A surprising amount of the best material out here costs nothing, largely because it sits on public land with an interpretive sign rather than behind a gate. This is the list.

The dinosaur quarries

Four interpretive sites, all free, tracing the excavations that sent the first known Brachiosaurus to Chicago in 1900.

  • Riggs Hill, Grand Junction — a roughly one-mile easy loop at the 1900 Brachiosaurus site, with replica vertebrae mounted into the rock where the originals came out. No dogs.
  • Dinosaur Hill, Fruita — a one-mile loop, about 150 feet of climbing, at the 1901 Apatosaurus quarry. A boulder carries a mold of a hind-limb bone. Pit toilets, no water, leashed pets, summit shelter.
  • Fruita Paleontological Area — a half-mile packed-dirt interpretive trail with panels, benches, picnic tables and the historic Skinner Cabin. Partially wheelchair accessible.
  • Trail Through Time, Rabbit Valley, I-70 exit 2 — a 1.5-mile loop with sauropod bones, Allosaurus, the armored Mymoorapelta, and carbonized wood visible in the rock. The adjacent Mygatt-Moore Quarry is an active dig, open year-round with interpretive panels.

Art on the Corner, Grand Junction

Founded in 1984 and one of the first programs in the country to put a temporary sculpture exhibition on city sidewalks. The permanent collection runs to nearly a hundred pieces with another ten to twenty rotating through. It is administered by Downtown Grand Junction, it won a national public art award in 1998, and it is simply outdoors on Main Street. Free, always open, no ticket.

Rock art

Palisade Rim — the petroglyph hike is about 2.7 miles round trip, moderate, climbing switchbacks from roughly 4,685 to 5,356 feet. The panels show deer and hunting scenes, including a figure drawing a bow. The concentration suggests a seasonal Ute encampment on the bench above the switchbacks.

The detail most people miss: the panels sit twenty to thirty feet off the main trail, and most hikers walk straight past them. Trailhead parking is across US 6 near the Colorado River. No restrooms.

Canyon Pintado National Historic District — over 16,000 acres along fifteen miles of Highway 139, north of Loma over Douglas Pass. Nine interpretive sites, and almost all of them are paved roadside pullouts reachable in a passenger car. The two easiest are the best: the Kokopelli panel at milepost 56 is immediately across the road from the turnout, and Waving Hands at milepost 53.5 is a short walk to a cliff face with a dark red waving figure, small painted Fremont figures, and an overhang with Ute figures, horses, arrows and outlined hands.

Only Cow Canyon requires a dirt road. Day use, no camping. Budget a long half day from Grand Junction and check pass conditions in winter.

How to visit rock art responsibly: look, do not touch — hand oils darken carvings permanently. Stay on marked paths. No rubbings, no chalk, nothing applied to enhance an image. Leave potsherds and stone tool fragments where they lie. Leash and clean up after pets. Report vandalism to the managing agency. These are sacred places to Native peoples; behave as a guest.

Three free days at Colorado National Monument

Entry is normally $25 per vehicle, but three fee-free days remain in 2026: September 17 for Constitution Day, October 27 for Theodore Roosevelt's birthday, and November 11 for Veterans Day. New for 2026, fee-free entry applies to US citizens and residents only.

Even on a paid day, the five short hikes and twenty-three miles of Rim Rock Drive are included in the entry.

The Ouray Ice Park

Admission is free. A human-made ice climbing venue in a natural gorge within walking distance of downtown Ouray, spanning nearly two miles with more than 150 named ice and mixed climbs. It exists because a nonprofit farms the ice and maintains the infrastructure on memberships. If you use it, join.

Nordic skiing on the Grand Mesa

The Grand Mesa Nordic Council grooms three areas — Skyway at 21.6 km, County Line at 15.7 km and Ward Lake at 7 km plus backcountry — and the trails are free to use, with a suggested $10 donation per adult. Skyway and County Line sit above 10,500 feet and hold early season snow.

Walking, riding and looking

  • The Colorado Riverfront Trail, Grand Junction — paved, dog-friendly, along the river through a string of parks.
  • Las Colonias Park — 130 acres on the Colorado with three ponds, three dog park sections, a playground and bike playground, and a river park with two standing wave features. The channel closes when the river drops below 810 cfs.
  • Watson Island, Grand Junction — dogs welcome.
  • Doc Holliday's grave, Glenwood Springs — a 0.7-mile round trip from 12th and Bennett up to Linwood Cemetery. Worth knowing before you go: nobody knows the exact location of the grave. What you see is a memorial marker, not a confirmed burial site. Also buried there is Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan, who rode with Butch Cassidy.
  • Farmers markets — Fruita Saturdays 8:30am to noon at the Civic Center through October 31; Palisade Sundays 9am to 1pm at Third and Main through October 4.
  • Museum of the West, Grand Junction — free admission on the first Friday of most months.

Checked September 2026 by Western Slope Trellis. Fee-free days and seasonal hours change annually.