Description: You can reach the Grand Mesa, east of Grand Junction by following the Grand Mesa Historic and Scenic Byway. The mesa is home to vast forests, meadows, plateaus, and plenty of lakes. The Scenic Byway runs from Interstate 70 (Exit 49) for 71mi across the mesa to Cedaredge. The highest elevation is Crater Peak (11232feet). The Grand Mesa is the highest mesa in Colorado.

Our rating: The Grand Mesa was actually not on our agenda (October 2018). Because we could not realize our plans because of very bad weather, a ranger in Colorado NM recommended us as an alternative location the Grand Mesa. Especially in autumn a worthwhile destination, because there are many aspens here and so everything was yellow during our visit. The entire Scenic Byway is paved, so it is no problem to be on the road here even in the rain. We liked it here very well and if we are back in the area in the fall, we would like to see the Mesa again with good weather.

On our second visit at the end of May 2023, we had good weather but no autumn. Actually, we wanted to make up for the visit to Lands End, which we could not visit in 2018 because of the rain. Unfortunately, Lands End was also not accessible in 2023. This time because of the extreme snowfall that had occurred in the winter of 2022/2023. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed the drive across the Mesa. Up here everything was still covered in deep snow and many of the lakes were still frozen. An extreme contrast to the almost 80 degrees in nearby Grand Junction.