Check out this site for some other good trail routes in the area:
http://www.myxj.net/blog/tabeguache-4x4-trail/
Check out this site for some other good trail routes in the area:
http://www.myxj.net/blog/tabeguache-4x4-trail/
MVUM for the area
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5428230.pdf
I"ve been up on the Uncompahgre Plateau quite a few times when I lived in Grand Junction. The roads are not technically difficult, but the scenery is great and pretty remote overall. We rarely saw another vehicle that wasn't on Divide Road. Divide Road is a wide graded road that is largely passenger car worthy, but there are many, many 4wd side roads worth exploring.
We liked do a day trip that started at Cactus Park off of Hwy 141, climbs up over Horse Mesa, down into Dominguez Canyon (a good lunch spot), and cut over to Escalante Canyon via some smaller two track forest roads (I don't know if they are still open as this was 5 to 10 years ago). Then out Escalante Canyon back to Hwy 50 just northwest of Delta, CO. There are a lot of old cabins and history stuff to explore in Escalante Canyon, too. It's cool to go from the desert terrain at lower elevations, to the more alpine like areas at higher elevations (range is from 4500ft - 95000ft).
We also explored some of the old uranium mining areas on the west side of the Plateau, descending down into Gateway, CO.
I love the drier, more desert western Colorado!
Geoff
BillAllenJKU (January 14th, 2014),Java (January 4th, 2014),Tom (January 4th, 2014)
Rattlesnake and Mee Canyon hikes
Big Dominguez Canyon
both at the north end of the UP
Finally got to see this area- we went to Grand Junction for 3 days and after hiking East Creek we drove down 141 to check out the Uncompahgre Plateau. We only drove 10 minutes into it, I don't want to see too much of it before we actually explore it, but from the little we saw I am totally sold. Even now, in the "busy" time, we saw two trucks hauling ATVs and no one else. We also did Big Dominguez Canyon which is now a "top 10" hike of mine, hope to have a video done this week.
This is the drive from East Creek to Divide Road:
Here's our hike at East Creek:
Jim (October 20th, 2014)
Big Dominguez Canyon, our first adventure on the Uncompahgre Plateau and one of the best hikes I've ever done. I can't wait to explore this area.
Jim (October 21st, 2014)
Edited version of Big Dominguez Canyon:
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If anyone is interested in this area I recently got this book : http://www.amazon.com/Uncompahgre-A-.../dp/1890437069
Its great, both anecdotal and well researched, basically covers all the points of interest along Divide road and Escalante Canyon.
Ordered, thanks!
just did this, highly recommend it. It's the best dirt road in Colorado, IMO. Its almost 90 miles non-stop, 2wd straight through, incredible views, some shelf sections, lots of heavily wooded parts. The enviroment changes as you go, I think the Grand Junction side is prettier but it's all Colorado. More camping and trails than I could count. Cows everywhere! I'll post pics and video soon.
Started on 90 in Montrose, to old 90, to Divide road / 402 to 141 near Grand Junction. Divide Road is the main road over the plateau, everything else connects off it. We also did a lot of Grand Mesa, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Marble, Blue Mesa, Salida, and a great surprise home today from Salida- CR 175 to 1B / 53 Badger Creek up to Highway 9. Great road, some of it is slow shelf right outside of Salida, some nasty washboards, and other parts were up to 50 mph on flat dirt with nothing around for miles. 494 miles, one flat tire and one super tired dog. I'll post all of it up eventually...