Devil's Canyon D3 Trail

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 5.8 - 7 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 4600 - 5245 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 3 hrs.
Trailhead: Devil's Canyon
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic canyon, cowboy line shack

The D3 trail is located in the Devil's Canyon Area of the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area near Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado. The trail begins off of the D2 trail where it enters the lower wash of the canyon which it follows upstream into the confines of the main Devil's Canyon. As the walls of the canyon rise higher and the trail reaches the black precambrian granite that forms its belly the trail splits and begins a loop. For this post we follow the loop in the counterclockwise direction, tackling the longer route on the west side of the canyon first, to an old line shack that sits at the apex of the loop, where we hike down the east side of the canyon and back out to the trailhead. The D3 trail by itself is about 5.8 miles while getting to and from the trailhead brings the total round trip distance up to 7 miles.

Butterknife

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 12.5 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Skill level:
Elevation: 4906 - 5890 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 5 hrs.
Trailhead: Third Flats
Fee: none
Attractions: Multi-use trail, views of Grand Junction and Gunnison River

The Butterknife trail is located in the Third Flats section of the BLM Bangs Canyon Management Area. The Third Flats Area doesn't have an official parking area. There are signs near the entrance that direct people to the Bangs Canyon Staging Area to park. The area around the kiosk is all posted 'No Parking'. With that said, most people who use the area either park on the hill on the west side of Little Park Road or if they have a high clearance vehicle they have the option to drive past the trailhead kiosk and park in one of the other spots a little further in. For this hike you could cutoff 3.4 miles by driving in to the Rocky Stumble connecting trail and beginning from there. The road is steep and rocky in places and it seems hard to imagine a 2-wheel drive vehicle making the drive.

Art Cooks View

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 8.8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Skill level:
Elevation: 4965 - 5945 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 3 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Third Flats
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic views, multiple use trail

The Art Cook's View trail is located in the Third Flats section of the BLM Bangs Canyon Management Area. The Third Flats Area doesn't have an official parking area. There are signs near the entrance that direct people to the Bangs Canyon Staging Area to park. The area around the kiosk is all posted 'No Parking'. With that said, most people who use the area either park on the hill on the west side of Little Park Road or if they have a high clearance vehicle they drive past the trailhead kiosk and park in one of the spots a little further in. Art Cook's View is a couple of miles in from Little Park Road so about half of the hiking distance would be eliminated by driving in if you have a 4-wheel drive that is up to the task.

Hoodoo Canyon

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 9.8 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 5378 - 6651 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 6 hrs.
Trailhead: Coal Canyon
Fee: none
Attractions: Wild horses, scenic geology

The Hoodoo trail is located in the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Management Area in the Little Book Cliffs near Grand Junction, Colorado. The trail begins off of the Coal Canyon trail where it travels west through the area on the backside of Mt. Garfield. After about 4 miles the trail makes a steep climb that takes it up to a ridge where it meets up with the Spring Creek and Crazy Ed trails. Backpackers and horseback riders often times combine the various trails for longer excursions through the Little Book Cliffs Wilderness Study Area and Wild Horse Range.