Colorado National Monument is a national park unit, not a state park

Just outside Grand Junction sits a landscape of red-rock canyons and towers. It is easy to lump it in with Colorado’s state parks, but it is run by a different agency.

Colorado National Monument is part of the National Park Service — the same family as the big national parks. That means its rules come from the federal side, not from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Entrance fees, where you can camp, whether dogs can go on trails, and how passes work all follow National Park Service rules, which are not the same as a state park’s.

Why care: a visitor who shows up expecting state-park rules, or expecting a state parks pass to cover entry, can be surprised. Knowing it is a national-park unit tells you which website to check and which pass actually works.

Before visiting, check the monument’s official National Park Service page for fees and rules.