorado has an impressive collection of its own. In fact, the sandstone plateaus and canyons southwest of Grand Junction, near Colorado National Monument, have one of the greatest collections of natural stone arches, centered around Rattlesnake and Mee canyons.

Part-time Summit County resident, explorer and snow sculptor extraordinaire Stan Wagon treks to the canyons each spring, avoiding the more trodden ground around Moab to explore some of Colorado’s wildest backcountry. As a Summit Voice contributor, Wagon has frequently shared his adventures with readers here. You can read about last year’s arches excursion, and get more information on the area in this Summit Voice story. More specific information on access and locations are at this page on Wagon’s website.

This year’s photo essay features some amazing wildlife photography in addition to the stunning photos of the arches, so please read on and visit Wagon’s Utah web page for much more. (more…)

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Sunday travel: Arch hunting in Colorado

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

The canyon country near Grand Junction, Colorado features one of the highest concentration of sandstone arches outside Arches National Park, with fewer people and no entry fee. (All photos copyright Stan Wagon.)

Crown Arch, near Grand Junction, Colorado.

Crown Arch, near Grand Junction, Colorado, is one of a collection of arches in the rugged canyons of western Colorado, near Grand Junction. PHOTO BY STAN WAGON.

Summit County resident and desert explorer Stan Wagon and his wife, Joan Hutchinson, recently spent a few days exploring some of the more obscure arches in the canyonlands outside Grand Junction.The area they visited is near Rattlesnake Canyon, with a reputation for having one of the highest concentration of those stunning rock formations outside Arches National Park. See more on this area with this link to Wagon’s website.

Story and photos by Stan Wagon
“Our explorations began May 13 with a hike on the Boy Scout trail in Glenwood Springs, and then with a trek to West Rim Arch, also known as Finger Arch, on the west side of Rattlesnake Canyon, opposite to the more famous series of arches.

“This arch is as spectacular as any over there, and fun to find. Here are UTM coordinates in the 1983 system. (Be very careful: The topo map uses the 1927 system, and I often forget that. Coordinates for the West Rim Arch: UTM 1983 = Zone 12; 686294 E; 4333134 N. There is a new Trails Illustrated/National Geographic map of the area, and that lists this arch with latitude/longitude coordinates. (more…)

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