Paonia Colorado Tourism

Just a mile off the highway, Paonia is what America was, a town of 1,500 with friendly people. It was founded in the early 1800s by a fruit farmer; since then it has come to include coal miners, organic fruit and vegetable growers, early retirees who call themselves “volunteer-aholics’, and a growing number of artists, musicians and craftspeople.

Paonia’s setting beneath 11,400-foot-high Mount Lamborn is nothing short of spectacular. Behind the mountain there’s the West Elk Wilderness, which offers great hiking and horseback riding. The valley in front of the mountain is dotted by a variety of orchards, cattle ranches, horse pastures and a growing number of vineyards and wineries. They offer wine tastings and an array of products made from apples, cherries, peaches, nectarines and grapes.

Non-profits have a congenial home in town, including a public radio station in a beautifully restored brick building, a community center straddling two historic buildings and the Western magazine High Country News. A widely circulated shopper helps you buy or sell everything from “kittens, big enough to eat” to backhoes. The town also boasts a handful of restaurants, a movie theater, and the nearby town park that hosts the annual July 4th Cherry Days celebration. Cherry Days is a 60-year tradition that features a parade on Independence Day, carnival with rides for children, diverse music, and lots of reunions.

There’s also a fall Harvest Festival that includes a chili cook-off in the park, a “bountiful breakfast” of locally produced food – including venison, and live music at four different downtown venues.

Winters are mild in this banana belt of Western Colorado, and in almost every season there’s mountain biking on a trail close to town and road biking on the mostly deserted back roads that lead to Hotchkiss and Crawford.

Come visit and experience Paonia, named it’s said, for the Latin word for the peony flower and pronounced PayOwNia. Here you’ll find the small-town West, still vibrant and still definitely quirky.

Mount Lamborn