August 2023 – Buena Vista, Colorado, is a wonderful destination for an RV trip and a great place to spend a few weeks in the summertime. When our truck was suddenly unable to tow our trailer over Colorado’s mountain passes, we were stranded near Buena Vista for several weeks as we waited for parts to arrive. As it turned out, Buena Vista was a great place to be “stuck!”
Choo choo!
Buena Vista, affectionately known as “BV,” is a small town of less than 3,000 people that sits in a mountain valley at an elevation of 8,000′.
Back in the 1880s, it was the hub for three major railroads, as commemorated in a mural on a building in town. Settlers had been drawn to the area because its plentiful water was good for farming, and agriculture has been an important part of the community ever since.
Buena Vista means “Good View” in Spanish, and good views are in abundance! The Collegiate Mountain Range stands to the west of town and several peaks are named for the most prestigious colleges in England and America, including Mt. Oxford, Mt. Harvard, Mt. Yale and Mt. Princeton. Many of the mountains in the range are fourteeners, that is, their summits are over 14,000’ in height!
An Airstream and two Ferraris pass each other in front of the Collegiate Mountain Range.
The downtown area in Buena Vista is a pleasant place for a stroll, and there are quite a few eateries and coffee bistros that were always very busy when we went by.
Historic downtown Buena Vista.
Buena Vista has a sense of whimsy, and there’s a mastodon statue outside of the courthouse!
A mastodon in front of the courhouse ?!
On the east side of town there’s a new neighborhood called South Main Street that we found absolutely delightful. The architecture is very pretty and the area is quiet.
Quaint buildings along South Main Street.
The homes resemble houses you might find in a city in the eastern states with covered porches right on the sidewalk. We saw families gathering on these porches in the late afternoons. I’m not sure if these were residents of Buena Vista or if they had rented these lovely homes for a vacation. Either way, the whole neighborhood was very inviting.
The tree lined streets and covered porches are reminiscent of homes back east.
We loved walking along these sidewalks.
There’s a small grassy park at the end of the street that hosts outdoor summer concerts. The stately and rather grand Surf Hotel overlooks the park.
The Surf Hotel is next to a park that hosts outdoor concerts.
Surf Hotel? Where would you ever find surf around here? This hotel belonged on a beach somewhere!
Well, it didn’t take us long to discover that Buena Vista has both SURF and BEACHES!
The Arkansas River runs through the eastern edge of the town, and there are many access points to the river. One river access is a boat ramp, and at the end of the ramp we saw people enjoying the water
The Arkansas River is a great place to play in the water.
The whole area around the Arkansas River is called River Park, and there is a fun hiking trail that goes along both sides of the river. It crosses two bridges that take you from one side of the river to the other and back.
The Town Bridge (pictured here) and the Beaver Falls Bridge make the two riverbank hiking trails into a loop.
Buddy noticed a very inviting sign posted at the trailhead, and he promptly gave the whole trail system a huge Two Paws Up.
Dogs are not just welcome on the River Park trail, they’re recommended!
Needless to say, during our stay in the area, we hiked this trail loop many times!
The River Trail’s rugged side.
The trail that runs between the bridges on the town side of the river is wide and easy to walk. The trail on the opposite side of the river is more challenging, and in some places there are scrambles up and down rock outcroppings. We loved it all!
Buena Vista’s River Park was the highlight of our stay!
The town of Buena Vista has done a great job creating their beautiful River Park. Not only are there trails on both sides of the river, but there are several human-enhanced rock formations in the river itself that make cool standing waves!
Here’s a nice spot to catch up on some summer reading while lounging in front of a standing wave!
The biggest wave is in the middle and it’s called the Pocket Wave. People were playing in the Pocket Wave all day long. They used boogie boards and tested their skills standing in place on the wave or lying on their stomachs. They were having a total blast!
This kid rode the Pocket Wave in place like that for at least 5 minutes!
No wonder the hotel next to the river is called the Surf Hotel!
