National Parks

Experience American beauty in nearby national parks.

When you come to Colorado, you’ll be able to see some of America’s real national treasures – our national parks. There are many within driving distance (and one just outside our doors!). From Unaweep Canyon, aka our backyard, to Arches National Park and all the way down to the Four Corners, you’ll have a world of choices in front of you.

Experience American beauty in nearby national parks.

When you come to Colorado, you’ll be able to see some of America’s real national treasures – our national parks. There are many within driving distance (and one just outside our doors!). From Unaweep Canyon, aka our backyard, to Arches National Park and all the way down to the Four Corners, you’ll have a world of choices in front of you.

Parks near Gateway Canyons Resort

Grand Mesa & National Forests

Located on the Colorado Rockies’ western slope, these forests cover 3,161,900 acres of the state’s most beautiful scenery. Elevations vary from 5,800 ft. above sea level in Roubideau Creek Canyon to 14,309 ft. on Uncompahgre Peak. Drive time: 2.5 hours

VISIT GRAND MESA

Arches National Park

If you have dreamt of seeing the “red rock wonderland” in Utah, now is the time to go! With unique formations of the rocks as the backdrop, you’ll get to hike through some of the most impressive natural scenery available. With over 2,000 rock formations, you’re sure to see something new in Arches every time. Also, if you stay for a sunset, you won’t be disappointed. Drive time from Gateway: 2.5 hours

VISIT ARCHES

Arches National Park
Park near Gateway, Colorado

Canyonlands National Park

Discover the canyons between the buttes that give this park its name. There are four sections to the park, divided by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The four sections are: Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the actual river and tributaries. Experience nature in one of her most primitive states when you visit Canyonlands. It’s a unique adventure that most people will never experience. Drive time from Gateway: 2.5 hours

VISIT CANYONLANDS

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde is dedicated to preserving the history of the Pueblo peoples who lived here for more than 700 hundred years. Here, you can visit not just a national park, but a living piece of history with more than 5,000 archeological sites around the park. Drive time: 3.5 hours

VISIT MESA VERDE

Mesa Verde National Park
National Parks

Four Corners Monument

Step into the Navajo Nation to experience Navajo culture and one of the more interesting points in American lore – the point where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all touch in perfect angles.  Drive time: 3.5 hours

VISIT FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT

Unaweep Canyon

The Unaweep Canyon is unique for its two creeks: East Creek and West Creek. Flowing out of opposite ends of the Canyon, they are separated by the Unaweep Divide. The Canyon itself cuts across the Uncomphgre Plateau, near the resort. What makes the Unaweep Canyon truly unique is that no one can decide how it came into existence. Whether it was created by the ancestral Colorado or Gunnison Rivers or by a Paleolithic shifting of rocks is still debated. Drive time from Gateway: 15 minutes

VISIT UNAWEEP CANYON

Canyonlands National Park
Scenic Colorado Byways

Colorado Scenic Byways

Gateway Canyons is located on the Unaweep/Tabeguache Colorado Scenic Byway. This spectacular 133-mile long road runs around the Uncompahgre National Forest and along the Dolores River from Grand Junction, through Gateway and, finally, connects to Route 146 to Placerville. As you travel through the heart of Unaweep Canyon, lush valley floors transform before your eyes into towering, granite mountaintops. Sparkling streams spill over canyon walls lined with cottonwoods and aspen. The canyon then opens itself to Gateway Canyons, where West Creek and the Dolores River frame the towering red sandstone landmark — the Palisade. Nearby, 12,000-foot peaks of Utah’s La Sal Mountains fill the western horizon.

Parks near Gateway Canyons Resort

Grand Mesa & National Forests

Located on the Colorado Rockies’ western slope, these forests cover 3,161,900 acres of the state’s most beautiful scenery. Elevations vary from 5,800 ft. above sea level in Roubideau Creek Canyon to 14,309 ft. on Uncompahgre Peak. Drive time: 2.5 hours

VISIT GRAND MESA

Parks near Gateway Canyons Resort

Arches National Park

If you have dreamt of seeing the “red rock wonderland” in Utah, now is the time to go! With unique formations of the rocks as the backdrop, you’ll get to hike through some of the most impressive natural scenery available. With over 2,000 rock formations, you’re sure to see something new in Arches every time. Also, if you stay for a sunset, you won’t be disappointed. Drive time from Gateway: 2.5 hours

VISIT ARCHES

Colorado national parks

Canyonlands National Park

Discover the canyons between the buttes that give this park its name. There are four sections to the park, divided by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The four sections are: Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the actual river and tributaries. Experience nature in one of her most primitive states when you visit Canyonlands. It’s a unique adventure that most people will never experience. Drive time from Gateway: 2.5 hours

VISIT CANYONLANDS

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde is dedicated to preserving the history of the Pueblo peoples who lived here for more than 700 hundred years. Here, you can visit not just a national park, but a living piece of history with more than 5,000 archeological sites around the park. Drive time: 3.5 hours

VISIT MESA VERDE

National Parks

Four Corners Monument

Step into the Navajo Nation to experience Navajo culture and one of the more interesting points in American lore – the point where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all touch in perfect angles.  Drive time: 3.5 hours

VISIT FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT

mother and child in Colorado outdoors

Unaweep Canyon

The Unaweep Canyon is unique for its two creeks: East Creek and West Creek. Flowing out of opposite ends of the Canyon, they are separated by the Unaweep Divide. The Canyon itself cuts across the Uncomphgre Plateau, near the resort. What makes the Unaweep Canyon truly unique is that no one can decide how it came into existence. Whether it was created by the ancestral Colorado or Gunnison Rivers or by a Paleolithic shifting of rocks is still debated. Drive time from Gateway: 15 minutes

VISIT UNAWEEP CANYON

Parks near Gateway Canyons Resort

Colorado Scenic Byways

Gateway Canyons is located on the Unaweep/Tabeguache Colorado Scenic Byway. This spectacular 133-mile long road runs around the Uncompahgre National Forest and along the Dolores River from Grand Junction, through Gateway and, finally, connects to Route 146 to Placerville. As you travel through the heart of Unaweep Canyon, lush valley floors transform before your eyes into towering, granite mountaintops. Sparkling streams spill over canyon walls lined with cottonwoods and aspen. The canyon then opens itself to Gateway Canyons, where West Creek and the Dolores River frame the towering red sandstone landmark — the Palisade. Nearby, 12,000-foot peaks of Utah’s La Sal Mountains fill the western horizon.

Unwind and Refuel

Eat, drink, repeat.

Unwind and Refuel

Eat, drink, repeat.

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