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It might sound counterintuitive, but you don’t have to book a flight to Little Rock to bask in the beauty of the Arkansas River Valley. In fact, you don’t have to leave the confines of Colorado at all. The Centennial State has its very own Arkansas River Valley, comprised of Salida, Buena Vista (it’s pronounced “Byoona Vista,” by the way), Leadville, and Poncha Springs—not to mention all the surrounding snowmelt-fed waterways, bouldery canyons, and sky-poking Collegiate Peaks.
The high-desert climate is a year-round magnet for white-water paddlers, fly-fishers, hot springers, sagebrush singletrack riders, and peak baggers. More and more folks are moving here for the mild winters and laid-back farmtown vibes. Here’s where to sample some of the local goods and dig into this outdoorsman’s and woman’s paradise.
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The Odometer: Roughly 124 miles, one way from Denver (2 hours, 18 minutes)
Get Outside
Explore the dreamy sprawl of fourteeners—Chaffee County boasts 12, more than any other locale in the lower 48—that hijack your windshield as you drop into the valley on Highway 285. Pluck an Ivy League peak from the lung-busting roundup: Yale, Harvard, Princeton, they’re all here. Not ready to commit to a full 14,000 feet? Salida’s iconic “S-Mountain” (the one wearing the giant white concrete “S”) rings in around 7,000 feet and is easily accessed from the F Street bridge in town. Mountain bikers zigzag around Arkansas Hills and Methodist Mountain trails while bucket-list bikers ride the famed 31.5-mile Monarch Crest Trail from the top of nearby Monarch Pass.
Browns Canyon National Monument hugs the Arkansas River between Buena Vista and Salida and earns BV the badge “white water capital of the world.” The Numbers and Narrows sections of the Arkansas River thrill with nonstop Class IV and V rapids, while Lower Browns Canyon and Bighorn Sheep Canyon offer mellower floats.
Those seeking a smidge of solitude will appreciate Cottonwood Pass and its views of the Continental Divide from both sides. A stop into Cottonwood Hot Springs (open until midnight everyday; no res needed) for a therapeutic reset in the mineral-rich pools after a day of playing among the peaks is a must. Just down the road, newly opened Charlotte Hot Springs features a more intimate setting with greenhouse-style botanical gardens. If timing aligns, catch monthly full moon yoga in the big steaming pool at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort.
Stay
The valley is dotted with unpretentious, boutique, and Americana-inspired lodging. On the banks of the Arkansas River in Buena Vista’s modern South Main neighborhood, the Surf Hotel features 20 rooms and private chateau cottages perfect for catching live music in the adjoining Ivy Ballroom or grabbing smoked old-fashioneds and grass-fed Colorado beef burgers at on-site Wesley & Rose. In Salida, Amigo Motor Lodge puts guests up in nostalgic Southwestern-flaired rooms and Airstream trailers while the Mountain Goat Lodge sits on 20 acres with resident goats and cheese-making classes.
Eat
If you’re looking to stock your Osprey with adventure provisions, search no further than Scanga Meat Company for vacuum-sealed olives, cheese curds, and butcher shop bites. For breakfast, Cool River serves loaded breakfast tacos and burritos, vegan bowls, and biscuits and gravy all day. The Blend in Buena Vista is known for its acai bowls, homemade muffins, and coffee cakes. Cool down post-summit with soft serve, burgers, and onion rings at walk-up legend K’s Dairy Delite or refuel on healthy power bowls and mocktails at House Rock Kitchen. For dinner, sit back and indulge in Japanese rib-eyes sizzling on cast iron skillets, shareable dishes of panang chicken curry and stir-fried yakisoba noodles at Osake Steak and Sushi Bar in downtown Salida.
Drink
Swap tales from the trail or the river at Poncha Pub, where soggy Chacos and sun-baked shoulders are more than welcome and locals sip on tequila-infused cocktails like the Riverwater. Salida’s hometown brewery Soulcraft Brewing makes a mean blonde ale brewed with Pueblo chiles that pairs beautifully with the kitchen’s signature grilled cheese stuffed with Palisade peaches and green chile jam. Buena Vista’s first and only rooftop venue, Terrace on Main, serves up wine and charcuterie boards with a side of sunset views. Wood’s High Mountain Distillery’s Salida tasting room drips with character in a 100-year-old building housing an original 1880s German pot that still cranks out delicious American malt whiskey and barrel-aged gin carrying hints of citrus, licorice, and pepper.
If You Do One Thing
There’s nothing like watching the sun dip behind the Collegiate Peaks from the comforts of your car as the night’s featured film begins rolling on a gigantic screen in a rural field. The family-run Comanche Drive-In Theater sits just three miles west of Buena Vista and, at 8,000 feet in elevation, is the highest drive-in in the United States—and one of just seven remaining in Colorado. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, catch box office hits while you munch on popcorn from the drive-in’s old-school popper.
