Crossing west to east on I-70 (Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs: hotels, restaurants, cost)

[JJGittes65]

i will be driving east on I70 in late March going cross-country. I have never been to Colorado before. What would be a nice, picturesque town to stop in for a day and one night, not too far off I-70? thanks

[Mike from back east]

Grand Junction, near the Utah border, lot of great scenery nearby.
Glenwood Springs with the huge outdoor hot springs, right on I-70.

[COcheesehead]

March is still a big snow month in the high country. I drive I 70 a lot. The choke point is almost always Vail Pass. Watch the weather forecast. If any snow is forecast in Vail, you may encounter adverse weather on the Pass. They may shut it down if it gets too bad, so always carry water, some snacks and some extra clothes in the car. Colorado also has a new traction law that you may want to Google.

As for your original question, drive through the Colorado National Monument. Just a few miles off I 70. One of the more unique attractions in Colorado that many natives have never seen. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...-Colorado.html

Stop and stay in Palisade for good food and wine. It’s Colorado’s wine country.

Glenwood is also easy with its hot springs, cute downtown and a couple good restaurants.

Or bite the cost bullet, it’s high season in Vail, but it’s a fun little village to spend a night in.

[Robert5]

Glenwood Springs is your best option in March unless you want to ski and spend a lot of money in Breckenridge or Vail.



Limon on the front range has some decent affordable hotels, a whole lot of not very much between Limon and Topeka KS.

[jim9251]

Vail https://www.vail.com/

[JJGittes65]

How about Frisco?

[DOUBLE H]

Exit 19 in Fruita and the Horizon Drive exit in Grand Junction has plenty of motels. Restaurants? The edge goes to the Horizon drive exit. Like CoCheesehead had stated, March can be a crapshoot going up the passes. Watch the weather reports on tv. And don't try to outrace a storm, the ones in March/April can get squirrelly in no time. The digital C-DOT board on I-70 around mile marker 22 generally gets the info out fairly quickly when the weather turns bad, for that matter the message boards stay on top of the situation regarding vehicle crashes.


Glenwood is certainly a nice place to spend the night provided you hit a stretch of good weather, plenty of mom and pop motels on the north side of Interstate 70. Love them hot springs! Don't be surprised if you see 10-15 minute delays on the highway, plenty of rock remediation work goes on there. The eastbound lanes doesn't get quite as much as the westbound lanes. There was a lot of paving last year on I-70, and there will be plenty this year as well.

Have a great time and drive carefully!

[COcheesehead]

Horizon drive is a fast food hell. If you are looking for local Colorado eats, I would take the extra few minutes and drive into downtown Grand Junction: Bin 707, Taco Party, 626 on Rood or Palisade: Pesche’ or Palisade Cafe. All great, farm to table places that will give you a unique sense of place in Western Colorado.

[SkyDog77]

I agree with others: the most scenic stops right on I-70 are in Glenwood Springs and Vail.

Grand Junction is nice, but not the scenic Colorado you are thinking of. It’s high desert with mesas in the background.

Frisco/Silverthorne/Lake Dillon area is also quite nice. Breckenridge is only 20 minutes from I-70 and is a better town than anything right on I-70.

Aspen is only about 50 minutes from Glenwood Springs/I-70 if you are inclined to drive a little off of your path. I think it’s well worth the visit if you won’t be back in the area again.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by COcheesehead

Horizon drive is a fast food hell.

I goofed when I said about Horizon Drive and restaurants but fast food hell? No, the winner there goes to Fruita. They have much more than Horizon drive--here we go--Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, Taco Bell, QDoba, Subway, Quiznos, (sub sandwiches aren't that bad a thing though.)

A few Fruita restaurants that I like eating at would be Camilla's (breakfast and lunch), Karma Kitchen (lunch and dinner--Nepal cuisine and quite good). Dragon Treasure Chinese Restaurant is good as well. The only other restaurants for breakfast regarding a mom and pop business would be Judy's. And Starvin' Arvins restaurant at the truck stop at exit 19.