Fall Hard for the Western Slope of Colorado

Great Things to Do in Grand Junction, Montrose & Delta

Chris Duthie

Cooler late-summer temperatures already are being recorded statewide, including the resplendent, high-desert environs of Grand Junction, Delta and Montrose. If you’re a fan of that region’s burgeoning wine industry and its top-tier golf courses, start planning now for a week or long weekend on Colorado’s panoramic Western Slope.

What is there to see and do? Here are four suggestions:

1. Six outstanding golf venues grace Grand Junction. At the head of the class is The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa, a pulse-quickening Jim Engh creation that has earned multiple CAGGY awards as well as Golfweek magazine’s No. 1 “Best Courses You Can Play In Colorado” ranking. Set in the foothills of towering Colorado National Monument, trails fees for the 7,007-yard knockout have been reduced to $65 (or $50, including cart, with a Colorado AvidGolfer Golf Passport). Other great tracks to play include recently renovated Tiara Rado Golf Course, members-only Bookcliff Country Club, nine-hole Lincoln Park, executive-style Chipeta Golf Course and 27-hole Adobe National Golf Club in nearby Fruita.

2. The Grand Junction area is 22-wineries strong, including just-opened Red Fox Cellars, which offers a number of hard ciders and fruit wines, many of which are matured in whiskey and bourbon barrels. (Ask about the label’s increasingly popular Bourbon Barrel Merlot.) To celebrate this year’s bountiful harvest, attend the 24^th Annual Colorado Mountain Winefest in nearby Palisade (Sept. 17-20). The event will feature live demonstrations, grape stomps, seminars, delectable cuisine and unlimited wine samplings of the state’s most esteemed labels.   

3. In Delta, 40 miles south, is Devil’s Thumb Golf Club, a 7,176-yard prairie-style routing masterfully crafted by Rick Phelps. High season trail fees are $55 including cart, but golfers can whittle down that rate to $30 by invoking senior, veteran and foursome status on certain weekdays. (Ask about special pricing for families and couples.) Later this month is Celebrate the Fork, which honors and highlights the region’s hardworking farmers, artists, potters, sculptors, authors and musicians with a special weekend brimming with live entertainment, dancing, food and spirits (Aug. 28-29).

4. An easy 25-minute drive south from Delta on US 50 is pastoral Montrose, which beckons with three outstanding golf courses: Black Canyon Golf Course, a 6,174-yard municipal challenge that offers $34 trail fees; semi-private The Bridges Golf Club and its tradition-steeped, 7,017-yard routing crafted by Nicklaus Design ($87 trail fees include cart); and the 6,982-yard Links at Cobble Creek, a verdant and meticulously groomed members-only course designed by Craig Cherry. Ring out the season and attend the 10^th Annual Montrose Octoberfest (Oct. 3), an oompapa celebration of live entertainment, great food and thirst-slacking suds served by 20 craft breweries from Colorado’s Western Slope.

RELATED LINKS

The Western Slope Lifestyle

Tons of Golf, Plenty of Fun

See and Do Grand Junction & Montrose

2015 CAGGY Award Winners

Chris Duthie is a contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer, the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.