Other folks love to tackle the whitewater sections of the river with short inflatable kayaks. These fantastic little boats are light enough to carry around and easy to pack in the back of a car and inflate by the water’s edge.
Out for a joy ride.
What a blast!
The two bridges at either end of the park were favorite spots for people to stop and grab a photo of the river. We did too!
Arkansas River seen from the Beaver Falls Bridge.
There are also lots of mini beaches and rocky spots on both sides the river that are just big enough for a couple of people and a happy dog to enjoy the water. We’d always pause to enjoy the view, and we often met other people doing the same.
We loved the big rocks in the middle of the river.
Silky smooth!
Taking a breather under the bridge.
US-24 runs right through the town of Buena Vista. On the west side of the highway there’s a big city park with a pond called McPhelmy Park. McPhelmy Park holds free outdoor concerts at their Legacy Stage. There are also outdoor music concerts in the South Main Street neighborhood in front of the Surf Hotel. So, if you like outdoor music, Buena Vista is a good place to visit!
There were free concerts at the Legacy Stage every week.
Buena Vista had a train depot in the late 1800s, and although it wasn’t open during our visit, an old train was parked outside for kids to climb on. It is remarkable to imagine a rickety wooden box like this rolling across the rough American countryside nearly 150 years ago!
Long ago, passengers were excited to see this train arrive at the depot.
We peeked inside the train, and the accommodations were quite simple. I’m not sure exactly how this particular train was used, but traveling any kind of distance in it would have been very uncomfortable. Yet, it was probably much better than a stagecoach and a whole lot faster too!
Spacious bench seats with space for luggage underneath, opening double-hung windows, and a woodstove in the back. At one time these were hailed as modern comforts!
There’s a pretty manmade waterfall just beyond the train depot, and upstream in the center of the park the pond was loaded with kids.
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We discovered that while half the town was on the banks of the Arkansas River at the River Park on the other side of town, the rest of them were here at this pond! The small beach is ideal for toddlers, and the placid water is perfect for paddling.
Kids were enjoying a summer afternoon at the beach.
A woman took her dog out for a spin on a paddleboard.
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Buena Vista was originally called Mahonville after its founders, James and Martha Mahon. However, in 1879, the citizens changed it to Buena Vista.
Interestingly, the woman who recommended the new name wanted the pronunciation to be an Americanized form: “Byoona Vista” (“byoo” as in “beautiful”) rather than the proper Spanish pronunciation, “Bwayna Vista.” Everyone else agreed!
Most of the locals, especially longtime locals, still pronounce the town’s name in its Americanized form. So, when you’re there, if you want to sound like a local, say “Byoona Vista” rather than “Bwayna Vista!”
“Never mind how you pronounce it. Buena Vista’s River Park trail gets Two Paws Up!”
Sometimes traveling in an RV brings unexpected surprises. We’d been through Buena Vista in our travels twice before, but we’d given the town just a brief glance. If it hadn’t been for the truck engine failures on this trip, we probably would have passed it by yet again.
However, our truck mishap forced us to stay in the area for nearly three weeks. This gave us a chance to see Burro Days in FairPlay and visit Antero Reservoir and Frisco. In between, we got to know Buena Vista pretty well, and we found the town truly delightful!
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More info about Buena Vista:
- Location of Buena Vista, Colorado – Google Maps
- Buena Vista Tourist Info – Colorful Colorado website
- RV Parks near Buena Vista – RV Life website
Mt. Princeton RV Park is the fanciest. We stayed at Snowy Peaks RV Park for 2 nights for our truck repair and it was pleasant.
Other blog posts from Colorado:
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO – Steep and Deep!
- Brilliant Fall Foliage + Snow in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado
- Burro Days! Burro Races, Llamas & Outhouses in Fairplay CO
- Colorado GOLD – A Fall Foliage Photography Workshop
- Colorado National Monument & Fruita CO – Red Rocks, Cycling & Wine!
- Colorado’s San Juan Skyway – An RV Trip in Dazzling Fall Color!
