I would not attempt this hike, and I'm glad I got to see it from your pictures! If camping near the creeks, follow the special regulations for human waste disposal (backcountry toilets are required). We spent almost the entirety of the 3 days in the potholes area of the creek. In the early morning, I was able to catch the sunrise and the moon set at the same time. He also built a bunkhouse for his guests. Here are our... Do you want to avoid the harsh winter conditions of the northern United States? Escalante Canyon: Activities: camping, hiking, access to Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area, ATV driving on existing roads and trails, and picnicking. Follow the signs to Dominguez Conservation Area and the Big Dominguez Campground is about 5 miles. River recreational activities, rock climbing, and hiking are focused in this area. Featuring rocky cliffs and a cascading waterfall, this Gunnison River-fed pool can only be reached via hike, making for an epic day in the great outdoors. This is a lesser-known area of Colorado and if you visit Dominguez Escalante at the right time you will feel like you found a secret place. Signs are posted all over this area can be very dangerous and that deaths have occurred. Although I had driven by the turnoff more than a hundred times, I never knew what was down that road. After the river I entered in Big Dominguez Canyon and was reminded more and more of the parts of Utah I love. The whitewater is low through Dominguez-Escalante and the views are phenomenal. Did I mention how beautiful this location was? You can read more about it on the BLM website or contact the office (970)244-3000. So, I’m not a good trivia partner. We watched the canyon walls as the light changed from morning to day and night again. Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, with its 328 square miles of protected public lands containing the 103.5 square mile Dominguez Canyon Wilderness, is every primitive camper’s paradise.Created in 2009, this Bureau of Land Management property is well known for its breathtaking scenery, spectacular canyons, seasoned bluffs, mesas, and geological resources. While the historic significance of the area and incredible scenery are both a must see, our favorite aspect of the Big Dominguez Canyon is that of this beautiful swimming hole! . The Escalante Canyon in Colorado is not very well documented and I would like to change that. The last bit of the road where it drops from the plateau into the canyon is well graveled and very steep. Camping in Big Dominguez Canyon. Camping – Camping is permitted in sections of the park. What we found was a pretty new gate across the road about two miles from the canyon. Did you see rattlesnakes during your trip? And I further enjoyed my Utah-like bliss. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Camping with the Ancients - Boondocking Colorado - Duration: 16:03. At Dominguez Escalante National Conservation Area (DENCA) in Colorado, you can enjoy free camping, magnificent sunrise views, swimming in the creek, canyon hiking, and petroglyphs. A relatively isolated and mild section of the Gunnison River, Dominguez-Escalante Canyon offers boaters a scenic section of gentle flowing river, side hikes to waterfalls and petroglyphs and camping under the stars.. The boat ramp was 3 miles past the entrance on the main road. As you enter the canyon, you’ll pass through a gate into the Dominguez Canyons Wilderness Area. Tag: Dominguez Canyon. Red rock canyons cut their way down from the plateau to the Gunnison River. In 2009 66,280 acres (26,820 ha) were also designated as the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness. Do you want of go glamping in an RV but want the experience to be as stress-free as possible? We parked at the Big Dominguez campground, and hiked the 15 miles down to Bridgeport over 3 days. While the historic significance of the area and incredible scenery are both a must see, our favorite aspect of the Big Dominguez Canyon is that of this beautiful swimming hole! Two homesteads are located just off the Escalante Creek road. All the reports I read about the trails in Wagon Park made it sound like the trails were lost and the descent into Little D were sketchy downclimbs down the canyon wall. We were there in an unusually dry year and able to splash and swim safely. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is spent in a big dining room with all of your loved ones gathered around eating a big feast. Die Abzweigung von Highway. The camp spot in the photos is just past the potholes. Expect Class I and II water. Generally, spring would be a time for rafting not swimming. The only trick is finding water up toward the top - the creek is in a deep canyon. Little Dominguez Canyon is part of the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Study Area. Dominguez Campground is located along the creek down in Dominguez Canyon. Just after Captain Smith’s Cabin is the parking, toilets and designated campsites. Most areas in the mountains hold snow well into June. See 13 traveler reviews, 27 photos and blog posts Worse yet, the rock face was so badly vandalized