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Salida, Colorado

Skiers may want to schuss into this Rockies retreat

Salida, Colo., is home to the famous First in Boating kayak race on the Arkansas River, which, at 26 miles, is the longest whitewater downriver race in the United States. But when November hits, Salida’s Chaffee County, in a valley bordered on all sides by the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, turns into a ski lovers’ paradise. It boasts more 14,000-foot mountain peaks-”fourteeners” in local parlance-than any other county in Colorado.

The mountain peaks typically get about 400 inches of snow each season, while Salida itself is sprinkled with a manageable 50 inches of powder. The Monarch ski area is just 20 miles from town, and Vail, Copper, and Breckenridge are also within driving distance-and all offer free or discounted ski passes to senior citizens.

This winter wonderland is no superpricey Aspen. It remains much more affordable than many other ski areas in Colorado. “When I bought the house in 1990, this area was economically depressed, and I got a really good deal and bought more property,” says Stewart Brown, 73, a Salida retiree. “I’ve been able to expand my financial resources from practically nothing to almost half a million dollars.” Brown attributes part of his financial success to Salida’s low-key lifestyle. “If I lived in the [Rockies’] Front Range, then you’d have to keep up with the neighbors a little bit more,” says Brown, who was an executive with the YMCA in Milwaukee before retiring. “Taxes are cheaper; the cost of living is lower; clothing is cheaper; food is about average,” he says.

Salida is 145 miles from Denver and 100 miles from Colorado Springs. “We’re away from the traffic and other problems with big cities, yet we can access them easily for special events,” Brown says.

Inexpensive recreational opportunities for seniors abound. When the cold gets to be too much, folks can enjoy a dip in naturally hot mineral waters at the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center or take a low-impact aquatic exercise class taught by Arthritis Foundation-certified instructors. The cost? Only $2.

Population: 5,348

Median home value: $185,500

Age 65 or over: 21 percent

Cost of living: 4.2 percent below the U.S. average

Maximum state income tax: 4.63 percent flat rate

State sales tax: 2.9 percent

Boone, N.C. • Dahlonega, Ga. • Fredericksburg, Texas • Kennebunk, Maine • Melbourne Beach, Fla. • Natchitoches, La. • Sandpoint, Idaho • Yucca Valley, Calif. • Yuma, Ariz.

This story appears in the June 11, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

Outside’s Best Towns 2004
Salida, Colorado
Where the Rockies get real

	A kayaking mecca, the Arkansas River Valley offers over 100 miles of whitewater (Corbis)

“NOW THIS,” BRAG THE SIGNS on highways

“is Colorado.” Refugees from Front Range cities like Denver and Boulder are drawn to this oasis at 7,038 feet in the Upper Arkansas Valley, near the center of the state—as are the hordes who come to run the Arkansas River. The sweetly unpretentious town of Salida has a thriving arts scene, century-old crackerbox cottages, two whitewater play holes just steps from downtown, and a municipal pool filled with hot-spring water.

OUTDOORS: Courtesy of the mild banana-belt climate, locals can bike (on pavement and off), hike, fish, and paddle nearly year-round. The 148-mile Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, punctuated by Class II–V drops, slices through Salida’s historic district. Northwest of town, the Sawatch Range boasts 15 fourteeners, more than a quarter of the state’s total, and hundreds of miles of hiking trails. Nearby Monarch Ski and Snowboard Area, at 11,961 feet, averages 30 feet of snow a year.

REAL ESTATE: Most properties fall somewhere between two poles: small, aging downtown fixer-uppers of 1,200 square feet or so, starting at around $150,000, and newly built custom homes on an acre (or two, or five) priced at $400,000 and up.
HANGOUTS: The River Run Inn (doubles, $100–$125; 800-385-6925, www.riverruninn.com), in an 1892 building, offers a great room with rolling library ladder, plus a quarter-mile of Arkansas riverbank. Laughing Ladies (euphemistically named after the prostitutes of Salida’s mining-and-railroad era) is the town’s finest restaurant, but the definitive gathering place is the Victoria (”the Vic”), a bar with pool tables and live music.

The Grand Opening of Phase 5 at Little River Ranch is scheduled for May 24th, 2008. We have 3 new River-front parcels and several view parcels to choose from. If you missed out on the River-front in Phase 2 and Phase 3, call me today to schedule a tour. You do not want to miss out in these incredible, hard to find properties.

Greetings from Little River Ranch in Salida, Colorado where we offer some of the best homesites in the areas Premier River Front Community.