Palisade: River Landscapes, Orchards, and History

Palisade combines the Colorado River with orchards, vineyards, and a clearly visible local history. The vineyards and orchards lie between the Colorado River and Grand Mesa and thrive in warm days, cool nights, and a high-desert climate. For planning your trip, this creates a varied mix of activity, regional products, historical discoveries, and peaceful days in the countryside.

By the river: walking, cycling, and water activities

The Colorado Riverfront Trail begins in Palisade and is suitable for easy walks, birdwatching, and bike rides. The Palisade section starts at Riverbend Park at the southern end of Brentwood Drive, crosses the Grand Valley Irrigation Canal, and runs 0.75 miles along the north bank of the Colorado River. Riverbend Park also has a paved trail for walking and cycling that follows the river.

This allows you to plan your days in different ways: A shorter route by the water can be combined with birdwatching, while the bike trail offers an active perspective on the river landscape. Those looking for more challenging cycling experiences will find mountain bike and gravel bike routes in Palisade, including the Palisade Plunge for experienced riders. There are also opportunities for kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding along the Colorado River. When choosing your holiday apartment, it is therefore worth considering first whether walks by the river, bike rides, or more athletic excursions should be the focus of your trip.

Fruit, lavender, and wine along three routes

The Palisade Fruit & Wine Byway is divided into three routes and is intended for motorists and cyclists. Along the byway are orchards, lavender gardens, vineyards, wineries, and farm stands selling fresh fruit. The orchards and farms also include U-pick options; reservations may be required for some of these offerings. At Sage Creations Organic Farm, visitors can pick lavender themselves.

Many wineries in Palisade have tasting rooms where you can have wine samples poured or enjoy a glass of wine. The byway therefore offers different ways to get to know the region: You can explore a route by car, cover individual sections by bike, or organize your stay around fresh produce and wine tastings.

Local history on walking tours

The Palisade History Museum is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; admission is free. Palisade's first history museum was created by renovating a log cabin built before 1939, which George Bunte Jr. had commissioned for his Grand Junction Palisade Freight company.

Those who prefer to discover the history through the townscape can include the Historic Crissey House. It is stop 10 on the Palisade Historic Walking Tour. The Herbert and Edith Crissey House, built in 1907, is connected with the first decade of the development of the town of Palisade. The Palisade Historical Society also offers guided tours of Colonel Bower, the town center, and historic sites around downtown. The brochure for the Palisade Historic Walking Tour is also available as an e-book. Printed copies are available in the holder beneath the Historic Downtown Palisade Sign on 3rd Street between Main Street and Kluge Avenue, as well as at the Palisade Chamber of Commerce and the Palisade Branch Library.

An event in August

The Palisade Peach Festival takes place every year on the third Friday and Saturday in August at Riverbend Park in Palisade, Colorado. If you would like to plan your trip around this date, the festival adds a specific event date to the year-round themes of the river landscape, fruit growing, and local history.

The right base for planning your trip

A holiday apartment in Palisade is a particularly suitable search direction if you want to combine the town's different sides yourself: a walk along the Colorado River, a route through orchards and vineyards, a historical walking tour, or a day with regional products. When choosing your accommodation, first consider which experiences are important to your travel group and how active or focused on enjoyment the individual days should be. This keeps your accommodation decision aligned with your personal travel plan without reducing the town to just one theme.

For further trip planning, you can also explore Fruita, Grand Junction, Redlands, and De Beque.

For the overarching travel overview: Mesa.