Guide to Buena Vista, Colorado
Hey guys! We recently released a video that our travels through the Rockies as we make our way towards Las Vegas for the SEMA Auto Show, where I (MAK) will be speaking. Over the last year we’ve spent a lot of time getting to know Buena Vista and have really fallen in love with that area.
We put together a little travel guide for Buena Vista and the surrounding area of the things that we’ve eaten, drank, hiked, and rafted all of which we’ve loved. So here’s what we recommend!
Food & Drinks:
Deerhammer
Deerhammer is our favorite place in all of BV to get a drink. They distill all their own spirits (mainly whiskey) in house, and damn is it good. The intimate setting is a killer place to get a flight of their whiskeys or old fashions. All drinks are made by highly skilled bartenders right in front of you. If you have one night in town, this is where we recommend you rest your weary bones with a drink in hand and a burger with tots from our next recommendation.
Our recommendation: An Old Fashioned of any kind, the Whiskey Sour, and their Hot Toddie
MAK at Deerhammer with a Hot Toddie in hand
Buena Viking
There are a lot of great things to say about Viking, but I think we should start with the fact that they share a common space with Deerhammer. Our favorite routine is to belly up to the food truck, order a burger and a side of tots to share. Then grab a seat and send a runner for whiskey drinks at Deerhammer. The common area frequently has live music and a fire roaring to keep you entertained while you wait for your food. The Viking frequently runs out of burgers in the early evening, yes they’re that good, so be sure to roll in at a reasonable time. They’re also only open Memorial Day weekend through September.
Our recommendation: The Viking Burger, the Beyond Meat Burger, First Snow Sweets, and the Truffle Parm Tots
House Rock Kitchen
This place came to us highly recommended by many, so we were excited to give it a try. We went for my birthday and they happened to be out of (meat) burger patties. Luckily, we were both in the mood for a veggie burger. They, hands down, make the best and most interesting veggie patties we’ve ever tried. They are loaded with grains and seeds, which I’ll admit sounds weird, but the result is far from it! I got the Mushroom burger with a veggie pattie and it came with tons of sauteed mushrooms, gorgonzola cheese & pumpkin pesto aioli and a side of fries. Owen had the Chipotle which featured Roasted red peppers, cheddar, guacamole & chipotle aioli. Both were heavenly and the perfect way to end the day after a summit!
Our recommendation: The house-made veggie burgers with any toppings, and the on-tap kombucha
Buena Vista Coffee Roasters
If you find yourself in BV in the morning and are looking for a killer cup of coffee, Buena Vista Coffee Roasters is the place to go. We love to go there, knock out some work and grab a light bite to eat before we head out on a hike. My favorite drink, the Honey Badger, is a latte with cayenne pepper and a touch of honey. If it doesn’t get you fired up for the day I don’t know what will.
Our recommendation: Honey Badger Latte, Morning Bun, any scone with fresh berries in it
Simple Eatery
This is one of the first places that we ever eat in Buena Vista a while back. The Simple Eatery actually shares a space with a gear shop making it a convenient and yummy stop in downtown BV. All the bread is made fresh and makes the place smell amazing. I got the Steak & Mozz Panini which has Angus sirloin, red peppers, red onion, mushrooms, basil pesto, spinach & mozzarella on house-made ciabatta. So, so good.
Our recommendation: Steak & Mozz Panini and Heirloom Tomato Bisque
The Jailhouse Craft Beer Bar
The Jailhouse is just that, the town’s historic jail that’s been turned into a boutique craft beer bar. History, a really cool only building with the original holding cell and good beer, what more can you ask for? Oh, you want an ice cream shop too? Great, there is one right next door.
Our recommendation: Get a beer… It’s a beer bar afterall
Hiking:
Midland Hill Trail
This is one of the first trails that we did in this area because of it’s close proximity to downtown. The trail leaves from the Arkansas River footbridge, located at the end of Buena Vista's East Main Street and climbs over 1500 ft of elevation to the summit. It can be a little challenging especially if you’re not used to the altitude. However, at the summit you get great 360 views of the town of BV and the Collegiate Peaks across the valley.
Distance (RT): ~4.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,600 ft.
Highest Point: Just over 9,500 ft.
