If you are looking for the best day trips from Montrose Colorado, this is where I would start. Montrose is one of those places people tend to drive through while thinking about somewhere else.
Telluride. Ouray. Aspen. Maybe Moab if they are heading west.
And I get it. Those places are beautiful, and they are famous for a reason.
But if you are planning a trip through western Colorado, Montrose deserves more attention as a base camp. Not in a fancy resort town way, because that is not what Montrose is. More in a “wait, I can get to all of this from here?!” kind of way.
You can stay in one place, avoid packing and unpacking every night, and still reach canyons, mountain towns, orchards, scenic drives, ski areas, hot springs, national parks, and the weird little stops most people do not even think to look for.
That is the part I love, so many unique things in such a short area.
Montrose puts you close to the big famous places, but it also gives you access to the in-between places. The roads, small towns, overlooks, bookstores, coffee stops, and local places that end up becoming part of the trip whether you planned for them or not.
So if you are looking for day trips from Montrose, these are the ones I would start with.
1. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
If you only take one day trip from Montrose, make it Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Yes, it is the obvious answer. But obvious does not always mean overdone.
The South Rim entrance is close to Montrose, and you can spend a few hours or a full day there depending on how much you want to hike, stop at overlooks, or stare into the canyon while your brain tries to understand what it is looking at.
Because that is kind of what Black Canyon does.
You walk up to the rim thinking you understand what a canyon is, and then the scale of it breaks your brain for a second. The canyon is steep, dark, sharp, and much more dramatic in person than photos make it seem.
If you are short on time, you can drive the rim road and stop at the overlooks. If you have more time, there are hiking trails, ranger programs, dark sky events in the summer, and plenty of places where you can slow down and take it in without rushing the whole thing.
I already wrote a full post about Black Canyon of the Gunnison, so I will not go too deep into it here. But it belongs on any Montrose day trip list.
This is the place that makes people realize western Colorado is not only the space between better-known destinations. This is why it is on the list as one of the best day trips from Montrose Colorado.
I wrote a full guide to Black Canyon of the Gunnison if you want a deeper look before you go.
What Nobody Tells You Before Visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Read more: Best Day Trips from Montrose Colorado: Black Canyon, Ouray, Telluride and More2. Colorado National Monument and Fruita
If you want red rock, canyon views, hiking, and an easy scenic drive, Colorado National Monument makes a great day trip from Montrose.
You can drive toward Grand Junction and Fruita, spend time inside Colorado National Monument, and either hike or drive Rim Rock Drive if you want the views without turning the whole day into a hiking situation.
Rim Rock Drive is about 23 miles and has plenty of overlooks where you can stop along the way. Even if hiking is not your thing, you can still get a lot out of this one, which is exactly why I like it as a day trip option.
There are also hiking trails in and around the monument if you want to spend more time outside.
If you come out on the Fruita side, Fruita is worth a stop too.
Downtown Fruita has a different feel from Montrose. It has more small town energy and more red rock road trip stop energy. Which makes it a good place to grab food, stretch your legs, and make the day feel like more than “we drove to the monument and drove back.”
In the summer, if you find pizza with Palisade peaches on it, do not question it. Eat the pizza.
Fruita is also home to Dinosaur Journey Museum, which is a good stop if you are traveling with kids or want something a little different from another overlook. Plus in the summer, the air conditioning in the desert is wonderful.
This is one of the good day trips from Montrose Colorado if you want red rock views, scenic driving, Fruita food stops, dinosaur history, and a landscape that feels completely different from the San Juans.
3. Grand Mesa, Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, and Big B’s
Grand Mesa is one of those places that feels unreal because you drive up and land in a completely different world.
Lakes. Trees. Cooler air. Mountain roads. The whole thing.
Grand Mesa is known as the largest flat-topped mountain in the world, and there are more than 300 lakes up there.
So yes, bring mosquito repellent in the summer.
I am not saying that to be cute. There is a lot of water up there, which is beautiful, but the mosquitoes are aware of that information.
You do not have to drive all the way to Grand Junction to experience Grand Mesa either. From Montrose, you can make this more of a loop depending on how much time you have and how much driving you want to do.
One option is to head toward the Mesa and Cedaredge side, stop at a general store or small shop for snacks, then go up and spend time on top of the mesa.
Once you are up there, you can hike, fish, sit by the lakes, take photos, or enjoy the cooler air before heading back down into the valleys. There are also lodge and shop stops where you can grab souvenirs or snacks depending on what is open when you visit.
On the way back, you can head down toward Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, and the North Fork Valley area.
If Big B’s is open, I would build that into the day.
Big B’s is one of those places my boyfriend and I still talk about. We went late summer into early fall, walked through the orchards, slowed down for a bit, and he still brings up their hard cider.
That is exactly the kind of stop I love. Not because it is some giant attraction, but because it becomes part of how you remember the whole day.
