About Palisade

Palisade, Colorado, has a friendly, small-town atmosphere, yet is just minutes away from world-class medical services, shopping, dining, entertainment and Grand Junction Regional Airport. Palisade is also just a short drive from the Grand Mesa, where skiing, fishing, hunting, camping and other outdoor activities are available year-round.

Besides our famous fruit and wine industries, our community boasts Victorian neighborhoods, fine schools, a low crime rate and a cozy downtown shopping area. Whether you’re just visiting or looking for a place to call home, Palisade offers modern amenities in a pastoral setting of fields, orchards and vineyards.

Palisade has the state’s greatest concentration of wineries and vineyards. Every winery offers tastings, award-winning wines and unique gift ideas. We encourage you to take a self-guided tour and sample these wines yourself.

History

Palisade was named for the austere and dramatic palisades of Mancos Shale north of town. The sculptured appearance of these geologic formations was created by the uplifting of the area combined with localized erosion and the downcutting of the Colorado River.

The first inhabitants of the Grand Valley were Ute Indians, followed by white settlers who began arriving in l881. By l894, the first peach, pear, apple and grape orchards appeared in the area now known as the Vinelands. The soil was rich but rainfall was scarce, so barrels of water were hauled by wagons from the river to water young trees.

In l913 the U.S. Reclamation began construction of a system of irrigation canals to support agricultural efforts. Water from a 480 ft. wide roller dam across the Colorado River diverts water into the 80 miles of irrigation canals which comprise the Highline Canal and Price and Stub Ditches.

The local climate is often referred to as "The Banana Belt." The mild climate and unique terrain create near-perfect peach and grape growing conditions. Winds moving through DeBeque Canyon are compressed and warmed to prevent crop killing frosts in the spring. The climate, a 182-day growing season, and an average 78 percent of sunshine makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado.”