Link to Info: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/midland-hill-trail
Birthday Peak
I was scrubbing around the map looking for something I wanted to do for my birthday. As soon as I saw a peak called “Birthday Peak” I knew that was what I wanted to do, not knowing if it was possible or not. Turns out there isn’t actually a trail all the way to the summit of Birthday peak. However, there is a trail that gets you close. You then have to leave the established path to follow game trails up a creek and then onto the summit. You start from the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead and follow it for about at roughly 4 miles before we turned up the creek to head up towards the treeline I would not attempt this hike or summit if you’re not good at reading topographic maps because it was a requirement to find your way through the dense tree coverage to the base of the peak. We HIGHLY recommend trekking poles.
Distance (RT): ~10 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,100 ft.
Highest Point: 12,762 ft.
Link to Info: We just used our Garmin topographic map to find a way to the summit and this blog post for some beta https://socalhiker.net/hiking-birthday-peak/
Harvard Lakes Trail via the Colorado Trail
The first mile of this hike is challenging due to the steep switchbacks. After that, your elevation gain is more gradual and makes for a more causal ascent. The hike follows segment 21 of the Colorado Trail to Harvard Lakes that is a popular place to fly fish and take your dogs… Which to be don’t sound like they go together, but that’s what everyone was doing up there! The lakes also seemed to attract a lot of people for an easily accessible overnight camping trip from BV.
Distance (RT): 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,151 ft.
Highest Point: 10,300 ft.
Link to Info: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/harvard-lakes-from-colorado-trail-segment-21
Other:
River Runners Rafting
Owen and I have never done much rafting, but after a river guide, Zach, approached us at Deerhammer (I told you we go there a lot) one night and invited us to raft with him the next day we jumped at the opportunity! Turns out Zach also lives in a Four Wheel Camper! This summer was the best the river has been in the last 30 years due to the heavy snowfall this past winter. River Runners were very professional, knowledgeable and fun to raft with. We had an absolute blast running Browns Canyon! They even have a restaurant and live music right on the water. By now you won’t be surprised to hear that we had lunch and a beer with our river guide after we returned from our trip!
Mount Princeton Hot Springs
The last time we were in BV we got hit with the first snowstorm of the season. We wanted to hit some hot springs to warm up and recovering for our summit of Birthday Peak the day before and Mount Princeton Hot Springs was perfect for that! These pay to enter, hot springs are located near the beautiful Chalk Canyon and is roughly a 15 min drive from downtown BV. The resort’s entry fee starts at $20 a person depending on the day of the week. There are a wide variety of pools and temperatures to choose from. Our personal favorite was the ones that were located in the river that runs through the resort. Even though it was a busy Sunday, it was very relaxing. Bonus, they have showers in the locker room so you can leave feeling so fresh and so clean!
Info: https://mtprinceton.com/
Nearby Food:
High Mountain Pies (Leadville)
This pizza joint gets such great reviews that we decided to make a stop the last time we passed through Louisville. They have amazing outdoor seating and some creative pizzas to keep you entertained! We opted for the San Luis which comes topped with a garlic oil base, mozzarella, braised pork, Ranchero sauce, green chilies, manchego cheese, cilantro and avocados and damn is it good! It sounds crazy to put cilantro on a pizza but they do it for a good reason!
Our recommendation: The San Luis Pizza
Sweeties Sandwich Shop (Salida)
When we were driving through the area I had a hankering for a BLT, so Owen went to work at finding a sandwich shop. Sweeties Sandwich shop is located in the historic downtown of Salida. The entire street has a lot of great things to offer, but we really lucked into this place! We ordered the Flaming Goat which features bacon, avocado, pesto mayo, goat cheese, lettuce & tomato on honey wheat. It is the best BLT I’ve ever had that was elevated by the avocado and goat cheese making it creamy! They also have a wide array of sweet baked goods that we couldn’t just walk away from. We got a large buckeye brownie which served as dessert for two meals!
Our recommendation: The Mona Lisa & The Flaming Goat
If you know of anything that you think that we’d like, feel free to let us know so we can add it to our to-do list for next time! If you’ve ever tried any of these things we’d love to know your thoughts!
Enjoy and safe travels!
- MAK & Owen
View from Birthday Peak
