Buena Vista, Colorado is fast earning itself a reputation beyond the borders of Colorado, and with the upcoming VERTEX music festival, musical artists from all over the world will converge on this Colorado mountain town.
In the winter, tourists come for world-class skiing. In the summer, Colorado residents flock to Buena Vista bed and breakfasts like Buffalo Peaks for the gorgeous mountain views and nearby outdoor recreation adventures. Yet, there’s something else that sets Buena Vista apart from the other tourist destinations in the United States.
Buena Vista may just be the most American town you’ve ever seen.
Buena Vista, Colorado is a Classic American Success Story
So what makes Buena Vista so quintessentially American? To be blunt, Americans are known for doing things big, almost to excess. And with apologies to the Catskills and Appalachian mountains, Buena Vista doesn’t just have a few notable peaks. Buena Vista has about a dozen epic 14,000-foot tall mountain peaks, all named after the best colleges in the country. Bed and breakfast visitors often travel right to the top of Mount Princeton or Mount Yale while staying in town.
The Colorado gold rush covered a wide swath of territory in the Rocky Mountains and led to the creation of a number of “boom and bust” mining towns throughout modern day Chaffee County. St. Elmo, one of the nation’s oldest ghost towns, is just down the road from our Bed and Breakfast. Buena Vista itself was founded in 1879 by settlers who came for the same reason tourists do today: the rich and beautiful land, natural hot springs, and gorgeous views. In fact, these settlers named the town Buena Vista because it means “beautiful views” in Spanish.
Buena Vista exploded into being almost overnight, expanding rapidly in much the same way America itself has. Within 30 years, the town had electricity, telephones, schools, and streetlights — a rarity at the time. Speculators and travelers made the town a popular stop for passing stage coaches, thanks to its location between Salida and Leadville. But even though Buena Vista is a relatively young town, it has a rich 120-year history, and you’ll still find buildings that take back to the 19th century.
But although Buena Vista has a rich history of commerce, it retains its small town atmosphere, with less than 5,000 permanent residents. Whether you’re looking for a sightseeing adventure or want to experience natural odorless hot springs, Buena Vista bed and breakfasts are conveniently located to some of the most exciting natural attractions the Rocky Mountains have to offer.