Scenic Rough Canyon is A Grand Junction Hike Worth the Effort

One of my favorite Grand Valley hikes is Rough Canyon.

Featuring a variety of landscapes, Rough Canyon is one of the more scenic hikes I have experienced in the Grand Junction area. Rocks, trees, water, and canyon walls are all part of this local hike.

This is a five-mile hike and its difficulty is rated as strenuous. It starts out easy enough, but about 3/4 of a mile in it starts to get interesting. You start out on this nicely groomed trail, but before long you start scrambling over rocks and it becomes a little more difficult to navigate.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not do the entire hike because I had my dog, Frisco, with me and it got to a point where I felt like her safety would be compromised so we turned back. But, wow, the part of this trail I experienced was fantastic.

You'll find Rough Canyon in the Bangs Canyon area up Little Park Road. It shares a trailhead with the Mica Mines hike. If you are a hiker and haven't tried this one yet, I whole-heartedly recommend it