Make it a Delicious Fall in Colorado

When autumn comes around, Colorado’s farm stands and orchards are every bit as colorful as the fall leaves, from crisp Cedaredge Apples, Rocky Ford Melons and Palisade Peaches to shiny green Pueblo Chiles and Olathe Sweet Corn. Travelers to the state can enjoy Colorado’s bounty all season long through countless food-themed festivals, U-pick ’em stands, farmer’s markets, farm tours and more.

Plus, as one of the craft beverage capitals of the U.S., Colorado offers seemingly endless opportunities to sample local wine, cider, beer and spirits. Below are a few ways to savor the flavors of Colorado in the fall.

CHILES

You know it’s fall in Colorado when the smoky aroma of roasting chiles fills the air. A staple of Southwestern cooking, chile peppers are grown in the high-desert plains surrounding Pueblo. Starting in late summer, farm stands teem with bushels, baskets and dangling ristras of chiles — like Di Santi Farms in Pueblo or Colon Orchards in Cañon City. Visitors can also take home jars of chile jellies, jams and other accoutrements to kick things up long after the season ends.

APPLES

From fresh-picked Honeycrisps to hard ciders, Coloradans are positively apple-happy. In the fall, Big B’s Delicious Orchards in Hotchkiss is the place to stock up on apples, ciders and zingy raw vinegars. Ya Ya Farm & Orchard in Longmont offers a great pick-your-own apple experience specializing in heirloom varieties. The Colorado Hard Cider Festival in Hotchkiss takes place Oct. 27-29. This event presents the opportunity to sip creations from a dozen cideries from Colorado and beyond at Big B’s Delicious Orchards.

MELONS

In Colorado’s Arkansas Valley, late summer is marked by the harvest of Rocky Ford melons, an ultra-flavorful variety of cantaloupe grown southeast of Pueblo. Travelers can take their pick of piled-high melon stands that pop up all along Hwy. 50 each August while road tripping through the southeast part of the state. In northeast Colorado, the state’s oldest organic farm, Monroe Family Farm, sells its beloved melons at the Longmont, Lafayette and Boulder farmers’ markets, and Johnson Farm & Apiary just east of Brighton offers melons, peppers and even a corn maze in the fall.

CORN

Most Coloradans would contend that you haven’t really had corn until you’ve had Olathe sweet corn. By September, Western Slope corn farmers are up to their ears in this sweet variety. Okagawa Farms in Grand Junction supplies corn and other produce to local eateries like Cafe Sol and Bin 707 Foodbar.

HONEY

By early fall, the liquid gold of Colorado’s hardworking bees can be harvested one last time. At Björn’s Colorado Honey in Boulder, beekeeper Pontus Jakobsson uses Swedish methods passed down from his grandfather to produce small-batch, crystallized honey, including a propolis variety known for its health benefits. Just north of Durango in the Animas Valley, Honeyville whips up buzzworthy concoctions like Bourbon-Vanilla and Mountain Peach Whipped Wildflower Honey.

POTATOES

Colorado’s San Luis Valley is the second largest fresh potato growing region in the U.S. Situated in an ancient lake bed, at an elevation of 7,600 feet, the valley enjoys mild temperatures and 350 days of sunshine each year. That’s why over 150 potato growing families have called it their home for generations. At Nelms Farm in Golden, visitors can even dig up their own all-natural, pesticide-free potatoes with forks and buckets provided.  

COLORADO’S BREWS

Colorado’s craft brewing heritage and reputation as the country’s ground zero for small-batch artisan breweries make it the envy of beer-loving travelers across the globe. Colorado has also made its mark in the hand-crafted spirits industry with distilled rums, vodkas, whiskeys, gins and liqueurs that boast farm-fresh ingredients and crisp snow-melt water. Colorado’s wine industry, more than 110 producers strong, offers settings and wine-tasting rooms like no other wine region in the world.

The Breckenridge Craft Spirits Festival, held on Oct. 19–21, is the time when spicy spirits become the perfect answer to chillier temps. Attendees sip the best offerings from small-batch, artisan distillers and learn more about the distilling process in Breckenridge, a town with its own pioneering distillery.

For more Colorado information, visit here.

Want more of the West’s farm fresh? Follow Mesa’s foodie trail in Arizona!