I ran the Buena Vista and Salida loop out of Colorado Springs this Labor Day weekend, and it holds up as one of the easier full-day trips in the area if you’re willing to leave at a reasonable hour. It’s mountains on one side of the road and the Arkansas River on the other for most of the drive, and you get two different mountain towns without needing an overnight bag. If you’re deciding whether this is worth a Saturday, short answer: yes, as long as you’re realistic about how much driving is baked into the day.
The Route: Springs to Buena Vista to Salida and Back
The straightforward version is US-24 west out of Colorado Springs, over Wilkerson Pass, into Buena Vista, then south on US-285 toward Salida, and back the way you came (or looped via Cañon City if you want a longer return). Researched drive times, not a stopwatch run: Springs to Buena Vista is roughly 2 hours, and Buena Vista to Salida is another 30-40 minutes down the valley. Budget close to 5 hours of driving round trip if you do the full loop, which still leaves a solid chunk of the day for both towns if you’re out the door by 8 or 9 a.m.
A workable clock if you want a real plan instead of just vibes: leave Colorado Springs by 8 a.m., roll into Buena Vista around 10, spend an hour or two there, get to Salida by early afternoon for lunch and whatever else you want to do, then start back by 4 or 5 p.m. so you’re not driving Wilkerson Pass in the dark. That leaves room for the Hecla Junction stop on the way home without turning the day into a marathon. If you’re the type who lingers, drop Buena Vista to a quick walk and river stop and give Salida the bigger chunk of time, since it’s the better town for sitting still for a while.
Wilkerson Pass itself is worth a slow-down, not just a drive-through. There’s a pullout near the summit with a view back down into South Park that’s an easy 5-minute stop.
What to Do in Buena Vista
BV is a good first stop for a walk around downtown, river access, and views of the Collegiate Peaks without committing to a hike. The town sits right on the Arkansas, and there are river access points and put-ins scattered through town if you want to just stand next to the water for a while. The South Main riverfront area is the part of town built specifically around that river access, with restaurants and a small beach-style stretch along the water.
Researched, not visited this trip: if you have extra time in BV, the Barbara Whipple Trail runs along the river through town and is an easy add-on walk, and the Buena Vista Heritage Museum downtown covers local mining and rail history for a rainy-day or too-hot-outside option. Check current hours before you plan around either. The official visitor site is buenavistacolorado.org if you want a fuller list of what’s open on a given weekend.
I’d treat BV as a 1-2 hour stop on this loop: enough time to walk the main drag, grab food, and get down to the river, then move on to Salida so you’re not rushing the back half of the day.
What to Do in Salida
Salida has the bigger downtown of the two, with a historic district that runs right along the river and more room to wander. It’s the better stop if you want a longer lunch break, some browsing time, or a soak before you point the car home. For anything specific to what’s open that week, start with the official tourism site: visitsalida.co.
Hot springs near this loop (researched). Between Buena Vista and Salida, Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort in Nathrop sits on Chalk Creek and takes day guests year-round. Their own site says the outdoor mineral pools and summer slides are open to the public; check current hours and day-pass rates before you count on a soak, because seasonal schedules move. In town, the City of Salida runs the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center at 410 W. Rainbow Blvd. It’s an indoor mineral-water facility with a lap pool and a warmer leisure pool, fed from city-owned springs near Poncha Springs. Confirm today’s hours on the city calendar before you go. I did not soak on this trip, so treat those as researched options on the same corridor, not firsthand reviews.
Good pizza in Salida (researched). If you want one strong pizza stop downtown, start with Amicas Pizza & Microbrew at 127 F Street. Their own site lists Italian-style thin-crust pizza, calzones, and house beer, open for dine-in and pickup daily (Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 8 p.m. as published today). Visitsalida and a pile of recent reviews point at Amicas as a Salida staple. Still call or check the site if you’re rolling in late. I am labeling this researched, not a meal I ate on this drive.
Beyond food and water, Salida’s creative district and river walk are the easy fills if you have an extra hour. The whitewater park that runs through downtown along the Arkansas is worth a look even if you’re not paddling, since there’s usually kayak and raft traffic to watch from the bank. Keep the rest general unless you’ve verified the specific shop or gallery hours yourself.
A Scenic Pull-Off on the Way Back: Hecla Junction
This is firsthand from today, not researched: if you’re looping back along the river corridor, Hecla Junction is worth the short detour. The dirt spur off US-285, County Road 194, was in decent shape when I drove it this weekend, better than I expected and not much washboard. It puts you right down at the Arkansas with some genuinely impressive rock formations and boulders lining the water. It’s a boat put-in for the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, so expect some rafting and paddling traffic, but it’s an easy 10-15 minute stop if you just want to get out of the car and stand next to the river. Full area details, including camping and access info, are on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife site: CPW’s AHRA page.
Weather-wise it was about 85 degrees with a nice breeze down in the canyon today, which made the stop more pleasant than I expected for early September.
If You Decide to Overnight Instead
This loop is built to be done in a day, but if you’d rather slow it down, both Buena Vista and the AHRA corridor have camping and lodging options if you want to turn it into an overnight instead of a there-and-back. That’s the move if you want to actually soak at Mount Princeton without rushing the drive home afterward, or if you want a full day in each town instead of splitting one day between both. Worth a second look if hauling gear or watching sunset from the river matters more to you than getting home the same night, but that’s a separate trip from the one this page is built around.
Worth Knowing Before You Go
This isn’t a technical drive, but Wilkerson Pass sits over 9,500 feet and the weather up there can turn faster than it does in the Springs, so it’s worth checking a mountain forecast rather than just the Colorado Springs one before you leave. Cell service gets spotty in stretches of South Park and along US-285, so download directions or a map ahead of time rather than counting on a signal the whole way. Both Buena Vista and Salida sit around 7,900-7,000 feet, noticeably lower than the passes you drive to get there, so the altitude adjustment is mild once you’re in town.
If you’re looking for other options in the same vein, we’ve rounded up more ideas in 7 Best Day Trips from Colorado Springs That Most Tourists Never Find, and if you’d rather stretch this into a two-day trip, see Weekend Getaways from Colorado Springs for People Who Actually Live Here. Hot springs seekers can also cross-check our hot springs near Colorado Springs page.
