Buena Vista & Salida, Colorado

TRAIL RUNNING

Summer running, had me a blast, summer running, happened so fast… Oh sorry, Grease fans, that’s not exactly how that song goes, but in Colorado it seems people really love running races. Especially in summer. There are more than 1000 road or trail races in Colorado this year, but these six in Chaffee County belong at the top of the list. Forget the massive sweaty crowds; races here are high-altitude jaunts amidst spectacular scenery and steeped in small-town charm. It’s the healthiest, happiest excuse to get out of the city and into the mountains.

Trail-running routes are just outside of downtown Salida and Buena Vista. The Barbara Whipple and Colorado Midland trails rise from the east end of Buena Vista. In Salida the Arkansas Hills system is across the F Street Bridge while Methodist Mountain trails are south of town with a popular trailhead off CR 110.

Trail Running Business Listings

RUNNING EVENTS BUENA VISTA & SALIDA, COLORADO

Care For Colorado – Are You Colo-Ready?

Running In Buena Vista & Salida, Colorado

National Trail Systems

Colorado Trail

The Colorado Trail stretches 486 miles from Denver to Durango. Trail users experience six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges topping out at 13,271 feet, just below Coney Summit at 13,334 feet. The average elevation is over 10,000 feet and it rises and falls dramatically. Users traveling from Denver to Durango climb 89,354 feet. The Chaffee County section is popular with day and overnight hikers alike.

The Colorado Trail Foundation

Continental Divide Trail

The Continental Divide separates the rivers and streams that flow eastward into the Atlantic Ocean from those that flow westward to the Pacific.

The portion of the Continental Divide in the United States is about 3,000 miles long – from Glacier National Park in Montana, south through the Rocky Mountains, to the Mexico border in southwest New Mexico.

The Sawatch Range segment in Chaffee County follows the flanks of Colorado’s highest peaks, with nice stretches above timberline in portions of the Holy Cross, Mount Massive, and Collegiate Peaks wilderness areas.

Continental Divide Trail Coalition