Chaffee County

Buena Vista (pop. 1,800) sits below the Collegiate Range, including three mountains named after Harvard, Princeton and Yale. The town was founded as a mining and ranching community, but does steady business in tourism and recreation.

The Monarch Ski and Snowboard Area has a vertical drop of 1,160 feet and 54 trails. It receives approximately 350 inches of snow per season.

Salida is a town of 4,700 people in Chaffee County, located on the Arkansas River.

The Mount Shavano State Fish Hatchery produces more than 4 million fish each year, including brook, brown, cutthroat and rainbow trout. Visitors can watch a video orientation, feed the fish or fish in a stocked public lake just outside the hatchery.

Salida Museum is located adjacent to the Chamber of Commerce in Salida. Indian artifacts, household furnishings, art, and items associated with railroading, mining, farming and ranching in the Rockies are on display in the two-room museum.