SW Colorado/ NE Arizona in July

[safarishots]

I will be driving from Canon City, CO to Phoenix, AZ from July 7-12.

It would be great to have some advice on good photo opportunities,

short hikes, and camping spots. Thanks in advance.

 

-Jon

 

www.jonkhill.com

[rich long]

My first thought - 'there are too many options to list!'

 

What you can do/see will depend on the route you decide to take. It looks like you've already ruled out the I-25 to I-10 route in favor of a more scenic and leisurely pace. Good choice. But there are still numerous other possibilities. You might want to figure out what your 'must see' items are and choose a route based on that. Then you can build other things in. Or make it a 30-day trip instead of 7 days and see/do it all. ;)

 

Here are a few general things that come to mind immediately:

Crested Butte area

Black Canyon of the Gunnison River

Great Sand Dunes

Dallas Divide/Mt Sneffels area

Million Dollar Highway

Ouray/Silverton/Durango/Telluride and points between

Narrow guage railroads: Durango-Silverton or Cumbres&Toltec

Mesa Verde

Shiprock

Bisti Badlands

Arches Nat'l Park

Monument Valley

Grand Canyon

Sedona, AZ

etc, etc, etc

 

I might be able to help with a few specifics once you've narrowed it down a little.

[rich long]

Sorry about that, I'm trying to conserve commas and semi-colons, as my computer is almost out of them. In case you didn't decipher the above list:

 

"Crested Butte area; Black Canyon of the Gunnison River; Great Sand Dunes; Dallas Divide/Mt Sneffels area; Million Dollar Highway; Ouray/Silverton/Durango/Telluride and points between; Narrow guage railroads - Durango-Silverton or Cumbres&Toltec; Mesa Verde; Shiprock; Bisti Badlands; Arches Nat'l Park; Monument Valley; Grand Canyon; Sedona, AZ; etc, etc, etc"

[david_henderson]

You could add Petrified Forest( northern section best IMO) Canyon de Chelly; all manner of Indian sites; and the "route 66" towns of Holbrook, Winslow, Williams which are fun if you like that period. A thought on weather though. For much of the day it will be hot and the light strong and glarey. Sunrise and sunset are very early that time of year and you won't get the very best opportunities with the sun high in the sky.

[safarishots]

Thanks for your replies. About the heat. I'm hoping to be travelling between locations during the hottest part of the day, taking pictures morning and evenings. Hopefully that will work out.

 

I'm realizing that there are huge numbers of things to see in that area of the country. Is there anything especially good at this time of year (July)? Wildflowers? Wildlife? I'm more into shooting nature than archaeology. If anyone has a favorite camping spot in the region, it would be great to hear about it.

 

-Jon

[dave_smythe]

Once u hit Salida u have 2 choices;go west or south towards The Dunes'.Personally Id skip the Dunes since that road is pretty bleak(all desert) and doesnt offer anything other than the Dunes until you hit the Wolf Cr pass area.

I would not miss the Telluride/Dallas Creek/Ridgeway locations.

Camping in Telluride(tiny town-awesome mountains) is hard unless u wanna be next to a bunch of RV idiots.

Silverton and the 550 south to Durango is nice but pales compared to the above locations.(IMO).

Altho just slightly out of your way,Aspen and the Maroon Bells and its wilderness offers so much Spectacular country you'll crap your pants.Ironically you cant see the scenery from Aspen itself cuz its 'hiding' just a few miles behind town.But just take the roads going to MBells or Castle Creek and you'll be floored.I dont know if there are any unspectacular trails in Aspen!

[christian deichert]

Mesa Verde is great. Also, Natural Bridges National Monument is in SW Utah just above Monument Valley and has several short hikes; if nothing else, you can do the 3-mile round trip down to Kachina Bridge. There are a couple of free BLM campgrounds around Natural Bridges, as well as around the majority of the parks in the area you're considering. Easiest way to find them is to ask about BLM campgrounds at the visitor's center for each attraction you visit.

[len_krueger1]

Jon,

 

If you are driving west on Highway 50 in Colorado there are great

views and free camping in the Owl Creek pass area. There are Forest

Service campgrounds but there are also places to pitch a tent. The

turn off (a left turn) is marked just before the town of Cimarron.

 

If you are on Highway 160 to Durango there is free camping in La Plata

Canyon just west of Durango. Take the first right after passing the La

Plata River. Drive north on the paved road which turns to dirt. You

will find camping along the La Plata river. There are also Forest

Service campground back there as well as free campgrounds. Hope it is

not burning since there is a large wild fire in the area. La Plata

canyon is fairly close to Mesa Verde. If you want first light at Mesa

Verde be sure to leave early because you still have a long and winding

drive to the points of interest once you pass the entrance of the

park.

 

And finally, the Valley of the Gods in south eastern Utah. Kind of

like Monument Valley without the traffic. Really interesting rock

monoliths to photograph. Also *free* camping almost anywhere and

completely unimproved. In July it will be hot, but that is part of the

experience.

 

Hope

[kenneth_wajda]

Jon,

 

In Arizona, if you're driving by the Verde River (I think it's near Sedona), it's beautiful and there's an abandoned old hot springs resort on the other side of the river (complete with one palm tree growing on the site). Gorgeous views. The river really is green!

 

In Colorado, I'd also recommend Crested Butte for wildflowers (if there are any this year with the drought conditions) and Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

 

I guess I'm a hot springs fan. If you find yourself near Ridgway, (which is just north of Ouray), there's a beautiful natural hot spring called Orvis Hot Spring. It's just south of the town of Ridgway and had camping for $20/night. The Ridgway SP campground is right there too, but it's usually crowded and known for being windy.

 

I also loved Mesa Verde NP and its hikes.

 

Best,

Kenneth Wajda

[matt_sherman]

I would have to agree with Dave. My most favorite place to camp

and hike (and of course take pictures) is in the Mt. Sneffels

wilderness. On the north side of Mt. Sneffels is the Blue Lakes

which are a great photo opp along with all the wild flowers.

There is camping at the base or at the lakes (an 1.5 hour hike

up). You can get there from the (East?) Dallas Creek roads

which are off the highway between Ridgeway and Telluride.

Absolutely spectacular and there is very few people because of

the 10-15 miles of gravel road (good condition) off the highway.