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With its face to the sun and a mountain at its back, Hotchkiss enjoys open winters with bright days and light snows. Night temperatures rarely reach zero, even though this is a mountain town 5,400 feet above sea level. Surrounding valley and mesa lands produce cherries, peaches, apples, apricots and pears. Large cattle and sheep operations are based here, and local dairies frequently exceed State production records.
Hotchkiss is the center to home-based industries ranging from heavy construction, mail-order Hawaiian shirts, in-bound telecommunication centers and gunsmithing. Specialty shops provide outlets for the growing number of hand-crafters in the North Fork Valley, including woodworkers, potters, weavers, quilters, leather workers, precious stones, silver and gold. Each year the Hotchkiss Fine Arts Association sponsors the Annual Black Canyon Art Exhibit - an open show where local artists compete with painters from other states.
The Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery is located about 20 miles east of Delta. The Hatchery aids in maintaining Colorado’s Gold Medal fishing by stocking approximately 2.5 million trout annually. Trout are stocked into various reservoirs including Blue Mesa, Crawford, Heron, Lemon, McPhee, Navajo, and Silverjack Lakes.
State Highway 92 links to US Highway 50 at Delta, and continues east through Hotchkiss and on to Crawford. The Crawford Dam Recreation Area, Blue Mesa Lake, the Paonia Dam and McClure Pass are all accessed through Hotchkiss. For further information, please contact the Town of Hotchkiss at (970) 872-3136.
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