Independence Monument is a free standing tower of soft, red sandstone, the signature formation of the Colorado National Monument. It soars 450 feet above the floor of the monument canyon. Independence Monument may be the most frequently publicized summit in state of Colorado, following the Maroon Bells and Pikes Peak. It appears frequently on calendars and picture books of Colorado, and was featured on the front page of the Denver Post on July 5, 2006.

There are various explanations of how this tower earned its name. John Otto, the earliest climber of Independence Monument, placed a United States flag on its summit on July 4, 1911. In recent years, Grand Junction area climbers have picked up Otto's tradition, and plant Old Glory on top of the Monument each Independence Day. In 2006, this tradition took on a new twist. The Mesa County technical rescue team led 30 nonclimbers up the Monument. Each nonclimber donated $100 to the rescue team.


In another show of patriotism, Otto and his wife carved some of the words of the Declaration of Independence on a flat boulder not far from the base of the monument.

Otto was a colorful, one-man political action committee, who provoked the citizens of Mesa County to petition Congress to declare the area west of Grand Junction a National Park. In addition to his lobbying campaign, Otto worked tirelessly and single handedly built miles of trails in the monument. Eventually, the Grand Junction newspaper and Chamber of Commerce got behind his project, and Colorado National Monument became a reality by an act of Congress on May 24, 1911. Otto stayed on as the caretaker of the monument at a salary of one dollar a month into the 1920s.

Otto left his mark on Independence Monument itself, in the form of deep artificial holds. In his day just climbing the rock in any manner was a visionary and stupendous feat. But the result today is a tower with possibly no natural, free route to the summit.