Where the Colorado Riverfront Trail Starts, and Why Locals Love It in October

If you want to understand what everyday life feels like in Grand Junction, start at Las Colonias Park. The Colorado Riverfront Trail runs about 28 paved miles from downtown to Loma, and the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens, right next to the Las Colonias Amphitheater, is one of the easiest places to begin. This month the gardens are also hosting Fall at the Gardens: Harvest Illuminated on October 22, 23 and 24, with pumpkin sculptures and illuminated displays.

What I like about this trail is how little you have to plan. You park, you step onto the pavement, and within minutes the river is beside you. Most of the route stays away from major roads, so it works for a long bike ride, an easy walk with the dog, or an early-morning jog before work.

The trail also doubles as an outdoor gallery. Along the way you'll find more than 100 sculptures and a handful of murals painted under the bridge overpasses. Watson Island, with its oak trees and disc golf course, makes a good mid-route stop. And if you branch off toward Connected Lakes, local birders will tell you it's the best bird-watching in town, with a list that runs past 200 species, from herons to hawks.

October is a lovely time to see it. The summer heat has let go, the cottonwoods along the water start to turn, and the light gets low and golden by late afternoon. Then you can wrap up the day downtown, since the trail connects to restaurants and taprooms without much of a detour.

That's the kind of thing buyers tell me they're hunting for: a place where the outdoors isn't a drive away, it's part of the routine. If you're curious which neighborhoods put you closest to the river, I'm always happy to talk it through.

— Scott Cotton - Realtor® @ The Christi Reece Group and Your Real Estate Trail Guide

Sources:

• Visit Grand Junction, "Grand Junction's Riverfront Trail": https://visitgrandjunction.com/blog/grand-junctions-riverfront-trail
• Western Colorado Botanical Gardens, event and hours information: https://wcbotanic.org/