1 Venture to central Colorado for a high-country getaway with eclectic Arkansas River-side mountain towns, hot springs, dramatic peaks named after colleges (Princeton, Yale and Harvard, to name a few), and unbeatable outdoor recreation — including Browns Canyon, our newest National Monument. Buena Vista is a popular access point for rafting, kayaking, fishing, hiking and backpacking adven-tures centered around the Arkansas River , including Browns Canyon National Monument (2) , 102 miles QUICK TIP 140 / About 20 miles southwest of Buena Vista lies St. Elmo , one of the state’s best-preserved ghost towns. Though abandoned by its residents in 1922, wooden storefronts and cabins remain seemingly frozen in time. Rent an ATV from the general store to explore the area’s relics of a bygone mining boom. COLORADO.COM COLLEGIATE PEAKS SCENIC & HISTORIC BYWAY, MILES/DENISE CHAMBERS. PLAYING AMONG THE COLLEGIATE PEAKS: BUENA VISTA & SALIDA COLORADO MORNING Approach the region from the north in Granite and travel down the Colle-giate Peaks Scenic Byway (1) , a 57-mile route that runs along the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and the Sawatch Range of mountains. This stretch of the Continental Divide contains the nation’s greatest concentration of peaks higher than 14,000 feet — “fourteeners,” in local parlance. Head to an aerial adventure park: With more than 120 challenges, including swinging bridges and tightrope walks, Captain Zipline is the largest aerial adventure park in the western U.S. Mean-while, Browns Canyon Adventure Park suspends zipliners above the roaring river, and Arkansas Valley Adventures allows daring visitors to soar from cliff top to treetop on a 44-acre course.
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 140
