Colorado is the coloring book of North America. Every day brings a new take on stunning landscapes, painted with every color visible to the human eye. The Rocky Mountains, Pike’s Peak, and The Garden of the Gods; these pages in Colorado’s coloring book offer every visitor an opportunity to personalize and frame unique memories in the mind’s art gallery. Every season sheds new perspectives on Colorado’s numerous physical features. Natives and visitors set down the whites and purples of ski season to usher in a more vast and varied set of paints that come with spring and summer’s warm and dry climate.
As the snow melts and feeds the lakes and rivers, Western Colorado becomes a technicolor dream for outdoor enthusiasts. The cold colors of winter are retired for a bright spectrum of greens, reds, yellows, and blues across the Grand Valley. Each artist is given new seasonal pages to fill with the 24-hour colors of spring and summer. Western Colorado’s landscape begs all to give in to the sense of adventure that brought early settlers to this large valley.
Every artist needs a vision. Western Colorado provides no shortage of breathtaking views. While the National Monument may take up several pages in the coloring book of Western Colorado, true adventurists familiar with the area have a coloring book all their own. The first chapter of the adventurist’s coloring book starts with BLM’s Rattlesnake Arches. The City of Fruita has quickly become the ideal vacation spot in Western Colorado for outdoor enthusiasts and weekend adventure seekers alike. With an unmatchable volume of challenging terrain for those on foot, bike, horse, or ATV, Fruita’s chapter in Colorado’s coloring book is the most vibrant. Just east of downtown Fruita lies the dreamscape of the adventurous – Rattlesnake Arches.
Home to one of the largest concentrations of arches in the nation, Rattlesnake Canyon offers those adventurists looking for stunning memories a challenging canvas to work on. Each arch serves as a challenge to go further and discover new colors with which to paint. This journey is physically demanding. As such, adventure-seeking artisans should pack plenty of water and food to fuel their journey. Camping is prohibited near the arches, and the trail requires a few hours to complete, making this a picturesque day trip that won’t soon be forgotten. Access to the Pollock’s Bench trailhead requires a high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle. Unlike the National Monument, Rattlesnake Arches welcomes four-legged adventure seekers. Horses and dogs are welcome to seek out the wonders of each arch and take their place in the memorable landscapes and curved stone arches found in Rattlesnake Canyon.
Beyond the reds, greens, yellows, and blues of Rattlesnake Arches, the abstract portrait of Fruita awaits, offering unique lodging and local eateries that will please any palette. With the vast array of colors, the paints of Western Colorado are heavily concentrated and waiting for new brush strokes. Visitors and locals, artists and adventurists, and animals as well all are encouraged to discover the pages of Western Colorado’s hidden coloring book and please color outside the lines.
