Living at the base of Colorado National Monument means the park is your backyard, but this summer it also means paying attention to which section of trail the crews are on. The National Park Service is running another phase of its Monument Canyon Trail rehab in 2026, and the practical effect for anyone who lives off Broadway or South Camp Road is that your default hike may need to shift by one entrance.
The good news is that the two things Redlands residents actually want out of a summer weekend, a hike before the heat and somewhere to land afterward, still line up. You just have to think about them in the right order.
The thesis: enter from the east this summer, not the top
The upper section of Monument Canyon Trail, the switchbacks that drop off Rim Rock Drive near the Coke Ovens turnout, is the part that has been closed for weekday rehab work in past project phases. When the NPS staged the first three-year rehabilitation of Monument Canyon Trail, the Upper Monument Canyon Trail was closed Monday through Friday to give crews a safe environment and protect hikers from a series of eroded switchbacks on a steep slope. The 2026 phase, posted on the park's site and last updated May 15, follows the same playbook.
For a Redlands resident, that changes the math on trail choice. The lower trailhead sits off Highway 340, not up on Rim Rock Drive, and it is the fastest entry from most of the neighborhood.
| Trail | Distance | Elevation | Entry from Redlands | Best start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Monument Canyon | 5 mi out-and-back | ~600 ft | Hwy 340, mile marker 5 | Before 8 a.m. |
| Serpents Trail | 3.5 mi round trip | ~850 ft | East entrance, first lot | Sunrise |
| No Thoroughfare Canyon (to first pool) | ~2 mi round trip | Flat | Devils Kitchen picnic area | Morning, avoid storms |
| Window Rock (rim) | 1 mi loop | Minimal | Saddlehorn, top of park | Any time |
Lower Monument Trail begins inside the park boundary, so an Interagency Annual Pass or a seven-day walk-in pass is required, and the trail is a 5-mile out-and-back, gains 600 feet, takes about two-and-a-half hours, and does not allow dogs. Serpents Trail sits just inside the east entrance, with parking in the first lot on the left, and climbs about 850 feet over 1.75 miles up to the Upper Serpents Trail trailhead with 18 switchbacks and views of the Book Cliffs, the Uncompahgre Plateau, and Grand Junction. Neither route touches the section of trail the crews are working on, which is why they hold up as summer defaults.
The Park Service recommends bringing a compass and topographic map for No Thoroughfare Canyon, the trail is unmaintained beyond the second waterfall, and hikers should check the weather because flash floods are an imminent danger. That last piece matters in July and August, when afternoon monsoon cells build over the Uncompahgre in under an hour.
One rule that catches new residents off guard: pets are not allowed on hiking trails or anywhere in the backcountry, and that prohibition includes pets being carried or placed in a stroller, bag, or backpack, with the general rule being "paws on pavement," though pets may be walked on paved roads and are welcome in picnic areas. If you want to walk a dog inside the park, the campground loops and the paved shoulder of Rim Rock Drive are the only options.
The July 4 climb, and why 2025 was the exception
If you have lived here more than a year, you already know about the flag. If you moved recently, this is the tradition worth learning first.
"I came here last year and found these canyons, and they feel like the heart of the world to me. I'm going to stay and build trails and promote this place, because it should be a national park." — John Otto, 1907, explorer and founder of what would become Colorado National Monument in 1911
Independence Monument is the most iconic feature of the park, and following in Otto's footsteps from the early 1900s, climbers plant a United States flag at its summit every July 4, a historical tradition that has only been cancelled once, in the summer of 2025, to protect a nest of vulnerable peregrine falcon chicks. Barring another closure, the 2026 climb is on. From Lower Monument Canyon Trail you can watch it happen without leaving the wash floor, which is the way most residents prefer to see it anyway.
The wildlife piece is not marketing copy. Lower Monument Canyon Trail is known for frequent viewings of desert bighorn sheep, and other wildlife in the area includes mule deer, coyotes, mountain lions, collared lizards, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, turkey vultures, ravens, canyon wrens and pinyon jays. Ewes and lambs move through in late spring and early summer. Go early, and you have a real chance.
