The Aurora Borealis from Grand View

Colorado National Monument | Tuesday, November 11, 2025

After returning home from Bryce Canyon National Park earlier in the afternoon I went outside to warm up and relax in our hot tub after dark when I looked up and noticed that the sky was looking a bit reddish with a little green coloring just above the horizon. I remembered reading something online earlier in the day about there being a chance to see the Northern Lights in Colorado this evening, but we are bombarded by so many of those stories these days that turn out to be false, I thought nothing of it. However, now that I could actually see the colors from my backyard with my naked eyes I knew that they would probably look pretty good with a camera, so I cut my soak short, got dressed, grabbed my camera and headed up into the Colorado National Monument. It turned out to be a great decision because the colors of the Aurora Borealis were spectacularly visible from the Heart of the World this evening! I initially stopped at the Independence Monument Viewpoint, but didn’t really like the angle from there, so I continued on to Grand View and had the place to myself for a while as I tried different settings and compositions. These are a few of the photos I took this evening.

Grand View Northern Lights

Northern Lights over the Grand Valley

Grand View Guardian

Twisted Borealis

Aurora Borealis from Grand View

After enjoying the colors of the Aurora Borealis over the Grand Valley, eventually two other cars showed up at Grand View, which was my cue to leave. As I drove out of the Monument I noticed that all the possible pullouts and viewpoints were now full of vehicles and there was a steady stream of cars coming up Rim Rock Drive, so I guess the word had finally got out on social media, but I’m glad that I got up there before all the crowds showed up!

>> The Aurora Borealis from Grand View Photo Gallery