Salida
One Of The Largest National Register Historic Districts In Colorado, On The Arkansas River Beneath The Collegiate Peaks. Home Of FIBArk, Run Since 1949 And The Oldest Whitewater Festival In The United States. · Salida, Colorado
Salida sits where the Arkansas River comes out of the mountains, with the Collegiate Peaks behind it and one of the largest historic districts in Colorado in front - a hundred-odd acres of brick fronts that the railroad built and nobody later knocked down. The river is the reason to come. This is the most commercially rafted stretch of water in the United States, there is a whitewater park in the middle of town, and FIBArk - First in Boating the Arkansas - has run here every June since 1949, which makes it the oldest whitewater festival in the country. What the town did with its cheap old buildings afterwards is the other half of the story: galleries, a disproportionate number of artists, and a main street that feels nothing like a ski resort - galleries, a disproportionate number of artists, and a main street that feels nothing like a ski town. Above it, Tenderfoot Hill carries a Christmas star visible for miles, and Browns Canyon National Monument sits just downstream.
F Street, Salida, Colorado, 81201, United States
A year-round town of around 5,700 people. The rafting season runs roughly May to September, peaking with snowmelt in June, and outfitters close outside it. FIBArk takes place in June and fills every bed in town. Monarch Mountain ski area runs roughly November to April. The Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center is open year-round. Shops and galleries on F Street keep daytime hours with some midweek closures in the shoulder seasons.