Tiara Rado is quietly doing more than golf this summer
The course at the base of the mesa has been part of Redlands life for decades, but the 2026 event calendar is worth a second look for people who do not golf.
Start with the concert. Warehouse 2565 is presenting the Richrath Project, an REO Speedwagon Experience, at Tiara Rado Golf Course on Friday, June 12, 2026, and it is an outside show. If you have been to a summer show at the course before, you know the routine: the sun drops behind the Monument around show time and the temperature falls with it.
The Sinclair Rocky Mountain Open, Colorado's oldest golf tournament and now in its 86th year, takes place at Tiara Rado with a $100,000 purse where every golfer who makes the cut gets their entry fee back and more, and the winner receives $25,000. Clubhouse 25 Restaurant at Tiara Rado opens at 7:00 a.m. during tournament rounds, which is a useful thing to know if you want to watch pros hit balls before the day heats up.
Bordered to the west by the Colorado National Monument, Tiara Rado is a member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program and fledges more than 90 birds per year with three different species of bluebird. That is the part that separates a walk along the cart paths on a summer evening from the same walk anywhere else in the valley.
If you want dinner with the view instead of the sound of woods on tee boxes, the other option is up the road. Ocotillo sits with sweeping views of Redlands Mesa, rated the number one golf course in Colorado, and the Colorado National Monument beyond, and the bar showcases signature cocktails and a wine list featuring many local Colorado wines. Redlands Mesa was named the top public golf course by Golfweek and was designed by award-winning golf architect Jim Engh. On a Friday in June or July, the patio at Ocotillo picks up a breeze off the mesa around 7 p.m. that the parking lot does not.
A weekend template that actually works in July
Here is the sequence most residents settle into by their second summer. Adjust the trailhead based on whether the upper switchbacks are open that weekend.
- Saturday, 6:00 a.m. Coffee at home, on the trail by 6:45. Serpents on cooler mornings, Lower Monument Canyon when you want the payoff at Independence Monument. Off the trail before 10.
- Saturday, late morning. Groceries or errands while the sun is high. The Colorado National Monument park hotline for temporary closures is (970) 858-3617 if you want to check conditions before heading up again.
- Saturday evening. Patio at Ocotillo, or a concert night at Tiara Rado if the calendar lines up. Sunset over the Monument from the Redlands Mesa side arrives about 20 minutes later than from the valley floor.
- Sunday morning. Shorter walk. No Thoroughfare Canyon to the first pool is the family default because it is flat and only takes about an hour, but watch the sky.
- Sunday afternoon. If the monsoon is building, head to Market on Main, downtown's farmers market, which brightens Main Street from July through October with fresh produce and artisan crafts. It is fifteen minutes from most of Redlands and covered enough to duck a cell.
What's happening off the mesa
Redlands sits close enough to the rest of the valley that a summer weekend does not have to end at the neighborhood line.
The Palisade Peach Festival is on August 21, 2026 from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. and August 22, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Riverbend Park, and Friday features a drone show, with peach-eating contests, cuisine demos, and paddleboarding for peaches through the weekend. The Blue Angels are returning to Grand Junction for the 2026 Air Show on October 3 and 4, and the event sells out the town's lodging. 2026 is especially unique for Colorado, as it marks America's 250th and Colorado's 150th anniversaries, and a lot of programming across the valley is threaded through those two dates.
The Redlands piece of all of this is the location. Every one of these venues is inside a 25-minute drive of Broadway and Redlands Parkway, which is not something you can say from most Front Range suburbs.
If you have been thinking about how much of your weekend routine depends on being this close to the Monument, and whether that changes what you would want out of a next home in the neighborhood, Josh McGuire knows the streets that back up to the trailheads and the ones that trade a little proximity for a lot more shade. See our active listings or call or text Josh for a quick market consult.
