Grand Junction, CO

Of Interest: downtown Grand Junction

Lodging: two within walking distance, two by shuttle bus

Tourist Office: no, but there is a map on the wall and a shop selling local products

I went through Grand Junction recently on a trip from California to Denver. Grand Junction is a smoke stop, so I had a little time. I spent about half at the local products shop and half walking around the station area. The road that the station in on is at an angle to downtown, so you have to walk five-ten minutes directly toward the downtown area before you can see anything. From the station it looks like a typical midwestern town, except you don't get to most midwestern towns by going through some of the most beautiful valleys in the world.

According to its website, downtown Grand Junction is notable for its galleries, outdoor sculpture, and restaurants with patio seating. According to hotels.com, there is a convention center downtown, and two hotels within walking distance of the station. (Hotels.com is really inconsistent about the cities that list the Amtrak station as a landmark. It is good that Grand Junction's station is listed, it would be better if stations were considered landmarks in all the cities that have a significant number of hotels near their stations.) There are also two hotels that will send shuttles to the station. Both are near the interstate (I-70), so I wouldn't recommend them. But it is unlikely that anyone would get stuck without a place to stay.

In the station building itself, there is a restaurant and a local products shop. Excellent fruit is grown in the local valleys, and I bought some apricot jam. Readers of my Asian site will know that I am a sucker for good jam. There are a wide variety of food products, both locally made and snacks for the journey. There are also books and postcards of the local area, including a guide to the California Zephyr, the train that passes through this town.

A train in each direction (east/west) arrives once during the day. Both Denver and Salt Lake City are about eight hours away in opposite directions. The Zephyr continues on to either Chicago or the San Francisco Bay area, obviously depending on the direction that you are going.