Things To Do
Stop in for a beer: Tres Litros Beer Company
One block from Riverside Park and in downtown Salida, the brewery hosts regular live music, local artists, a weekly Indian and Thai food curry cart and has amazing beer :)
Breakfast/brunch: Mojo’s Eatery
This is Jason and my favorite breakfast spot in town!
Sushi Thai Salida
A great spot for a dinner date in Salida with a variety of sushi, thai and noodle dishes.
Wesley & Rose Lobby Bar
The Wesley & Rose is an amazing restaurant inside the Surf Hotel in Buena Vista. The food is elegant, upscale farm-to-table using local ingredients, handcrafted specialty cocktails and a wonderful ambience.
Mountain Bike on the Monarch Crest trail
Starting at Monarch Pass, the Crest is one of the best trails in the state of Colorado. It starts on high alpine singletrack, and meanders through open meadows, pine forests, and has a great mix of technical rocky sections, fast and flowy downhill, and more. The full Crest trail is approx. 35 miles long, point to point with a loss of over 3,000 ft. of elevation. We highly recommend this trail for a full day of fun - or, the Crest has several other options for shorter miles and days, including Fooses Creek, Green's Creek, Starvation Creek, and Agate Creek. All are point-to-point trails.
Hike, run or ride on S Mountain
S Mountain is a great trail system right across the Arkansas River in downtown Salida. Drive down F Street towards the water, cross the F St. bridge and park at the base of the mountain. The link above shows a map of the trail system, which is a great option for hiking, trail running and mountain biking so close to town. S Mountain has dozens of options of loops that range from beginner to double blacks.
Cottonwood Hot Springs
We're lucky to have several hot springs within a 30-minute drive from Salida! If you do a big day hike, run or ride and want to relax afterwards, Cottonwood Hot Springs is a great, low key option that does not get as crowded as Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.
Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort
Mt. Princeton is one of the more well-known hot springs in the area. They have several options onsite, including river pools, private soaking pools and more.
Great fall hikes for aspens/leaf peeping
Green's Creek trail is an out-and-back that you can go out as far as you'd like on and turn around. It is on the same road as the wedding venue :) It is absolutely beautiful in fall, as the first 1-2 miles of the hike you're surrounded by aspen groves, and as you hike further, make your way into pine forest. The elevation gain is steady, but not very steep. Note that the trailhead is located on a dirt road that does get somewhat bumpy. Several trails off of Marshall Pass give you a lot of leaf-peeping options. Go up Marshall Pass Road to O'Haver Lake, or continue up the road to the Gray's Creek trailhead to hike through some aspen groves.
St. Elmo ghost town
St. Elmo is an old mining town that is now a ghost town, but has several old buildings to explore from the 1880s, as well as some great options for experiencing the aspens in the height of their colors.
Hike a 14er - Mt. Shavano
NOTE: Colorado has 58 peaks above the elevation of 14,000 ft. Also referred to as "14ers," hiking one is a challenging effort. For those who might be interested in climbing one, please note the closest 14er to Salida is Mt. Shavano, a 7.5 mile round-trip hike with 4,500ft. of elevation gain. Yes, 4,500. At altitude. For this challenging hike, plan to be out for up to 6-7 hours, bring plenty of layers, food and water and be aware of the safety risks. You could also start up the trail that goes to Shavano, and turn around at any time for a safe and fun outing with beautiful views of the Arkansas River Valley.