This very scenic 4-wheel trail is located just west of Grand Junction. The area is on public land and there are various roads leading in different directions so there is a lot to explore. The terrain features sand, rock shelves, clay and pretty much everything dirt
At the start we take the wrong turn
and end up on one of the spur routes with several rocky sections but no real
challenges. Finally we go almost all the way back to the parking lot and find
the right trail. It leads us over sand and a slickrock-like portion to an area
with a huge rock shelf with several challenging steps to play on. This is not
really part of the trail but we still enjoy climbing the obstacles for a while.
We push on deeper down the canyon and descend over rocky sections to the bottom.
The incline on the other side is on clayish ground and is pretty slippery in
some areas. One portion proves to be especially challenging because it is very
narrow with a trench on either side. I can only imagine how dangerous this ascent
would be when wet. We follow the rocky road up the hill and take a tricky spur
road to the left with rock steps and loose dirt.
This trail dead ends in private property and so we turn around and do the same
thing in reverse.
The scenery on this trail is spectacular and there are plenty of possibilities to explore. The trail is moderate to easy in most areas. The most difficult section is the big rock shelf which, in my opinion, is the main challenge and features levels of difficulty for everybody.
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Directions: From Grand Junction take
Business 70 west to Route 340 and make a left, and another left on Monument
Road. Left on D Road. Right on Rosevale Road and right on Little Park Road.
There is a sign for Bangs Canyon on the left. Cross the parking lot and go past
the cattle guard. Follow the trail straight ahead.