The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area is located in western Colorado southeast of Grand Junction and northwest of Montrose. The National Conservation Area (NCA) encompasses canyons along the Uncompahgre Plateau along the Gunnison River. The southwest side of the NCA borders Uncompahgre National Forest. There are several trails and campsites in the NCA.
Trails map of the Escalante Triangle Mountain Biking Area at Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area (NCA) in the Colorado. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Visitor Map of Gunnison River Bluffs Extensive Recreation Management Area (ERMA) in the BLM Grand Junction Field Office area in Colorado. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Trails Map of Palisade Rim and Palisade Plunge in the BLM Grand Junction Field Office area in Colorado. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Visitor Map of Horse Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area (ERMA) in the BLM Grand Junction Field Office area in Colorado. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Winter Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) of Rifle Ranger District in White River National Forest (NF) in Colorado. Published by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
Travel Management Map 10: Grand Junction of the BLM Grand Junction Field Office (FO) area in Colorado. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Travel Management Map 12: Hunting Ground of the BLM Grand Junction Field Office (FO) area in Colorado. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Camping on Public Lands in Colorado. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Dominguez-Escalante NCA
https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/colorado/dominguez-escalante-nca
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominguez-Escalante_National_Conservation_Area
The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area is located in western Colorado southeast of Grand Junction and northwest of Montrose. The National Conservation Area (NCA) encompasses canyons along the Uncompahgre Plateau along the Gunnison River. The southwest side of the NCA borders Uncompahgre National Forest. There are several trails and campsites in the NCA.
Dominguez-Escalante NCA &
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness
places that serve as scenic showcases
for the conservation, protection
and restoration pieces of the BLM’s
BLM Grand Junction Field Office
2815 H Road
Grand Junction, CO 81506
Phone: 970-244-3000
Fax: 970-244-3083
Office Hours: 7:30am - 4:30pm M-F
of public lands managed by the BLM,
BLM Uncompahgre Field Office
2465 S. Townsend Ave
Montrose, CO 81401
Phone: (970) 240-5300
TDD: (970) 240-5366
Fax: (970) 240-5367
Office Hours: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
mainly in the western United States.
or
multiple use mission. These treasured
landscapes make up more than 27
million of the 245 million total acres
National Conservation Area &
Dominguez Canyon
Wilderness
Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area
is a special place nestled within the remarkable
canyon country of the Uncompahgre Plateau.
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. The Escalante,
Cottonwood, and Little and Big Dominguez
creeks tumble through canyons that empty into
the Gunnison River, which flows nearly 30 miles
through this beautiful desert landscape. Along
with impressive scenery, the area is home to a
variety of wildlife, including mule deer, golden
eagle, turkey, elk, mountain lion, black bear and the
collared lizard.
http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/nca/denca.html
Wilderness is a legal designation outlined in
the Wilderness Act of 1964. This designation
offers long-term protection and conservation
of landscapes, natural values, habitat and
sources of clean water on public lands
while also focusing on unique features
of particular wilderness areas. These
special places have little to no humanmade improvements and are managed
to maintain their primitive character. The
National Wilderness Preservation System
is made up of individual Wilderness areas
that share a common management vision
toward preserving naturalness, limiting the
influence of man and providing outstanding
opportunities for solitude or a primitive and
unconfined type of recreation.
The BLM is developing a resource management
plan for the NCA and Wilderness. The finished plan
will provide long-term management of the special
resources and uses in the area.
Dominguez-Escalante NCA and Dominguez Canyon
Wilderness offer many opportunities for adventure.
The NCA has few existing facilities, trails can be
faint at times and access may be challenging at
certain times of the year.
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness
Activities: Backpacking, hiking, horseback riding,
camping and wildlife viewing.
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness offers scenic
canyons and mesas carved in sandstone,
cascading streams, waterfalls, spectacular
geologic features, desert bighorn sheep, Native
American rock art and historic structures from
early mining settlements.
The Big Dominguez Trail accesses some of the
most popular areas of the Dominguez Canyon
Wilderness, including waterfalls and rock art.
The most common access is from the Bridgeport
Trailhead or from the Gunnison River at the mouth
of Big Dominguez Canyon. The upper end of Big
Dominguez Canyon can be accessed on a primitive
trail from a small trailhead near the Big Dominguez
Campground. There is no maintained trail from
this trailhead through the canyon to the Gunnison
River. Adventurous travelers can make a large loop
using Big and Little Dominguez Canyons. This trip
can take several days to a week, depending on how
much exploring you plan to do.
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness lies in the heart of
Dominguez-Escalante NCA, providing habitat for
desert bighorn sheep, threatened species of fish
and cactus, and opportunities to view its natural
wonders by foot or horseback. Water runs through
Little Dominguez Creek year-round creating a great
habitat for many birds, mammals and reptiles.
Rock art on the canyon walls and archaeological
sites on the mesas are evidence of thousands of
years of Native American use, including hunting
and travel from the Gunnison River Valley to
the Uncompahgre Plateau. The wilderness also
contains historic features left by the early miners
and settlers who lived and worked throughout the
area.
This deep red-rock canyon contains sensitive
plant species, natural seeps and several globallyunique plants including beautiful hanging gardens
of small-flowered columbine and Eastwood’s
monkeyflower, protected in the Escalante Canyon
Area of Critical Environmental Concern.
Cactus Park includes miles of existing routes,
trails and roads for motorized recreation,
horseback riding, mountain biking and hiking. The
Tabeguache Trail and Nine Mile Hill are popular
sites for motorized recreationists and mountain
bikers. Note: Mountain bikes or high-clearance
vehicles are required on the Tabeguache Trail
(see the Tabeguache Trail brochure for more
information).
A 15-mile county road offers visitors a trip back
to pioneer days through Escalante Canyon’s
“Red Hole in Tim