Entry No. 8 — the Grand Junction file — filed under: outdoor-weird
Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range
“By July the bands climb, and you earn your sightings.”
Congress set aside exactly three ranges in America specifically for wild horses, and this is the one hiding behind Mount Garfield. Roughly 36,000 acres of pinyon-juniper canyon country hold bands of palominos, paints, roans, and appaloosas — two to ten horses to a band, sometimes grazing within a mile of the Coal Canyon trailhead. Local volunteers know most of them by name. In spring, foals work the lower canyons; by July the bands climb, and you earn your sightings.
The move: Pack coffee and binoculars, hit the Coal Canyon Trailhead at first light, and hike the Main Canyon Trail until you spot a band — spring mornings they are often inside the first mile.
📍 Before you go Two ways in: the Coal Canyon Trailhead sits 2.2 miles up a well-graded gravel road off I-70 Exit 46 at Cameo and any car can make it, while the Winter Flats and Dry Fork roads out of De Beque are 20-plus miles of true 4x4 dirt that turn impassable when wet. The Coal Canyon road gate closes to vehicles December through May to protect wintering wildlife and foals, but walking in is allowed year-round. Horses move low in spring and high in midsummer, and they are most active mornings and evenings — bring water, there is none on the trail. Pair it with Palisade wineries and fruit stands ten minutes back down the interstate.
- 📍 De Beque
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Coal Canyon Trailhead via I-70 Exit 46 (Cameo), or Winter Flats Rd out of De Beque, CO 81630
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3
last checked: 2026-06-11