Otto's Wall

Rating: 

One-way Distance: 3 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 9,006 - 9,865 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 2 hrs. (hiking)
Trailhead: Shirttail Point
Fee: none
Attractions: Epic plunge

Otto's Wall is the 3 mile section of the 33.8 mile long Palisade Plunge trail, near Grand Junction, Colorado, that runs from Shirttail Point to where the trail crosses the Lands End Road. From the edge of the Grand Mesa the trail plunges down a tightly packed set of switchbacks where it loses 600 feet of elevation before traveling a single mile. Prior to 1920 John Otto blasted the route into the sheer face of the basalt rim of the mesa over which he dry laid the upper portion of the trail. The original trail, that was named the Wild Rose Trail, fell out of use when a rockfall took out several of the switchbacks.

Palisade Plunge - Mesa Top

Rating: 
One-way Distance: 11.6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 9,865 - 10,735 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 2 hrs.
Trailhead: Mesa Top
Fee: none
Attractions: Forested singletrack

The Palisade Plunge is a 33.8 mile long trail that begins at an elevation of 10,735 feet on top of the Grand Mesa, in the Grand Mesa National Forest, near Grand Junction, Colorado, and ends in the town of Palisade where the elevation is closer to 4,700 feet. This post covers the first 11.6 miles that begins at the Mesa Top trailhead and stretches across the mesa to the Shirttail trailhead that is at the edge of the mesa near the Lands End Observatory.

Palisade Plunge MP 14.7 - 19.1

Rating: 
One-way Distance: 4.5-17 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 8017 - 9027 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 2 hrs. 45 mins.
Trailhead: Lands End Road
Fee: none
Attractions: Long downhill

This post covers a hike of the first 4.5 mile stretch of the Palisade Plunge trail that begins at the Lands End Road and ends in the Sink Creek drainage. The first couple miles of the trail mostly follows what was previously the Whitewater Basin trail. This portion of the Palisade Plunge starts out traveling through an aspen and pine forest with a mix of oak brush that transitions into pinion and junipers as the elevation drops. Near Cliff Lake Reservoir there are patches of chokecherries and redcurrants as well as willows and even one or two elm and cottonwood trees.

Glacier Springs Cutoff

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 9,847 - 10,030 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 1 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Glacier Springs
Fee: $5 Day Use
Attractions: Forest hike

The Glacier Springs Cutoff trail is located in the Mesa Lakes area of the Grand Mesa National Forest near Grand Junction, Colorado. Beginning at the Glacier Springs Picnic Area the cutoff trail travels through the forest for 1 mile to where it meets up with the Rim View trail and comes to an end. (The Rim View trail is a renamed section of what was part of the Deep Creek trail.)