Western Slope
Delta County
22 Porch Notes tied to Delta County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.
Money and taxes (1)
Home and property (1)
Water and land (1)
Outdoors and wildfire (8)
Outdoors and wildfire
At Sweitzer Lake near Delta, the fish carry selenium and are not for eating
Sweitzer Lake State Park sits just outside the city of Delta and is fished catch-and-release because the fish contain selenium and are not safe to eat.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Crawford and Paonia State Parks each center on a reservoir with boat-inspection rules
Crawford State Park near Crawford and Paonia State Park on Muddy Creek northeast of Paonia each center on a reservoir, and motorized boats must pass an aquatic nuisance species inspection before launching.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Delta County is ringed by public land, and the rules change with the unit
National forest and BLM lands, including a national conservation area, surround much of Delta County, with a national park nearby, and each manages camping and access under its own rules.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Gunnison Gorge's Gold Medal trout water is reached by 4WD roads and a hike down
The Gunnison Gorge Wilderness holds Gold Medal trout water, but its trailheads sit off primitive roads that turn impassable when wet, and you hike steeply down into the canyon.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Paonia Is a Certified Dark Sky Community
Paonia earned official DarkSky International recognition, and on clear nights the Milky Way is visible from streets in town.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Adobe Badlands near Delta are a clay moonscape best seen in dry weather
The Adobe Badlands northeast of Delta are eroded Mancos Shale with fossils and big views, but they have no trails or water, and the BLM warns the clay soils are difficult to cross when wet.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Grand Mesa above Cedaredge holds hundreds of small fishing lakes
The Grand Mesa rises north of Cedaredge in Delta County and is dotted with hundreds of small stream-fed lakes stocked with trout, reached by forest roads off Highway 65.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Three rivers meet near Delta, and the fishing rules change by water
The Gunnison, Uncompahgre, and North Fork rivers draw anglers to Delta County, but each stretch can have its own rules on species, size, and method.
Read note ->Cars and driving (2)
Cars and driving
The Black Canyon's North Rim is reached from Crawford, on a gravel road that closes in winter
The quieter North Rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is reached from Crawford in Delta County by a gravel road that is unplowed and closed to vehicles in winter and early spring.
Read note ->Cars and driving
The Grand Mesa Scenic Byway climbs from I-70 to Cedaredge over high country
State Highway 65 over the Grand Mesa is a designated National Scenic Byway ending in Cedaredge, a paved but high mountain drive with limited services and real winter weather.
Read note ->Local rules (2)
Local rules
In Delta County, your address decides who makes the rules
Delta County is a statutory county governed by three commissioners, and whether the county or a town sets the rules for your land depends on where it sits.
Read note ->Local rules
Orchard City is really three old hamlets that joined for clean water
The Town of Orchard City formed when Austin, Eckert, and Cory came together around a Grand Mesa water pipeline, which is why one town holds three named communities.
Read note ->History and culture (7)
History and culture
Cedaredge keeps Surface Creek's apple story alive
Cedaredge's Pioneer Town Museum and its first-weekend-of-October Applefest carry forward the orchard heritage of the Surface Creek Valley beneath the Grand Mesa.
Read note ->History and culture
Downtown Delta is a city of murals you can walk for free
Since the mid-1980s Delta has painted more than 20 large murals on downtown walls, turning a few blocks of Main Street into a free, self-guided walking tour of Western Slope history.
Read note ->History and culture
Fort Uncompahgre near Delta marks an early trading post on the Old Spanish Trail
A reconstructed fur-trade fort on the edge of Delta interprets the Robidoux trading post and the Old Spanish Trail that crossed this part of the Western Slope.
Read note ->History and culture
Paonia is named for the peony, with a vowel lost along the way
The North Fork town of Paonia takes its name from the Latin word for peony, shortened from Paeonia when the post office balked at the extra vowel.
Read note ->History and culture
The West Elks wine trail runs through some of the highest vineyards in the country
Between Hotchkiss and Paonia, the West Elks AVA grows Riesling, Pinot Noir, and other cool-climate grapes at elevations that rank among the highest vineyards in North America.
Read note ->History and culture
Why the county seat is named Delta
The City of Delta takes its name from the delta-shaped land where the Uncompahgre River meets the Gunnison, and it became the county seat when Delta County was carved from Gunnison County in 1883.
Read note ->History and culture
Why the North Fork Valley Eats So Well
Around Paonia, a tight cluster of organic orchards, farms, and high-altitude vineyards turns a short growing season into one of Colorado's richest farm-to-table valleys.
Read note ->