the petroglyphs were mostly indistinguishable. Didn't you see the Wagon Park and Bar X trails on the map ? Go east on CR 6.5o, Escalante Canyon Road. Plus I wanted to take in as much as Little D as possible. Escalante – Dominguez National Conservation Area is located west of Highway 50 about halfway between Grand Junction and a tiny town called Delta. Big Dominguez Canyon & Triangle Mesa by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr. Dominguez Canyon is a popular stop along the way, with primitive camping, a hike up Big Dominguez Canyon, hidden rock art, and a breathtaking waterfall. Wir waren von der Bridgeport Trailanfang direkt am Highway 50 , ca. The upper end of Big Dominguez Canyon can be accessed from a trailhead at the Big Dominguez Campground which is 11 miles off CO-141 on a good dirt road. Your email address will not be published. Be very careful about entering the water. You should also know that the camping is primitive and if you plan to rent an RV, make sure you know about boondocking. Check prices on RVs for rent in Grand Junction here. The Big and Little Dominguez Canyons form one possible loop route from the Gunnison River up to the crest and back again. Very awesome but 6 or 7 hours from where we were. This area can be very dangerous in the spring during high flow. Looking at the map, we were close to other Escalante Canyon camping. The history dates back to ancient times with petroglyphs and settlers’ cabins to explore. After that, we saw fewer and fewer cars but was still more than usual because it was Memorial Day weekend. Many backpackers make a multi day loop around Big and Little Dominguez canyons. A friend and I went up Little Dominguez Canyon in May 2019, intending to climb up the 400' canyon wall at an accessible spot, head over to Big Dominguez and then back to Bridgewater. Big Dominguez Canyon Trail // Dominguez Escalante Wilderness // Whitewater, CO [EP 21] - Duration: 7:50. Highway 141 borders the area to the north. Be careful though, because the midget-faded rattlesnake in this area is elusive and small but dangerous. The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness near Grand Junction, Colorado contains over 66,000 acres of wilderness overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and makes up the largest, roadless BLM area in the entire state of Colorado. You can visit and see loose stones and clay were used in the construction. Escalante Canyon includes the Potholes Recreation Area, located 12 miles up the canyon on the gravel road. The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness area is the largest BLM roadless area in Colorado. You can order a more detailed BLM map here. The kids will be out of school and everyone is anxious to get out and do somehting exciting. The Big Dominguez campground is on this northern side, where the Big Dominguez Creek flows through the campground all year. Unfortunately, your trip might include seeing the results of the heartbreaking vandalism of ancient rock art (I talk all about that part below). The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness encompasses over 66,000 acres and consists of two main canyons (Little Dominguez and Big Dominguez) that drain from the Uncompahgre Plateau into the Gunnison River. in 2015, Backpacker Magazin identifiziert Dominguez Canyon als ein Ort, die Leute in Denver … I knew a place called Escalante was close. This wilderness, which is characterized by diverse ecosystems, features two major canyon systems which drain the northeastern corner of the Uncompahgre Plateau. The petroglyphs and ancient structures are more well preserved in the Big Dominguez canyon hike. Cold-season hiking does require some adaptations. There are a couple of free camping spots at potholes recreation and of course, you can disperse camp on BLM. Everything from firework displays to small-town festivals is... Every year, there are some fantastic National Parks and RV Resorts that host special festivities to celebrate the Christmas season. Your welcome! Fall is probably a great time to visit the area for playing in the water. Or, do you desire a unique winter experience like no other? Cutting across Wagon Park cuts out many miles of Little D. Connecting the two canyons on the Plateau lets you take in basically all of Little D even though it's quite dense with vegetation in the upper reaches. Backcountry camping is permitted in parts of the canyon. This is a place mostly only known to the locals for camping, hiking, and rock climbing and very little information is available online. So sad that the rock art has to stay hidden to protect it. The entire area lies east of. We followed the directions from the Ranger to the turn off the main dirt road and then a second right turn. Be very careful about entering the water. The first few miles leading into the canyon, things went great. Outside of the summer season, Colorado doesn't have too many backpacking choices that don't involve travel in snow. I could see how during high flow, with the creek rushing through the area, it would be very unsafe to be in the water. Search Wilderness Connect For Practitioners