8 Western US National Parks and Monuments to Visit in the Spring
In early May 2021, my partner, Korri, and I went on a long road trip through southeast Utah and southwest Colorado, hitting up a bunch of national parks and monuments along the way. Spring ended up being the perfect time to visit these parks, even though we had wildly variable weather! It already felt like summer in the Moab area with highs in the 90s, and we had much more pleasant spring-like weather at the other stops.
Spring is a fabulous time of year to visit these national parks if you want to avoid the crowds, beat the summer heat, and maybe even catch some of those elusive wildflowers! The shoulder seasons (spring and fall) are the best if you want to hike and explore all day long, but you do have to pay attention to the weather forecast. Snow can still fall in these places in the spring—or you might have to contend with thunderstorms or even heat. Spring is always fun when it comes to weather. 😉
Here are 8 western US national parks and monuments in southeast Utah (the Moab area) and southwest Colorado (the Cortez and Grand Junction areas) to visit in the spring! I shared details about each park and monument we visited below, and you’ll also find a list of other national parks to visit in the spring as well as an interactive map if you’d like to plan a trip. Drop any questions or other suggestions in the comments section!
If you do plan to visit a few national parks, be sure to pick up an Interagency Annual Pass for $80—this will get you entry into all of these parks (and all of the others) for a full year! Each park entry is $30 per vehicle if you do not have a pass, so the pass pays for itself if you go to only three parks.
Western US National Parks and Monuments to Visit in the Spring
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Canyonlands is a huge national park located in southeast Utah and is comprised of three districts. The Island in the Sky District is about 30 miles north of Moab and is the most visited of the three since it’s the most accessible.
After stopping at the visitors center to get my passport stamp, we first hiked out to Mesa Arch, one of the most popular stops in the park. We worked our way around the park, hiking out to Grand View Point Overlook (without realizing how far the hike was…don’t forget water or sunscreen like we did!), then heading over to Green River Overlook before making our way to Whale Rock and finally Upheaval Dome (we hiked to both overlooks).
If you head to the Needles District of Canyonlands south of Moab, I recommend stopping at Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument. This is a huge petroglyph and very cool so definitely don’t miss this! (Plus it’s right off of the highway so it’d be silly to skip it!) The Needles District is down in the canyon, so the drive in is jaw-dropping. There are parts of it where you drive right next to the canyon walls and it’s a little terrifying to see all of the giant fallen boulders all around you!
After a quick stop at the visitors center, we drove out to the end of the road, Big Spring Canyon Overlook, and then backtracked, stopping at Pothole Point for a quick hike, the Wooden Shoe Overlook, and finally the Roadside Ruin (a small-scale cliff dwelling). The Needles District is more primitive than the Island in the Sky District and there are a bunch of long backcountry trails in the area that we (obviously) didn’t do but are a great option if that’s what you’re looking for!
READ NEXT: What to Wear to Hike Arches National Park
Arches National Park, Utah
One thing you MUST known about Arches: due to its high popularity, the park closes in the morning when it fills up, and then as people leave around lunchtime, it opens back up—follow @ArchesNPS on Twitter and turn on their tweet notifications to know when it’s open again! I definitely recommend being there no later than 9-10 am if you want to be there before it closes temporarily, and especially if you want to do the more strenuous hikes before it gets hot (which you should, even in the spring).
We were in the park around 1 pm, stopped at the gift shop at the entrance, and then went on our way to hike and sightsee! We started at the farthest area of the park, Devil’s Garden, then hiked to Delicate Arch when it was a little cooler/less busy (the high temperature was around 95°F that day—yes, it can get that hot, even in the spring!), and then headed back to the Windows area. It was incredibly windy at Delicate Arch so we didn’t stay that long. We hiked the Windows area right around sunset and it was gorgeous!
We were able to squeeze in most of the main sites in only 7 hours but I would obviously have liked to have more time and definitely recommend getting there as early as you can or staying for longer than a day! Flexiblity in your schedule will also help in case there’s a rogue weather event.
Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
Natural Bridges National Monument is quite out of the way if you’re on your way to Moab or Cortez; we drove past Monticello south to Blanding and then west to Natural Bridges (the whole drive to Natural Bridges is part of Bears Ears National Monument). We arrived at Natural Bridges pretty late in the day and didn’t see anyone else at the park. There were clouds around that looked threatening, so we were cautious of lightning.
There are three arches (natural bridges) in the monument and we stopped at the overlook of each: Sipapu Bridge, Kachina Bridge, and Owachomo Bridge. I read that the views of the bridges are much cooler if you hike down into the canyon, but we didn’t have time for that (and honestly I don’t think our feet/legs would have survived after hiking for miles the previous two days of the trip!). We also hiked out to the Horse Collar Ruin Overlook (located between the first two bridges) to see cliff dwellings (bring binoculars so you can better see the details). The whole driving loop is about 9 miles and easy to do if you’re short on time.
READ NEXT: Where to Stop on a Road Trip Between Moab, Utah, and Cortez, Colorado
Hovenweep National Monument, Utah
Hovenweep National Monument was a highlight. It’s a tiny national monument located in basically the middle of nowhere just over the Utah—Colorado border in Utah. The visitors center here was closed when we were here, unfortunately. We hiked the fairly quick loop to see the ruins; it only takes about an hour or so to see everything. There is a section where you have to cross the small valley by hiking down steps on one side and back up steps on the other. I ended up dropping my face mask so we hiked a little extra in order to find it, but it didn’t add too much extra time thankfully lol.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado
Canyons of the Ancients is what I would consider a nontraditional national monument; the sites are spread out and not contained within specific park boundaries. The visitors center is located 10 miles north of Cortez in Dolores. We stopped there first, but it was closed. There’s a short (uphill) walk to some ruins, which we did very quickly as a storm was forming directly overhead. Spring storms are common in this area of the country, especially if you’re there in late spring!
