Accolades for Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade and the Grand Valley region of Mesa County, CO

We are lucky to live where there are many accolades for the Grand Valley, Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade and Mesa County. There are so many articles to choose from that support this, but I narrowed it down to one accolade for each community and some for Mesa County. Here are a few highlights of our amazing community starting with the most recent recognition for Grand Junction, CO.

Charming Grand Junction Downtown

Downtown Grand Junction springtime!

Grand Junction’s fabulous downtown is #8 on the 2024 “10 Best” list of Charming Downtowns from USA Today. Here’s what they had to say:

“These 10 places with charming main streets — nominated by an expert panel and voted by readers as the best in the U.S. — offer more than just a road; these streets are living history, have a vibrant culture, and serve as the hearts of their communities.”

We couldn’t agree more! We were very impressed with the wide and wandering sidewalks, beautiful landscape, multitude of sculptures and art as well as lively dining options, boutiques, summer Farmers Market and so much more. Downtown is easily accessible and a true gem in the Grand Valley.

Here’s how USA Today summarized downtown Grand Junction.

“Celebrated for its vibrant, no-franchise downtown, Main Street in Grand Junction, Colorado boasts trendy art galleries, farm-to-fork dining, and fashionable boutiques. As a dynamic community hub, Main Street fosters a sense of engagement, with the historic Avalon Theatre hosting various events and a variety of street festivals and markets taking place year-round. Visitors enjoy the park-like atmosphere and the unique open-air art gallery of bronze sculptures.”

Here’s the link to the full article. https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-main-street-2024/

I wrote a post about Grand Junction being #1 Best City to Move to in Colorado, so check that out too!

Fruita, CO Awarded the Colorado Downtown Excellence Award

Outdoor Dining Plaza in Fruita

Here’s the press release direct from the City of Fruita. What a great award! This plaza space is right near one of our favorite places to dine in Fruita, the Hot Tomato! Here’s the link to their full article with a great aerial photo of the Mulberry Plaza. https://www.fruita.org/citymanager/page/fruita-co-awarded-colorado-downtown-excellence-award

“On April 4, 2024, the City of Fruita was awarded the Colorado Downtown Excellence Award by Downtown Colorado Inc. (DCI) for the Mulberry Plaza and gathering space. This award celebrates excellence in Colorado downtowns and commercial districts, and the City of Fruita is excited to receive this recognition on a state-wide scale. Downtown Colorado Inc. is a non-profit, membership association committed to building better communities by providing assistance to Colorado downtowns, commercial districts, main streets, rural communities, and town centers.”

Palisade Sunday Farmers Market is a Winner

Can’t get enough peach pie – this time with strawberry rhubarb. Peach with cherry is delicious too!

Here’s another “10 Best” award from USA Today. This time it’s for the Best Farmers Market! Although Palisade’s quaint downtown is certainly worthy of praise too.

Palisade Sunday Farmers Market comes in at #7, and deservedly so. We can’t wait for the Farmers Market season in the Grand Valley and the market in Palisade is tops for several reasons! To find the best farmers markets, they asked a panel of experts for nominations. Then, their readers voted for their favorites over four weeks. Here’s what USA Today had to say…

“Palisade Sunday Farmers Market, sponsored by the town, is open from June to October. It features items from local artisans and crafters as well as local produce and wines. Be sure to check out the live music and spend some downtime on a shaded, comfortable bench nearby.”

While this sounds nice and all, it’s a bit too generic. I wonder if they have really been to Palisade Sunday Farmers Market because it’s about so much more than that. Food trucks, fresh coffee, baked goods while you shop. I’ve tasted wine and got a shot of bourbon at 10am. They don’t even mention the famous Palisade Peaches, a weekly purchase for us. You just gotta go in person. Such a lovely downtown to host the Farmers Market. And the local shops, restaurants and galleries are fantastic too!

