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The Dominguez-Escalante Canyon is simmering at just over 90 degrees on this early June afternoon. Thankfully, I’ve found sanctuary in a cool, dim cave.
Before you start to pity me, know that this hollow hideaway is anything but primitive: The nearly year-old luxury cave suites at Delta County’s Honey Rock Landing, the state’s second-largest organic orchard, would put the Flintstones’ Bedrock abode to shame.
Colby and Leslie Barrett, high school sweethearts from the nearby Grand Junction area, bought the property, which was originally a 35-acre farm, in 2018. Since then, they’ve slowly expanded, transforming the land into a sprawling 131-acre regenerative orchard and upscale agritourism destination on the edge of the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness. The crown jewel is its trio of luxury cave suites, carved directly into an existing entrada sandstone shelf.
“Colby is a geotechnical engineer by trade, so he loves to blow up rocks,” says Erica Frank, the hospitality manager. The unconventional accommodations were a means of transforming the area’s natural resources into something meaningful—instead of just leveling the land for traditional lodging.
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Each 400-square-foot unit sleeps up to six people, thanks to lofts with two queen-size beds and king beds on the ground floors. Kitchens stocked with the basics (pots, pans, utensils, olive oil, salt), half a dozen fresh eggs from the orchard’s more than 250 chickens, and pancake mix from Grand Junction’s 7th St. Community Cafe invite guests to cook their own meals and enjoy them on the caves’ private patios overlooking the orchard. Even if you choose to dine inside your suite, a massive window provides sweeping canyon views. Rippling sandstone walls encircle the room’s walk-in shower, and the soaring ceilings and skylight make it feel as though you’re rinsing off in an Italian grotto.
Before tucking myself into the organic linens on my pillowy king-size bed, I wind down with a book in the copper soaking tub that could easily fit two. By 11 p.m., I’m drifting off to sleep, lulled to la la land by the chirps of a cricket that’s found its way inside.
Honey Rock is building out more amenities—including a pool tucked into that same shelf—so, in addition to the calls of crickets, near-term visitors may hear an excavator or two. And don’t be surprised if you find a few spiders looking for a reprieve from the summer heat in your quarters.
But construction and a couple of creepy crawlies are small prices to pay for resting your head in one of Colorado’s most offbeat accommodations.
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3 Ways To Experience Honey Rock Beyond the Cave Suites
1. Open Orchard Fridays
Typically, Honey Rock’s U-pick sessions run throughout the summer. But since a late frost killed most of its fruit, the orchard is only open to the public on Fridays this year. From noon to 4 p.m., anyone can visit and take a tour, pick vegetables, feed chickens, collect eggs, shop fresh produce, swim in the pond, play lawn games, and have a picnic.
2. Floating the Gunni
The Gunnison River runs right through Honey Rock, making the orchard a convenient launch or exit point. If you have your own craft, you can put in at Confluence Park in Delta about 25 minutes up the road and float down to the orchard (which typically takes two to four hours). Prefer a guided trip? The property partners with several outfitters in the area, including Gunnison River Expeditions, Western Slope SUP, and Best Slope Adventure Company.
3. Harvest Dinners
Time your stay to coincide with one of the resort’s Harvest Celebrations ($100 per adult), which include chef-curated dinners and wine tastings. On August 29, Honey Rock’s chef, Mike Winston, will prepare crawdads caught by guests at the on-site pond during the Colorado Lobster Bash; Palisade winery Sauvage Spectrum will provide the pours. The Falling for Pears dinner on September 19 will celebrate the final harvest of the season with a fruit-forward meal prepared by Winston.
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