Western Colorado's Largest City Is A Mountain Gem In The Heart Of Wine Country With Tons Of Red Rock Trails

There are few territories in the U.S. that can match Colorado when it comes to the great outdoors. The Centennial State is carved up by mountains and mighty canyons from head to toe. You can hit Telluride for front-row views of the Rockies, conquer the famous trails of Pikes Peak outside of Colorado Springs, or come in the winter for some of the absolute best skiing in the country. Mother Nature creeps up close to the civilization in these parts, too. In fact, the largest city in Western Colorado, Grand Junction, has a population of just over 65,000 and sits amid rust-colored canyons and picture-perfect wine country.

The name says it all: Grand Junction is at the meeting point of a range of different environments. Head west and you'll hit the hoodoos and towering bluffs of the Colorado National Monument. Go east to discover the aspen-covered highlands of the Grand Mesa, where scenic byways loop around orchards and shimmering mountain lakes. Head south to find the over 200,000 acres of public land that is the wild Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, a world of creeks and canyons that will leave you stunned.

If you're eager to get onto the trails as fast as possible, opt to jet straight into the Grand Junction Regional Airport, which has daily connections to Denver and Dallas. The more scenic option is to drive. Interstate 70 comes into Grand Junction from the east and the west, offering connections through the middle of the Rocky Mountains from both Salt Lake City and Denver in just over four hours.

Grand Junction sits in the heart of the Grand Valley, a fertile region that's fed by the waters of the Gunnison and Colorado rivers. It's been known for its fruit growing and farming since the first settlers came in the 19th century, but it also has an upcoming wine industry that's been compared to the big beasts of Sonoma and Napa, which hosts one of the "most historic and celebrated" wineries in the whole of California. At the time of writing, it's estimated that there are as many as 30 tasting rooms and wineries to get through in the Grand Junction area, accounting for a whopping 25% of all the wineries in the Centennial State!

But where to begin? The Palisade Fruit and Wine Byway could be perfect. It's a designated cycling route that links up many of the top-rated wineries around Grand Junction, along with lavender farms, alpaca sanctuaries, fruit gardens — the list goes on! There are a variety of loops on offer, but the 7-mile West Cruiser Route promises the most wine-related stops.

You can also enjoy the local tipples without leaving town. The tree-lined Main Street bends its way through the heart of Grand Junction, offering stacks of boutique shops, locavore restaurants, and — of course — wine tasting rooms. These include the Carlson Vineyards Downtown Tasting Room, where you can sample some of the region's award-winning riesling, and the Shiras Winery, where the wines are bottled on site in downtown Grand Junction using grapes sourced from Western Colorado and across the U.S. West Coast.

With the desert on one side and the western slope of the great Rockies on the other, it's hardly surprising that Grand Junction is regularly hailed as a superlative hiking destination. While there are oodles of adventure to be had on the riverways and among the alpine reaches of the high peaks, one thing really stands out for walkers among the natural landscapes here: red rock canyons.

You can take the highly-rated Canyon Rim Trail that skirts the top edge of Wedding Canyon. It weaves for 0.5 miles into Colorado National Monument land and connects with the Window Rock Trail, offering views of Window Rock and the vast Monument Canyon, which opens up like a scene from a Western movie below. Something a bit more challenging awaits at No Thoroughfare Canyon, where you'll trek under craggy cliffs beside a gurgling stream to a series of waterfalls.

Further south from town, you can conquer even longer trails like the route through Dominguez Canyon, a 9-mile romp amid quintessential West Colorado backcountry that's replete with ancient stone markings and views of the wide Gunnison River. That's a stepping stone into the larger Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, which has stacks more hiking, along with mountain bike trails and river kayaking routes.