Paonia Today Continued

The town park is the crown jewel of Paonia and is one of the reasons that Paonia makes the Tree City USA selection year after year. The park occupies a whole block and is home to many picnic tables and shelters nestled under a tall canopy of various species of trees. There is a playground for children, a teen center, skate park and a sports field. Paonia Park is the social heart of the town.

At an altitude of 5,645 and cupped in the high mountains, the Paonia area has become famous for it apples. This reputation, began when pioneer fruit swept prizes at the Chicago World's Fair. Delta County remains Colorado's largest producer of apples.

Other fruits benefit from the rich soil, plentiful water and the "million dollar" pre-dawn breeze which keeps late frosts at bay. Paonia's natural air conditioning moderates temperature extremes - at night warm air flows up from the lower valley, and by day cool air flows down from the mountains. Peaches, apricots, prunes, sweet and sour cherries, pears, and grapes are produced on farms ranging from one to a hundred acres.

Climate also favors livestock production, bringing summer pastures into successive use, as cattle and sheep follow spring to the mountain meadows.

Paonia is located in a glacial valley-canyon which has exposed seams of one of the nation's largest coal reserves. Most of the coal is shipped out of the valley by train. Some is sold locally, supplementing natural gas and the electricity supplied by our local co-op.

Paonia has it's own schools. One of the first public radio stations in western Colorado began broadcasting out of a garage in Paonia. It is home to a nationally known environmental newspaper. It has two parks, tennis courts, skateboard and roller-blade court, an active downtown retail community, 20 churches, a library, a busy chamber of commerce and an active senior citizens group.

If you like meeting people, rest easy: One group or another is bound to be getting together every night of the week. One resident calls Paonia a college campus without the courses." A "rush minute" has been known to occur, however, after high school football games.

Paonia is central to outdoor fun and exploration. Recreation is diverse and seemingly endless. The Gunnison River offers rafting, kayaking, gold-medal fishing and hiking in a dramatic canyon setting. The newly-designated National Park, "The Black Canyon" of the Gunnison is only 30 minutes from Paonia. Public land is close and accessible for horseback riding while hiking leads you into wilderness in a few hours. Bikers and bicyclists, can tour the back roads between Paonia and nearby towns.

In the fall blaze-orange vests become the fashion as hunters take to the hills. In winter skiers can alternate between cross-country trails close to town or downhill runs at nearby ski areas. Snowmobilers have wide choices for exploratory trips.

Paonia combines the life of what is called the "early retired" with fruit farmers, coalminers, artists, writers, and those who use the internet and fax machines to conduct business. Paonia accommodates old timers and urban refugees; commercial and organic fruit growers.

This isn't a Disneyland village of the past but a real, vital place. Paonia is a town of friendliness and community spirit.

Check out everything that the beautiful North Fork Valley has to offer by visiting our neighboring towns of Hotchkiss (9 miles west) and Crawford (12 miles South).