Bridgeport Road off Highway 50 outside of Whitewater, Colorado provides access to two amazing canyon hikes. The road lets you access Big Dominguez and Little Dominguez Canyons. These are some of my favorite early-season hikes on the Western Slope. Once the snow is too crummy for XC skiing, I usually start hiking here to get back into hiking shape for the summer. These trails provide excellent warm-up hikes while trails in the mountains are still buried under snow.

Getting to Bridgeport Road

Getting to Bridgeport Road is very simple from Grand Junction to the north or from Delta to the south. From downtown Grand Junction, you drive approximately 22 miles south on Highway 50 towards Delta. After approximately 22 miles, you will take a right exit on Bridgeport Road. From here, it is a three-mile drive on a dirt road to the trailhead. The road is narrow in some places, so be aware of other drivers coming in the opposite direction. The road is dusty and has a lot of washboards, but it is generally in good shape and should be drivable in most passenger vehicles.

From downtown Delta, you will travel approximately 21 miles north on Highway 50. You then make a left exit across Highway 50 to access Bridgeport Road. Fortunately, there is dedicated left turn lane for this exit, so you do not have to come to a stop on the highway. After entering Bridgeport Road, you will travel the same three miles to the trailhead as described above.

Big Dominguez Canyon

Big Dominguez Canyon is usually my go to trail for early season hiking. The trail is relatively flat, and you can choose how far you want to hike. If you hike to the end of the trail at Big Dominguez Campground, it is a 30-mile hike. You can even connect Big Dominguez and Little Dominguez Trails for a nearly 40-mile roundtrip backpacking trip. Most people hike in approximately four miles to see the first series of amazing petroglyphs. If you make it this far, be sure to continue on another hundred yards to view more petroglyphs on rocks in the area. You will see petroglyphs from the archaic period as well as petroglyphs from the Utes. You will know which petroglyphs are from the Utes because there are horses in the images.

Most people turn around at these petroglyphs, making the hike an approximately eight-mile hike. If you are comfortable with greater distances, you might consider hiking seven miles into the canyon. At this point, you can see an old copper mine that has a metal grate over the shaft. You will also see numerous rock shelters along this hike that some believe originated during the archaic period, but that have been reused and repurposed throughout history. There is a shelter near the copper mine that was reused by the copper miners. This shelter might help you find the mine more easily, since the mine is down towards the creek from this shelter.

If you hike to the mine, your roundtrip distance will be around 14 miles. Fortunately, most of the return hike is downhill. Many of the petroglyphs in the area have been defaced or etched over, so please remember to leave the ancient artwork exactly as you found it and leave no trace along your entire hike.

Pausing at the waterfall around 3.2 miles into the hike during spring runoff
The really neat and photographic bridge that spans the Gunnison River before you enter the canyons
Under one of the alcoves that is approximately 5 miles into the hike
A really neat balancing rock that you will pass around two miles into the hike
Some of the less visited petroglyphs on the canyon wall approximately four miles into the hike
The most popular panel of petroglyphs that is right along the trail approximately four miles into the hike
If you go just beyond the main panel of petroglyphs, you will find even more amazing rock art
The early portion of the hike takes you right along the Gunnison River. There are several primitive campsites here for those that are traveling down the river.
Water cascades down the rocks before plummeting off the waterfall located about 3.2 miles into the hike

Little Dominguez Canyon

I have not hiked Little Dominguez Canyon as many times as Big Dominguez Canyon, but it is another great hike. It is less busy than Big Dominguez and leads to a neat old homestead site known as the Rambo Homestead. There are not any petroglyphs on this route that I am aware of, so the homestead is the highlight of the hike aside from the beauty of the surrounding canyons and Little Dominguez Creek. The trail is slightly harder to follow at some points along this route, but there is very little chance of getting lost since you are in a canyon the whole time following Little Dominguez Creek.

The Rambo Homestead makes for a great place to have a snack and do a little exploring. Do remember that this is a historic structure and leave all artifacts and items where they are. I have hiked a little bit past the Rambo Homestead, but not a lot farther. As mentioned above, you can link Little Dominguez and Big Dominguez Canyons together in a nearly 40-mile backpacking trip. If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing, you can read more about the route and trail conditions on Alltrails here. If a shorter hike is more up your alley, then a jaunt to the Rambo Homestead and back makes for a great daytrip.

The old Rambo Homestead approximately four miles into Little Dominguez Canyon
There are numerous artifacts around the Rambo Homestead. Remember to leave no trace and to leave everything as you found it.
One of the impressive rock formations that you pass as you head along Little Dominguez Canyon
Heading into the wilderness area that contains both Big and Little Dominguez Canyons
Views of the Gunnison River from the bridge that spans the river and leads you into the canyons