Part of the reason we opted for a road trip vacation was to see a lot of places on a budget. After camping and hiking in Colorado National Monument, we rolled into Palisade ready to spend money on being winos instead of a pricey lunch. After scrolling through a lot of very lackluster Yelp reviews, we were stumped on what to do for a meal.

We then realized we already had food, charcoal, and plasticware…we just needed a place to cook. Enter Palisade’s Riverbend Park. This is the perfect spot to make yourself lunch on the road, even if you aren’t planning on sticking around Palisade. It’s a great pit stop with bathrooms, shade, and ample seating right on the Colorado River.

Since it was a Tuesday and the park was basically empty, we didn’t feel bad about taking over the entire group picnic pavilion (the only spot with a grill). It did feel a tad ridiculous to be cooking two hot dogs on this massive thing, but beggers can’t be choosers!

Riverbend Park is south of Main Street, where Logan turns into Pendleton. The exact location of the entrance is here (click for Google Maps).

One last thing: can’t help but plug the bomb-ass cooler that saved us on this trip from AO Coolers. Read my product review here.