- Colorado’s Stunning Scenic Drives…by Porsche!
- Cowboy Poetry Gatherings in Durango, Colorado, and Alpine, Texas!
- Creede, CO – Mining History & Championships + 4th of July!
- Crested Butte – Wildflower Capital of Colorado!
- Hartman Rocks – A Different View of Colorado near Gunnison
- Lake Granby Colorado RV Trip – A Summer Beach Vacation!
- Lakes and Light in Wyoming and Colorado
- Mesa Verde National Park, CO – Life on the Edge with the Ancients
- Ouray – Finding the COLOR in Colorado on an RV Trip!
- Remote RV Camping: Antero Reservoir & Blue River Colorado
- Ridgway, CO – Peak fall foliage on the Dallas Divide – WOW!!
- Rocky Mountain High: Alpine Beauty in Colorado + Trout Lake!
- Rocky Mountain National Park & Trail Ridge Road: RV? Dog??
- Romance at Maroon Bells Colorado!
- RV Trip on Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway – Ouray to Silverton
- San Juan Mountains Colorado – And then it Snowed!
- Sheep May Safely Graze (in the Mountains with Dogs!)
- Silver Thread Scenic Byway in Colorado – Fire in the Sky!
- Telluride Gondola Ride in Colorado – FREE and Dog Friendly!
- Where All News is Good News – At the Saguache Crescent in CO
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That title caught my eye! I finally have a little time to read your article this weekend. That looked beautiful, but I was hoping for the news on the truck! Maybe next article?
You’ve been busy, Pete. I’m glad you have time to relax a bit this weekend — and with our website too! The news on our truck is that it was fixed in Buena Vista.
I’m wondering if you were one of the people who didn’t receive my newsletter email last week because the whole story was told in that lengthy article.
It seems that about 30% of our readers never received the email that went out on September 9th. Unfortunatey, the company that handles our email service tells me they all went out properly although some were delayed by a day.
So, I don’t know what happened or who was affected (and neither does my email service), but you can CLICK HERE to read about our many breakdowns over the summer. It wasn’t just the truck that broke down, although that stopped us in our tracks. It was the RZR, the trailer, and many other things too!!
I had a smile on my face the whole time I read this. I can’t wait to visit!
How cool is that, Annie. Now you’ve got me smiling! Great place, good people — you’ll love it there!
Charm – that’s the word for Buena Vista. And most dignified photo of Buddy that I have ever seen !!!!
Love, Mom
It is definitely a very charming town, and unpretentious as well. And Buddy is a very dignified young man. He turned 6 three days ago and celebrated with a dinner of steak on the grill and a puppaccino for dessert. He lives a great life!!
We used to stop in Buena Vista in the 60’s on our way back to Arizona. I am amazed at the changes that I see when viewing your post. Wonderful pictures of a wonderful place. It is definitely on the list for next years trip to Estes Park. Thanks for posting.
Hope your breakdowns abate in the following year. Our sprinter is DOA in our backyard until we get a new controller shipped to us. I can’t list all the breakdowns and problems that we have had with that van because there isn’t enough space. But Wally loves it anyway.
Thanks for your posts!
Oh my goodness, Liz. Sometimes a troublesome piece of equipment is something you love anyway. I’m sorry you’ve had such a long list of problems with your Sprinter, but at least Wally keeps smiling!! Have fun in BV when you go there next year. I’m sure you’ll have trouble recognizing from your memories of it in the 60s. They’ve done a lovely job with handling the growth in their community and South Main Street, the River Park and the big park with the pond and Legacy Stage are not to be missed! There’s also an ice cream shop & burger place called K’s Dairy Delight across the highway from the park with the pond (east side of the highway) that always had a really long line. We never tried it, but folks eating ice cream all around the place looked very happy!!
We LOVE that town. It’s actually one place we’d consider settling down in eventually.
It is a really great town and we talked a lot about renting a place to summer there! It would be a great place to settle down!