Coal Canyon is located about 25 minutes west of our house off I-70 but I had never ridden the BLM trails in this area. Given that the BLM would be closing the gate by the end of the month I decided a Sunday morning ride would be a good way to spend the morning of November 19th.
Start of Coal Canyon
The area is not very scenic and very little remains of the coal mines that once dotted the area. The mine sites have been closed and bulldozed flat (these were pit mines, not shaft mines) so no structures remain. Still, it was a bright, if chilly, day and I looked forward to the ride.
Coal seams are present along the ATV trail and it is not hard to see why coal was mined in the area. Known as the Cameo Plant, for years a coal-fired electrical generating plant was located a couple miles away from the trailhead and used local coal as fuel. (The plant was dismantled and removed a few years ago.)
Black coal seam along trail
The main trail offers two side trails to explore, one going up either side of the canyon. The western side trail terminates on a ridge that overlooks Grand Junction and offers interesting views of the Grand Valley.
Grand Valley, Colorado
The eastern trail just ends at a washed-out gully. Faint traces of the trail can be seen on the other side but I simply turned around and headed back to the main trail.
East trail ends at this point
The upper end of the main trail follows a wash that is passible when dry and shows signs of rock erosion from the seasonal stream that must flow through it in the spring or during times of heavy rain.
Rocks along wash show signs of erosion
Finally, after climbing out of the wash and heading uphill, the end of the main trail offered this view with Grand Mesa in the background:
Views from end of Coal Canyon trail
I would rate couple of places along this trail “difficult” but fun because of that. The western side trip involved getting up a rock-strewn trail where you had to keep your momentum going so it was taken a bit faster than my normal pace. A spot on the main trail involved going up a pretty steep slope that had rocks embedded in it; experience loading the ATV into the truck (45 degree angle on the ramps) helped me get up the slope and over the rocks. In these places you just have to go into 4-wheel drive, low range, and trust your tires to pull you up and over the obstacles.
The main trail is not long, less than 9 mile each way, but with the side trips I put on 28.8 miles during the two- hour ride. This will not be one of my favored routes — it does not have the scenic and historical significance I prefer — but it is a nice outing for a half-day ride close to home.
I was surprised to see how much traffic this trail was getting this day. I met a pair of dirt bike riders, several horse riders, a couple of mountain bikers, and an entire family on bicycles heading up the trail along with 3 other utility vehicles and two 4×4 rigs at different points. Most of the high country trails are closed now either from snow or seasonal closures and Coal Canyon was still open, making it a destination. This is a lot more traffic than I usually see on most of the trails I ride.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny’s Worth:
At least it got him out of the house.
Happy Trails.