Locals Give Their Advice To First-Time Grand Junction Visitors

What advice would you give someone who was visiting Grand Junction for the very first time?

We recently asked the question on social media to find out what advice local residents would give to Grand Junction's first-time visitors. It's kind of hard to narrow it down to one single thing. There are so many different directions you could go with it, but this is a good start to what could be an unlimited list.

Of course, whenever you ask for input from people you're going to some who are cynical and some who are sincere. But, here are five tidbits of wisdom offered by local residents to first-time visitors.

Does it seem like Grand Junction residents get criticized for their driving all the time, but are people's driving habits here really worse than anywhere else in Colorado? I would submit to you there are horrible drivers no matter where you go. However, driving defensively in Grand Junction is definitely not a bad idea.

Grand Junction doesn't have a lot of one-way streets, but 4th and 5th Streets can be a bit confusing for people who aren't familiar with it. As far as that goes, I'm sure I'm not the first one who has witnessed someone going the wrong way one on one of those streets - and they were local.

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I love positivity, and this one is brimming with it. This person said she's lived here for 30 years and never tired of all the interesting things to do and see. Unfortunately, living in Grand Junction is kind of like being married. After a period of time, it's easy to lose sight of what attracted you in the first place and you begin to take it for granted. If you're visiting, there's definitely plenty of good things to enjoy.

This was one of the cynical responses, but, we can extract some legitimate advice from it. For example, as you know, the speed limit on North Avenue goes from 40 mph on one end to 30 mph on the other. On the I-70 Business Loop, you have varying speed limits from 45 mph to 55 mph. You definitely need to keep an eye on the speed limit signs.

Oh, yes, the dreaded roundabouts. Watch out for the roundabouts -- especially on Horizon Drive. Pay careful attention to the signs and follow the arrows. Of course, visitors are going to be confused by these traffic diffusers. Even some of the locals still can't get it right. Enter at your own risk.

There is more advice we could give, but we'll save it for another time. For starters, this is pretty good advice for first-time visitors to Grand Junction. We want that first-time visit to be as pleasant as possible.