Central Colorado
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Mt. Princeton 14,197 ft by Ann Cogswell |
Chaffee County is located in the region of the Collegiate
Peaks mountain range in central Colorado. It is about
100 due west of Colorado Springs and 120 miles southwest
from Denver. Here, there are fifteen 14,000-foot mountains,
such as Mt. Princeton (14,197 ft) Mt. Antero (14,269 ft), Mt.
Yale (14,196 ft), Mt. Harvard (14,420 ft), and Mt. Columbia
(14,073 ft). This area is part of the Continental Divide and
the Upper Arkansas River Valley. It is known as the "Banana Belt"
because the Collegiate peaks to the Northwest, the Sangre de
Cristo mountain range to the south and the Mosquito mountain
range to the North provide a mild climate creating exceptional
conditions year round for recreation and site seeing. Annually
in Chaffee County there are over 300 sunny days with summer
highs of 81° and lows of 47.6° and winter highs of 40°and lows of 10°.
Chaffee County is known for hiking, mountain biking, ATV and
jeep 4 wheel drive trails, whitewater rafting, fly fishing,
hot springs, rock hounding, skiing, snowmobiling and much more.
Also central to its location are numerous Ghost Towns (St. Elmo
and Twin Lakes) and historical places such as Tabor House, and
the Orpheum Theater, where the likes of Baby Doe Tabor, The
Unsinkable Molly Brown, Bat Masterson, Doc Holiday and others
took part in the local history here.
Buena Vista, CO
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Dr. Crossan & wife overlooking the town of Buena Vista |
The town of Buena Vista, named for the Spanish word for "good view,"
is at an elevation of 7,964 feet. Most of the town's historic
buildings were built in the 1880's and 1890's and are still
standing. Here one can walk the streets and feel as if they
have been transported into another era. In addition, the gift
shopping, quaint restaurants and soothing sounds of Cottonwood
Creek and the Arkansas River provide an ideal venue to view the
surrounding majestic mountains and commemorate the simple life.
Salida, CO
The town if Salida is situated at an elevation of 7,050 feet
and has outstanding views of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range
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Dr. Saussy & husband in the town of Salida |
and the Salida Riverwalk which follows the Arkansas River through
town. In 2004, Outside Magazine named the "sweetly unpretentious
town of Salida" as one of the 20 "Dream Towns plus Adventure
Hideouts." The town has become well known for its art community
and Salida/Aspen Festival. The quaint shops and art galleries provide
all sorts of enlightening works and soulful eatery's. It is
reminiscent to the old Santa Fe, AZ before it was discovered.
Overall Chaffee County is known as a rustic escape and the playground
of Colorado. There is so much to enjoy it is difficult to summarize.
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Cottonwood Creek in Chaffee County |
Please visit our Links page and/or click on the business sponsor links
on this page for further discovery of all that we have to offer. Enjoy!
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