We drove out to Lowry Pueblo as another storm brewed to our south. It was a beauty! Luckily we didn’t have any lightning near us. The Lowry Pueblo was my favorite of the two stops we made in Canyons of the Ancients and I would recommend this pueblo if you only have time for one. The ruins are well preserved, and you can even walk INSIDE the pueblo!!! It was amazing. Loved this one.
My next plan was to stop at the Painted Hand Pueblo en route to Hovenweep National Monument (more on that monument above), but the road wasn’t marked, and the road we think was the road to the pueblo was muddy and rutted…so we skipped that and went on to Hovenweep. (The roads varied between paved and unpaved, but the unpaved sections were in good shape.)
Our last stop was at the Sand Canyon Pueblo, also located in Canyons of the Ancients. This pueblo was huge, but sadly, it’s not as well preserved as the others. If you’re short on time, I’d suggest skipping this one and only visiting the Lowry Pueblo.
READ NEXT: What to Pack for a Long Road Trip to Utah and Colorado
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Mesa Verde National Park is one of the more popular parks in Colorado, and it’s also a high elevation park at 7,000 feet. That means that you may have snow to contend with in the spring months. It was dry when we went in early May 2021, but do be mindful of the forecast and make a plan just in case!
We kicked off our visit at Mesa Verde with a stop at the visitors center, which I always like doing to get a feel for things before heading out on our own. We chatted with a ranger, who told us about the one cliff dwelling you can visit without tickets. I didn’t realize cliff dwelling tours were available, so I didn’t book us any tours and by then they were long sold out. During COVID times, they are only selling 10 tickets per tour time slot, and the tickets go on sale 2 weeks ahead of time, so keep that in mind if you hope to walk around more than one cliff dwelling! (This might have changed since we went in spring 2021 so be sure to check ahead of time!)
After a quick stop at the highest point in the park, which has views into four states, we drove out to the farthest area of the park, Wetherill Mesa, to check out the Step House (the one cliff dwelling you can visit without a ticket). The trail to the Step House closed at 3 pm which is why we headed there first. While in the area, we also hiked out to Nordenskold Site #16, a cliff dwelling overlook. There are a bunch of other dwellings to check out in the area but we didn’t have time.
We then drove back to the Mesa Top Loop on the Chapin Mesa, walked out to the Spruce Tree House overlook, and then drove around the loop while stopping at each site along the loop. There’s a great podcast you can listen to with a park ranger describing the indigenous history and significance of each ruin along the loop (the info for it was at the visitors center). There were a bunch of cliff dwellings to see from the many overlooks, which was pretty amazing.
This is another park that is worth visiting over more than one day if you can swing it! It’s probably best to visit the Wetherill Mesa on its own day and then the Chapin Mesa on another day.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
I don’t think Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is super well known, but it should be. There’s always a reason why places are deemed national parks or national monuments! This park would be especially beautiful in the early spring with snow on the black rock, but spring snow can also wreak havoc on your trip so be sure to plan ahead and have a contingency plan just in case.
The Black Canyon appears seemingly out of nowhere—a beautiful deep canyon carved by the Gunnison River featuring narrow 1,000+ foot cliffs. This is not the park for you if you are afraid of heights; there are many overlooks accessible from the main road, and they all get right up close and personal with the edge of the cliff (but there are barriers, so no need to worry about falling unless you’re really not paying attention).
We stopped at every single overlook and clocked in around 5 miles just walking/hiking from the car to each overlook and back. Most people stop at the Gunnison Point Overlook, Pulpit Rock Overlook, and Painted Wall, but there are incredible views at every stop and would recommend hitting each one if you can! We spent about four hours in the park and wish we had more time. The canyon is seriously impressive and best viewed in person but is not for the faint of heart.
READ NEXT: Southeast Utah and Southwest Colorado National Parks Road Trip Itinerary
Colorado National Monument, Colorado
Colorado National Monument is located just south of Grand Junction. You can see the city from the monument! We drove Rimrock Road starting from the southern entrance station (closest to Grand Junction), which goes along the top of the monument and is a somewhat hairy drive with steep drop-offs and no shoulder. We stopped at as many roadside pull-outs and scenic areas as we could, but unfortunately, on this trip, we didn’t have time for any hikes before the sun went down. I would love to go back in the future! The scenery was stunning and reminded me of Moab.
If you are planning to hit up more than one national park or monument on your trip, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to see and do everything on your list! It doesn’t seem like there’s much to do or see at every park, but there is, and it’s exhausting trying to fit it all in a few days (my typical trip style, haha). If you can, give yourself time and lots of breaks to rest your body!
Other national parks to visit in the spring
In general, the best national parks and monuments to visit in the spring months are those in the southern part of the country. In many parts of California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, and all of the states in between, it gets HOT and miserable in the summer months, so the shoulder seasons are the best time of year to visit their national parks. (Plus, summer is usually busiest anyway!)
In Utah, other parks to visit include Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef (southwest Utah).
In California, check out Death Valley and Joshua Tree (southern California).
In Arizona, stop at Grand Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Petrified Forest (northern Arizona), and Organ Pipe Cactus (southern Arizona).
In New Mexico, check out White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns (southern New Mexico).
In Florida, visit the Everglades (southern Florida).