The Potholes

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5458 - 5490 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: n/a
Trailhead: Potholes Recreation Site
Fee: none
Attractions: swimming, camping

The Potholes is a popular summer cooling off place that is in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area between Delta and Grand Junction, Colorado.

For turn-by-turn directions enter Potholes Recreation Site into your driving app. After turning off of US-50 it is 11.7 miles to the Potholes Campground. The well maintained gravel road is normally suitable for most highway vehicles.

After turning into the campground head toward the kiosk that is at the west end of the recreation site. The kiosk mentions the ages of 8 people that have lost their lives at the potholes.

To the right of the kiosk there is a primitive campsite. There are trails on both sides of this campsite that lead down to the creek. The trail on the right is the better of the two.

This is the trail on the left of the campsite. It is slightly more rugged but still gets you there.

Near the foot of the trail there is a memorial for someone who died way too young at the Potholes.

This photo was taken during spring runoff when the water and air temperature is much too cold for swimming. During the warm summer months the water drops considerably. The area upstream from where the trail descends the hill becomes a nice wading area for younger, well supervised, kids.

The polished precambrian granite becomes extremely slippery as you can imagine.

Diving and/or jumping from rocks, shore, or any other means into the water is prohibited. The trailhead kiosk illustrates the dangerous water hydraulics that take place in the potholes, especially during periods of high flow.

Several picnic ramadas and a handful of primitive campsites are provided for visitors at the Potholes. There are also some very nice primitive campsites along this portion of Escalante Creek that can accommodate RVer's and tent campers.

The Potholes should be avoided whenever thunderstorms are present, either in the area or on top of the Uncompahgre Plateau, or after such events when the current is running swift.

If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.