Mesa County Libraries National Nomination

We love libraries! You can read our posts about Mesa County Libraries and how I got a Little Free Library in Las Colonias in Grand Junction, near the Colorado River and Butterfly Pond.

Libraries do great work, and we are excited about this nomination. We will check back to see if they won! National Medal winners will be announced in late May 2024. Here’s what they posted on the Mesa County Libraries website:

“The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced on March 27, 2024, that Mesa County Libraries is among 30 finalists for the 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Mesa County Libraries is the only institution in Colorado to be selected as a finalist for this award. The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that demonstrate significant impact in their communities. For 30 years, the award has honored institutions that demonstrate excellence in service to their communities.”

What an amazing honor to be nominated! We are so proud of our local library system. Here’s the full post on the library’s website: https://mesacountylibraries.org/2024/03/mesa-county-libraries-named-finalist-for-2024-imls-national-medal-for-museum-and-library-service

Best Place to Visit for Adventure

https://www.visitgrandjunction.com/blog/post/the-36-best-places-to-visit-in-the-us-for-adventure

North Fruita Desert Tofel Family

Outside named Grand Junction as one of the “36 Best” places to visit in the US for adventure. Of course, we think it’s #1! The link above takes you to the full article. Here’s a quick summary.

“Grand Junction was honored to be mentioned as the base camp for one of Outside’s 2023 Travel Awards. The Colorado Plateau was awarded the “Public Land Winner” and Grand Junction was highlighted as the top destination for travelers hoping to explore this award-winning area. The Grand Junction area is surrounded by over 1.6 million acres of public land, so it’s no surprise that adventure travelers were encouraged to base their adventure out of Grand Junction.”

Follow the link and learn more about the whole Colorado Plateau area, it’s quite amazing. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful and diverse area. The article even calls out one of our favorites, Camp Eddy, and of course, the Colorado National Monument. A favorite place for adventure right in our backyard! Read our Mountain Biking post too!

Speaking of adventure…the Outdoor Program (OP) at Colorado Mesa University is one of the reasons our daughter chose to attend this fantastic university. They were at the college fair at her high school in Minnesota and we are forever grateful to have discovered this amazing human scale university, as they like to be called. So, I will end with this one amazing accolade for Colorado Mesa University, though there are many things to be proud of when it comes to CMU.

Colorado Mesa University

Zion CMU Outdoor Program Trip

U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges ranks colleges and universities by several different factors and creates many “best of” lists. They have ranked Colorado Mesa University #5 in Top Public Schools and #20 in Regional Colleges West. Their website describes in detail how their rankings are calculated, data sources, eligibility, and the criteria they used.

The article does a great job of highlighting CMU in a way that allows readers to easily compare colleges and universities on things like admissions, cost, academic programs, and campus life. Read More. It’s important to know what the student wants in a college.

CMU is an accredited university that has so much to be proud of. They have amazing academic programs for students of all ages. Their vision: “CMU aspires to be a Human Scale University that serves as a model of the world we want to create —a world where people aspire to love, extend dignity, choose courage, demonstrate humility, develop resiliency, celebrate curiosity, and use power for good.”

Zion Canyoneering CMU Outdoor Program Trip

Their Outdoor Program is outstanding. It’s a way for students to enjoy the weekends and time off outside the classroom. Students can participate in outdoor recreation, take group trips and rent equipment at super low rates. Our daughter climbed her first 14er in the first month of her freshman year! And a memorable group to Zion National Park to learn canyoneering. She has amazing stories and memories.

I encourage you to look at the CMU website first and absorb as much as you can. Then, you have to do a tour in person to fully grasp the welcoming culture at CMU. My daughter got to do an extended “CMU Experience” in 2018 before she decided for sure to attend. Although we knew her mind was made up before she attended this extended tour experience. She just wanted another trip to Colorado! We get it. We fell in love with the area too! That’s why we moved here. Let me give you a quick tour of the campus even if you don’t have students attending college. It’s an amazing asset for the Grand Valley!