Mee Arches

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 10.2 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 5425 - 6293 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 4 hrs. 45 mins.
Trailhead: Rattlesnake Arches Road
Fee: none
Attractions: Natural arches

Mee Arches are a group of natural arches that are located along the rims of Mee Canyon in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area and the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Area near Grand Junction, Colorado. While fewer in number than the ever more popular group of arches in Rattlesnake Canyon they are well worth the time and effort to visit. Route finding can be difficult in places where no well established trails currently exist.

Rattlesnake Arches

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 6.2 - 8.2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5418 - 5856 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 4 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Rattlesnake Arches
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic arches and canyons
 

Rattlesnake Arches is located in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area near Grand Junction, Colorado. A trail leads from the parking area across a mesa for a half mile where it descends to a bench that it uses to travel around the cliffs until it is above Rattlesnake Canyon. In short order a series of 8 arches that are spread out over the next 1.2 miles begin appearing in the rose colored entrada sandstone cliffs above the bench. There is another arch, Window Rock Tower/Aztec Arch, that is a half mile away from the point where the trail first reaches the bench that can also be visited on the same trip.

Knowles Canyon

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 16-28 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 5024 - 6407 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 9 hrs.
Trailhead: Knowles Canyon
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic canyon, backpacking

The Knowles Canyon trail is located in the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Area near Grand Junction, Colorado. The trail begins near the end of B South Road where for the first 1.1 miles it travels around the foot of some small cliffs to a spot where it makes a short climb that takes it to higher ground and an old double track road. The trail follows the double track route for about 2.5 miles as it crosses the mesa and drops down a series of switchbacks. At the 3.6 mile point from the trailhead the trail leaves the double track, crosses a shallow wash and then climbs over higher ground to get to the point where the trail makes its steep descent into the main canyon. For this post we worked our way down the canyon for about 3 more miles from the drop in point before turning around. Backpackers have the option to continue all the way to the Colorado River for an epic 28 mile round trip journey.

Sieber Canyon - Lower

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 4.8 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 5860 - 6123 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 4 hrs.
Trailhead: B South Road
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs

Lower Sieber Canyon is located in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area near Grand Junction, Colorado. The canyon is close to but not part of the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Area. Hiking in the upper portion of the canyon is very primitive with no official trails to follow. This post follows a route that takes it down a slide to get around a giant spillover and into the main wash of the canyon where it continues for 1 mile to a panel of petroglyphs that cover about an one hundred foot section of cliff.

Kokopelli Trail - Loma Section

Rating: 
One-way Distance: 20.6 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 4401- 4989 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 5 hrs.
Trailhead: Kokopelli - Loma
Fee: none
Attractions: Epic trail

The Loma Section of the Kokopelli Trail stretches for 20.6 miles between the trailhead near Loma, Colorado and Rabbit Valley which is near the Colorado-Utah border. The Loma Section is the first leg of the 140 mile long Kokopelli trail that begins near Loma, Colorado and ends in Moab, Utah. Out of the 20.6 miles of the Loma Section 12.4 of it is singletrack with the rest being dirt and gravel roads.