Car Camping Options in Grand Junction

Hello,
I'm looking for suggestions on car camping spots for this weekend. I was planning to park my truck at Powderhorn but the temps look chilly so I'd like to find a spot at lower elevation near town. I'm not familiar with Grand Junction though.

any comments are appreciated.

thanks.

Closest to GJ: road 25. Just find it and drive out a couple miles after it turns to dirt, and pull off into one of the many side roads. Depending upon how far out you drive, you can be within 20 minutes of downtown.

A little further, but nicer: Rabbit Valley. This is 30 miles west of GJ and has a few campsites at which you are supposed to have a legit portable toilet. Wrong direction for you anyway...

The best place, and even a little closer than Rabbit Valley, is Unaweep Canyon. It's southeast of town, up Hwy 141. Once you find the highway and get about 5 miles up the canyon you will start seeing dirt access roads on the right. Find a good place to tuck into behind boulders and juniper and keep your stay short and clean. Officially, no camping allowed, but I've never been bothered by the BLM. You get bonus points if you take a garbage bag and fill it with some of the approximately 30 tons of trash laying about. Also, the KOA campground, which is on the east end of town (you'd pass it if you are driving up from town) has decent showers for $7. There are one or two nice boulders up the canyon so bring your shoes and beanie.

The "desert" North of town is all BLM land. You can camp anywhere you want out there.

I'm an idiot this morning. The closest place to Powderhorn (that I know of) is James M. Robb Colorado River State Park, which is a few miles southwest (downriver, toward GJ) of the junction of Hwy 65 and I-70. Plenty of sites, water, toilets but no showers. I haven't camped here so I don't know the fee but it's an okay place right off the freeway. It's at exit 47, 5 miles east of Palisade.

Unaweep is a beautiful spot to camp and you can get spots that are right near good boulders too

awesome, thanks everyone!!

Please don't camp illegally in Unaweep. Western Slope Climbing Coillition has been working very hard to maintain and expand access in that area. The locals there are very keen to point out anything illegal going on there and this will hurt our efforts to build on the good relationship that has been created so far.

Thank you.

It's not camping but I sleep at the TA truck stop just off 70 heading west past downtown GJ. This is usually when I leave after work in the winter headed to Utah. Again It's not camping but if you're sleeping in your car and want to be close to the highway this spot is adequate.

So many people ask this question... imagine if we all just added good spots to a single map, and could review them...

freedirt.herokuapp.com/#8/4…

Phil Lauffen wrote:So many people ask this question... imagine if we all just added good spots to a single map, and could review them... freedirt.herokuapp.com/#8/4…

Yeah this was just a project a year ago to teach myself how to code...