Directions: 

From Cortez, CO, head south on Hwy 491 for about 20 miles as you pass into the Ute Mountain Reservation.  Turn west (right) onto Hwy 160 following signs to the Monument.  After about 18 miles on Hwy 160, you’ll enter New Mexico.  In a half mile, turn right (north) onto the monument road, and enter the monument through the entrance gate.  

Hike Description:

The Four Corners Monument is a world-famous site at the intersection of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.  The site is managed by the Navajo Nation and sits at the edge of the Navajo Nation Reservation and Ute Mountain Reservation.  The monument itself consists of a plaza with state boundaries demarcated and vendor booth’s selling crafts and souvenirs.  Being able to stand in 4 states at once is a fun and unique experience and great for kids.  However, this is a hiking website, is there hiking at the monument? Yes! 

The monument has small trail system spanning all four states.  There are 2 official trails, the Dancing Horse Trail is located in New Mexico, while the Stateline Trail spans Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.  While the official trail system does not include Colorado Hiking…for shame…there are unofficial trails in Colorado and it’s almost impossible to access these trails without stepping foot in Colorado, so I’m including it in this site.

We visited the site with our two kids, so we opted for the shorter hike option on the Stateline Trail.  This trail starts in the back of the monument and stays almost entirely in Utah, though it’s almost impossible to tell which state you are in while you are there.  The trail starts by following the rim of a valley to an overlook of Utah and Colorado.  The views here are terrific in all directions.  The colorful desert landscape of the Utah portion is front and center while the views into Colorado are more distant, Sleeping Ute Mountain and Mesa Verde are prominent to the northeast.  

The trail then descends the steep slope in a series of switchbacks amongst loose rock.  The trail then heads back south towards the Monument and comes to an intersection after just a few minutes of hiking.  From here you can continue along the Stateline Trail for 1.3 miles to the entrance gate of the Monument or climb back out of the valley and return to the monument for a shorter trip.  If this wasn’t one stop of many on our family road trip, I would have liked to hike the entire trail, but the shorter loop would have to suffice.  All in all, the shorter loop results in about 0.6 miles of hiking.  

The Four Corners Monument is high on the tourist list for southwest Colorado, but I’m happy to report that it is not all about tourism at the site.  The landscape is pure desert beauty and hiking the trails provides a good immersion in the local nature.  The area is frequented by wild horses and holds a special meaning for the indigenous tribal nations that contribute to making this site special.  Well worth a visit!