Alcove Nature Trail

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The Alcove Nature Trail provides visitors with a fantastic journey through striking desertscapes rich with diverse plant and animal life.

Starting across Rimrock Drive from the Colorado National Monument Visitor Center, travel along the Alcove Nature Trail's sandy tread through this area's characteristic scrubby pinyon pine and Utah juniper-laden landscape.

About a half-mile into the journey, the trail turns north into a box canyon, delighting visitors with spectacular views of the valley walls and perhaps a feeling of participating in a John Wayne western movie stagecoach ambush!

After enjoying the canyon's beautiful walls and verdant green flora, head back out of the canyon the way you came to return to the Visitor Center Parking Area.

Utah juniper, pinyon pine, sage, and yucca are abundant along the trail. Keep your eyes peeled for lizards sunning themselves along the trail's sandstone blocks.