My Thoughts on Salida, CO and Estes Park, CO

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Salida, CO - I knew nothing about Salida (or Colorado for that matter) before we arrived. My first impressions were based off a few websites and the visitor’s guide sent by the Chaffe County Visitor’s Bureau . Based on the information I received, I was expecting an upscale resort town (i.e. Breckenridge) and I have to admit that at first we were a little bit let down. Not that we wanted “yuppie-ville”, but we do like nice restaurants, decent shopping and the convience of having larger stores found in a bigger town.

After we being in Salida for about 12 days we really started to love the town. The people were very nice, we started finding cool things to do (the Mt. Shavano Trout Rearing Unit was very cool for the kids) and we found good hangouts. One place in particular was Bongo Billy’s Salida Cafe. This is my kind of place…it’s a cafe, so of course they have good coffee, desserts and free Wi-Fi; but they also have awesome food, beer and live music. If I were living/working here (as I was supposed to be on this “working” vacation) this is definitely where I would be camped out. I would definitely stay in Salida again.

Allenspark, CO (near Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park) - Allenspark was a little too “remote” for us. This is a very small mountain town with a couple of businesses off of the beaten path. I did like the coffee house (the name escapes me) but we probably wouldn’t stay in this town again. Estes Park is very touristy. It has a lot more restaurants, shops and things for the kids to do but it lacks the charm that Salida has. If you are interested in outdoor activities and less people all around you, then Salida is for you.