Search Wilderness Connect For Practitioners RV Rental Delivery and Setup at Your Campsite (Cost, FAQs, Examples), 13 Incredible RV Destinations to Spend Thanksgiving, 14 Unforgettable Spring Break Camping Destinations (Map included), 7 Incredible Camping Destinations to Ring in the New Year, 11 Magical Places to Camp this Christmas (Best Winter Camping Destinations), 11 Unbelievable Places to Camp in February (+ Map of Winter Camping Destinations for 2021). I traveled through this section of narrow ravine, An arch above the creek, I couldn't really get to it for a better photo, A wide area of smooth rock along the creek, The point where Little Dominguez turns north, The trail became more consistent at this point, The lower portion of the canyon was more desert like, The trail was visible most of lower Little Dominguez, Apparently Rambo spent his whole life here, There were lots of cows in the lower canyon, Occasionally the trail faded but was easy to find again, The trail crossed the creek several times, Reaching the bridge at the end of the Wilderness. We were expecting to be able to drive to the rim of Dominguez Canyon and then hike down into the canyon, but that’s not quite how it worked out. Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Camping: Campendium has 15 reviews of 3 Campgrounds in Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. Do not create fires. Dominguez Canyon is located in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area near Grand Junction, Colorado. Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something. This was a popular place, as we could see many cars on either side of the road. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and was created as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. On top of all of that the scenery is magnificent. We had no trouble getting up and down it in our 2-wheel drive pickup. My go-to pack for summer trips, a Zpacks ArcBlast, is simply too small to carry enough warm stuff. Hiking the slickrock as we searched for a way down to the bottom of the canyon. Big Dominguez Campground is nestled among ponderosa pine, cottonwood trees and willows, next to the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Study Area and the Uncompaghre National Forest. There are a couple of free camping spots at potholes recreation and of course, you can disperse camp on BLM. And much like Utah, there were signs of the ancient people…Utes in this case. He used one side of a tall rock as one wall and the other three walls of brick. Red-rock canyons and bluffs hold geological and paleontological resources spanning 600 million years, as well as many cultural and historic sites from the past 10,000 years. Very comprehensive and well done! camping & hiking - Review of Dominguez Canyon, Grand Junction, CO - Tripadvisor Dominguez Canyon: camping & hiking - See 42 traveler reviews, 35 candid photos, and great deals for … The recreation area consists of a gravel parking lot, some picnic shelter, information boards and pit toilets. Across the next five miles, the trail winds through the canyon towards the Big Dominguez, hindered only by the snowmelt in the half a dozen creek crossings. Although BLM has created a few campsites here, dispersed camping is allowed on all the land. The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area is a 209,610-acre (848.3 km2) National Conservation Area located in western Colorado southeast of Grand Junction and northwest of Montrose. Big Dominguez Campground is nestled among ponderosa pine, cottonwood trees and willows, next to the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Study Area and the Uncompaghre National Forest. Hundreds of miles of world-class mountain biking trails such as the Kokopelli Trail. An RV offers the comfort of home but driving and setting it up can be a steep learning curve. The canyon is a good place to hike and see bighorn sheep, lots of petroglyphs and archaic rock shelters as well as several waterfalls. The scenery for hiking and camping is spectacular. We parked at the Big Dominguez campground, and hiked the 15 miles down to Bridgeport over 3 days. ... A quick hiking and camping trip due to some impend …further proof that there are two Americas: the . Dominguez Canyon: camping & hiking - See 42 traveler reviews, 35 candid photos, and great deals for Grand Junction, CO, at Tripadvisor. Thanks for the intel – very helpful! Our first descent down to the next bench. The canyons, washes and arroyos lead to place that seem both mysterious and beautiful. One person even said to me,” you have to be careful, if you get caught you get a $1000 ticket.”  Um yeah, there is a reason for the costly fine. While I do describe my destinations and routes, it is your responsibility to properly research any destination and prepare and equip yourself for any conditions that may exist. The Big Dominguez campground is on this northern side, where the Big Dominguez Creek flows through the campground all year. But dangerous you want to make this New year to explore accessed from the Ranger to the Gunnison River scenery... 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