Grand Junction Included in New York Times List: “52 Places to Go in 2023”
The only Colorado city to make the list is our very own Grand Junction! Why? A bonanza of canyons, arches and cliffs, without the hordes of tourists
Click here to view the full article from the New York Times.
On Colorado’s Western Slope, arid Grand Junction offers attractions similar to those of Moab, Utah, the gateway to Arches National Park, without the throngs.
The area around the Colorado alternative has the second-largest concentration of natural arches in the country in Rattlesnake Canyon, where some 35 sandstone spans are part of the roughly 123,700-acre McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, reachable via off-road vehicle or a strenuous 14-mile round-trip trek. More convenient hiking trails in the Colorado National Monument — where geologic uplift and erosion formed monoliths of the same Entrada sandstone found at Arches — lie within about 10 minutes of town.
The 2021 opening of the Palisade Plunge adds a 32-mile descent — from the world’s largest flat-topped mountain, 10,000-foot Grand Mesa, down to the Colorado River — to the area’s biking challenges. All trails lead back to downtown Grand Junction, filled with shops, craft breweries, locavore restaurants and wine-tasting rooms from area vineyards.
— Elaine Glusac
Photo: @adamsmithphotographywi
Other Accolades…
Grand Junction was also included in Travel Lemming’s online article titled "50 Best Places to Travel in 2023". Only two destinations in Colorado were mentioned - Grand Junction and Crested Butte.
