{"id":2122,"date":"2026-03-12T21:32:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T03:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journeyswithjohn.com\/wordpress\/?p=2122"},"modified":"2026-03-12T21:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T03:32:05","slug":"bridgeport-the-gateway-to-big-and-little-dominguez-canyons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journeyswithjohn.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/bridgeport-the-gateway-to-big-and-little-dominguez-canyons\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridgeport: The gateway to Big and Little Dominguez Canyons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Getting to Bridgeport Road<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Big Dominguez Canyon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/a>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n