Historic Walking Tours

Self-Guided Tours

For self-guided walking tours, pick up a FREE Palisade Historic Walking Tour brochure from the rack under the Historic Downtown Palisade sign on the south wall of Food Town on 3rd Street, inside the Palisade Branch Library across the street at 119 West Third Street in Downtown Palisade, and inside the Palisade Chamber of Commerce office at 305 South Main Street. Or, it is available as an e-book from Amazon.

Guided Tours

We offer different, hour-long (or longer) guided walking tours as requested and/or for special groups and events, for a suggested donation of $5 per person. Featured tours include Tour 2 “An Hour with Colonel Bower” highlights this Palisade Pioneer’s life and what Palisade was like along 3rd Street from Bower Avenue to the Post Office.  Another tour features the Town’s Center and focuses on businesses and homes near the Plaza at 3rd and Main Streets.

“Fire and Brimstone” is the longest route – about 4,000 steps – taking in the area surrounding downtown. Highlights of this tour are sites of major fires, including packing sheds, the hotel, and the cannery, plus seven churches, two former depots, one of Wayne Aspinall’s homes, the 4th Street bridge, and more.  To schedule a walking tour for groups of four or more, please call (970) 812-3064 or reach out via our Contact Page.

Tour 2 – “An hour with Colonel Bower” Dave Cecuga as early Palisade settler, “Colonel Bower” – Blue dotted line  

Tour 3 – “Town Center” – Green dotted line

Tour 4 – “Fire and Brimstone” – Black dotted line

Guided Tours from Tour Companies

The Historical Society also works with Pali-Tours to offer guided historic tours while riding in a 1975 Pinzgauer 6X6 vehicle on an adventuresome route around historic Palisade sites. To schedule a group history tour with Pali-Tours, contact Dave Smith at (970) 697-8134.

JRs Carriage Service offers horse-drawn heritage tours. In October, Owner and Lifetime Historical Society member Joe Burtard will donate 10% of the tour revenue to the Palisade Historical Society. He and his tour guides include Palisade history in their narrative on the various routes. Book the tours directly on https://jrscarriage.com/ or call (719) 671-7145.

You can also learn Palisade history from these other Palisade-based tour companies: Palisade Pedicab  pedal-powered scenic tours;  and Clark Family Orchard‘s free wagon rides.

Visit The Palisade History Museum