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Rising high above the vibrant browns and reds of the westerner Colorado landscape, stand the Grand Mesa. Touted as the highest flat topped mountain in the world, the Grand Mesa spans roughly 500 acres and stretches 40 miles in Garfield, Grand and Delta counties. While much of the terrain does appear flat, the topography can be rugged in many places. Plateau and Kannah creeks run off the Mesa into the Grand Valley and there are over 300 lakes. Most of the Mesa sits at 6,000 feet but the highest points reach just over 11,000 feet in elevation, mostly in the Grand Mesa National Forest.
The easiest and simplest way to see the Mesa is to drive Colorado Highway 65, the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, running from Interstate 70 in the west to the town of Cedaredge in the South. The Scenic Byway though switchbacks and overlooks, and gives one a sufficient overview of the landscape. But to really enjoy it, one should get out and hike.
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The Grand Mesa is often as much as 30 degrees cooler than the Grand Valley, offering respite from the heat of the lower elevations in the summer, and large amounts of snow in the winter. It serves as an oasis and a stark contrast from the high desert of the Western Slope of Colorado any time of year. Nordic skiing is abundant on the Mesa, best accessed at the Grand Mesa Nordic Center. For the more adventurous, Powderhorn Ski Area offers alpine skiing and snowboarding in the winter and hiking, scenic lift rides, and downhill mountain biking in the summer. Ten miles from the Scenic byway is the Lands End Observatory, a historic ranger observatory built by the Civilian Conservation Corps that offers views of the Grand Valley. There are also over 3,000 miles of maintained trails in the national forest. One of the most spectacular is the Crag Crest Trail, a 10.5 mile loop running a ridgeline and overlooking many alpine lakes.
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September 17, 2026