This is a great day trip if you want mountain lakes, cooler summer air, scenic driving, orchards, cider, and a little bit of North Fork Valley mixed in.
4. Ridgway and Ouray
Ridgway and Ouray are two of the easiest and most classic day trips from Montrose.
The drive south starts opening into those San Juan views, and I do not care how many times I have done it, and the fact I am originally from Colorado. I still look out the window and just stare in awe of how beautiful they are.
Ridgway is a good stop if you want something calmer before Ouray. You can get coffee, wander around town, or take in the views before heading farther into the mountains.
Then there is Ouray.
Ouray is known as the Switzerland of America, and as someone who has been to Switzerland and also Ouray, it is a fair comparison. The town sits in this dramatic mountain bowl, and it has that steep, tucked-in, surrounded-by-peaks feeling.
There is plenty to do in Ouray as a day trip from Montrose.
You can walk downtown, soak in the hot springs, check out Box Canyon Falls. You can also hike part of the Ouray Perimeter Trail, eat somewhere local, or wander around town. All while enjoying the fact that the whole place looks like someone dropped it into the mountains and said, “Good enough. Leave it there.”
The Ouray Perimeter Trail is beautiful, but it can be challenging depending on where you start and how much of it you do. If you start near the hot springs, there are sections that are pretty challenging if you aren’t a strong hiker, I wouldn’t start there.
Box Canyon Falls is also worth seeing if you have never been. It is its own park area with trails and a waterfall, and it gives you a different view of the landscape around Ouray.
Food-wise, Ouray may be small, but it is not lacking options. There are burgers, fries, coffee, drinks, and a good little Asian restaurant with pineapple rice that I order every time I am back.
There is also a place that claims to have the best burger in Colorado. I have not eaten there yet, but everyone I have talked to who has been there says the burgers are, in fact, serious business.
This is a good day trip if you want mountain town views, hot springs, hiking, waterfalls, historic downtown, and a classic San Juan day without staying overnight.
5. Telluride or Aspen If You Want the Famous Mountain Town Day
I am not going to pretend I avoid famous places.
I do not.
Rome is famous. Florence is famous. Aspen and Telluride are famous.
The point is not to avoid the places everyone talks about. The point is to not turn your brain off once you get there.
That is usually where the good stuff is hiding.
If you want a bigger mountain town day trip from Montrose, Telluride is the easier and more realistic option for most people.
The drive down is beautiful, and once you are there you can walk around town, ride the gondola, hike, eat, shop, or take in the views. Telluride is famous for a reason.
But give yourself room to wander.
Do not go in with the exact same checklist everyone else has. Look for the smaller things too. The side streets. The strange shop. The coffee place that was not the first result online. The view you did not plan for.
That is usually how famous places become more personal.
Aspen is farther from Montrose, but it can be done as a long day trip if you are comfortable with the drive and timing. The drive itself is part of why I love that route, especially because some of my favorite drives in western Colorado are the ones that lead toward the places everyone already knows.
That is the thing people forget.
Sometimes the famous destination is worth it. Sometimes the road there is even better.
So yes, include Telluride or Aspen if that is what you want. Do it with curiosity.
Look for the thing that makes you say, “Wait, how do people not talk about this more?”
That is usually the part I remember.
Why Montrose Works So Well for Day Trips from Montrose Colorado
The reason I like Montrose as a base is because you can reach a lot of western Colorado without packing and unpacking your bags every night.
You can spend one day at Black Canyon, another day in Ouray, another day driving toward Grand Mesa. Then another day near Fruita and Colorado National Monument, and another day heading toward Telluride.
Then you can come back to Montrose at night, grab dinner, walk downtown, go to Riverbottom Park, stop at Curiouser Books, or have a slower evening instead of racing to the next hotel.
That matters more than people think.
A lot of trips get exhausting because people try to move every single night. Different hotel. Different town. Different parking situation. Different everything.
Sometimes it is better to pick a base and let yourself breathe a little.
Montrose is not the flashiest town in western Colorado.
That is the point.
It is practical, easy to navigate, close to a surprising number of beautiful places, and full of little local stops that make the trip feel more grounded.
If you are planning a western Colorado trip and only thinking about the famous towns, consider giving Montrose more time.
Not as the place you pass through.
As the place you come back to.
The best day trips from Montrose Colorado give you a mix of famous places, quieter roads, and the smaller stops that make a trip feel more personal.
If you want to hear more about these places, be sure to check out my emails to see what’s next
If you want to see more like be sure to follow along below
- Ouray from Montrose: The Mountain Town Day Trip That Actually Works
- A Day Trip from Montrose Colorado: Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, Paonia, and Big B’s
- Best Day Trips from Montrose Colorado: Black Canyon, Ouray, Telluride and More
- What Nobody Tells You Before Visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison
- The Drive Nobody Tells You About: Silver Jack, Owl Creek Pass, and Ridgway
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