5 Amazing Free Buena Vista Adventures in the Sawatch Range of Colorado

Buena Vista is Spanish for “good view,” and that it is. Find this picturesque Colorado town smack dab in the middle of the breathtaking Rocky Mountains with the snow packed Collegiate Peaks as its backdrop. Postcard Perfect would be a great way to describe the views and Unstoppable TravelingMom brings us these 5 amazing and free Buena Vista Adventures.

Buena Visita is the kind of place that people dream of — a great place to raise a family, and particularly amazing place to visit.  BV, as it’s commonly called, or Bewnie by locals, is also made for those who crave a little action during their travels. BV delivers in all its Buena Vista Adventure glory!

5 Amazing Free Buena Vista Adventures

Which is why we flock to Buena Vista every Spring.  Adventure Travel, while not new to those of us who partake, is seemingly the newest trend to hit the Travel Scene.  Adventure Travel is a type of tourism that involves traveling to more remote locations in order to pursue challenging physical activities.

Due to its ample nature infused playground, Buena Vista is an ideal spot for Adventure Travel.  BV offers mountain biking, climbing, and hiking.  In addition, Buena Vista is making a name for itself as a river town.  BV draws in thousands of whitewater enthusiasts yearly.

I know, for our family, the abundant whitewater opportunities are a major draw for us.  The river is a central part of our Buena Vista Adventure. That's why we visit BV as often as possible in the summer months for maximum fun. Whether it be freestyle kayaking, big water river runs, hiking the amazing Collegiate Peaks and more …  my family takes advantage of all possible Buena Vista adventures!

1. Buena Vista Adventures: Epic River Fun

Of course, we have to talk about the river first, because water in all forms is our life.  And, Buena Vista, CO is a whitewater paddlers dream.  From easy class II/III that is the Milk Run to Class V river runs that really get your adrenaline pumping, BV is a river paradise.  In fact, Buena Vista Adventures include the most famous stretch of river in the country, Brown's Canyon.

Not to mention the town of Buena Vista even has a world-class whitewater park. Every year CKS, the local paddle shop, sponsors CKS Paddlefest.  CKS Paddlefest offers clinics, competitions, races and more.  Those interested in learning more about kayaking can demo boats from various vendors and there are games for the youngest of kids as well.

Buena Vista is ranked so highly in the world of whitewater that this year, the US Freestyle Kayaking Team Trials were hosted by BV.  Thrilled to say that three of our kids, who have trained very hard, made the team and will be heading to Argentina to represent the USA in the World’s Competition in November!

Thrilled to say that three of our kids, who have trained very hard, made the team and will be heading to Argentina to represent the USA in the World’s Competition in November!

2. Buena Vista Adventures include Outdoor Areas for Kids Fun 

We are a pretty committed outdoor family.  We love the outdoors, we love nature, we love to take risks. And we even love to get dirty.  However, we also love towns that remember families often travel with kids and try to cater to them.

And BV is that kind of town.  Buena Vista, Colorado, has so many outdoor areas for kids that even I am impressed.  And while they do have parks, I’m not talking about your run of the mill park.  I'm talking parks that only something as epic as these Buena Vista adventures would offer.

In BV, discover a pump track for dirt bikes, a skate park, and my favorite, two boulder gardens.  What is a boulder garden, you ask?  A boulder garden is an area dedicated to climbing.  It has replicated boulders with fabricated climbing holds to practice all sorts of climbing moves.

The routes range from easy to impossible and everything in between.  We spent countless hours here during our two-week stay and the kids, who are monkeys at heart, had so much fun!

3. Biking, Awesome Buena Vista Adventures 

This year, for the first time in quite a while, many of us are traveling with our mountain bikes.  This means we added to our yearly Buena Vista Adventures by biking any of the endless miles of trails in BV. We certainly upped our Adventure in Buena Vista by choosing some of the most difficult trails.

Our first outing, we hit the Barbara Whipple Figure 8 Trail.  Holy cow, I did not make the entire trail.  It is indeed, not for the average cyclist, but rather, an advanced, incredibly fit, Olympic-type cyclist, or at least that's what I told myself when I went home to our RV.

After this failed attempt, I opted for the more family friendly, River Road trail.  This was definitely more my speed.  It is a flat, easy trail with amazing scenery.  The scenery is part and parcel of all outdoor activities in BV.  We biked along the old Midland Railroad and were able to pass through some railroad tunnels which the kids thought was cool.  We saw some climbers as we biked, and took a mental note to check out the routes on our way back!

4. Buena Vista Adventures in Climbing

Buena Vista Adventure continues with a number of different crags ranging from 40 to 500’!  For those that don’t know, a crag is a steep or rugged cliff or rock face that is ideal for climbing due to its natural hand and foot holds.

The views are absolutely breathtaking, most topping out at 100feet, with the exception of Davis Face, a large cliff a few miles outside of town.  Davis Face stands at about 500 feet!

All these routes, in my opinion, require the appropriate equipment, which we rarely carry, and never can quite outfit everyone adequately. As a result, we do a lot more bouldering than we do climbing. Bouldering is bare bones climbing.  Many people who enjoy bouldering carry a mat to help offset a possible difficult fall.

And, of course, our Buena Vista Adventures wouldn't be complete without some great bouldering in BV. On the west side of Rainbow Rock, find some amazing bouldering areas.  The difficulty ranges somewhere in the 5’s and really doesn’t require a lot of skill, so we let the kids loose with nary a worry.

5. Buena Vista Adventures in Hiking

What would a Buena Vista Adventure be without hiking?  I can’t imagine a place more conducive to hiking and camping than the Rocky Mountains. Gorgeous blue skies, fresh clean air, and magnificent views that inspire every day!

And Buena Vista is at the top of the list of Colorado hiking destinations.  BV is home to the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area which primarily lies within the San Isabel National Forest. And within the San Isabel National Forest, there showcases a collection of the Sawatch Range Mountains!

The impressive thing about the Sawatch Range is that it contains some of Colorado’s highest peaks, the Collegiate Peaks!  These peaks are named after colleges, like Mount Princeton, Mount Harvard, etc, hence the name the Collegiate Peaks!  You will hear locals call them fourteeners as they have an elevation of at least 14,000 feet.

Last year two of our kids summitted Mt Elbert, the tallest, yet surprisingly easiest mountain in Colorado to climb.

Many people enjoy a wide range of Buena Vista Adventures.  BV is a super popular area for mountaineering as the highest number of 14’ers in any country lie within Chaffee County!  In fact, all the 15 Sawatch fourteeners are an easy and short drive from Buena Vista!