An aerial view of Crested Butte, Colorado.

10 Most Welcoming Towns In Colorado's Countryside

Flowy grasslands, dry plains, and sprightly natural landscapes typically characterize the countryside. Colorado’s countryside offers that and more. This state of classic Americana is rich in archaeological discoveries, Native American history, hot springs, and much more. Embracing a frontier American history, Colorado’s rural surroundings are peppered with ghost towns and agricultural pasts where prospectors and homesteaders often made their presence felt. This Mountain State, lying halfway in the Rocky Mountains, allows tourists to explore a secluded yet welcoming countryside community.

Pagosa Springs

 People relax in a resort with natural hot springs in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
People relax in a resort with natural hot springs in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Image credit: Victoria Ditkovsky / Shutterstock.

Home to the deepest geothermal spring in the world, Pagosa Springs speaks to the wellness enthusiasts and tourists looking for some much-needed R&R. Originating from the Native American Ute word “Pagosah,” which translates to “healing or boiling waters,” this small town’s springs were believed to have medicinal and restorative properties by the Ute peoples, the springs on which Pagosa Springs’ tourism economy is now focused. Most would think the springs are inaccessible to the public due to the resort and spa built around it, but not to worry, there is always Nathan’s Hippy Dip Hot Spring. Nathan’s is a small and comfy mineral springs pool that’s hidden away in a nook from Hot Springs Boulevard. Its heated water comes from the runoff of the primary geothermal springs, creating a hidden gem that’s entirely free to the public!

Visitors craving a little more nature can visit the Opal Lake Trail, passing through Opal Lake, which is a milky-colored inlet with mineral deposits giving it its distinctive hue. With steep and flat terrain throughout, tourists can hike through the aspen and spruce forests and stop by a nearby stream to fill up on water, a perfect mini trek for those in need of a relaxed yet invigorating workout. No one’s trip to Pagosa Springs is complete without a hot air balloon ride across the town, and with Rocky Mountain Balloon Adventures, that can be arranged. This family-owned local company takes visitors across the vast skies, exploring views of mountain tops, reflecting lakes, and more of what the town’s scenery has to offer. End your ride with a bubbly champagne ceremony to top it all off!

Crested Butte

Vibrant storefronts in Crested Butte, Colorado.
Vibrant storefronts in Crested Butte, Colorado. Kristi Blokhin / Shutterstock.com.

With absolutely no traffic lights, no tall city buildings, and brand-name chain stores, Crested Butte is the ultimate escape from the urban world. Originally started as a mining town way back in the 1880s, this small town now embraces its heritage of ranching, providing visitors a glimpse into what rural life looks like today. Nicknamed “The Gateway to the Elk Mountains,” Crested Butte is right by the ski slopes of Crested Butte Mountain. Visitors are welcome to take part in mountain biking, downhill skiing, hiking, and other extreme sports. The quirky community in the town of Mt. Crested Butte, which neighbors Crested Butte, welcomes tourists to participate in music nights, kid-friendly activities, and more.

The people of Crested Butte contribute to their town’s natural beauty and exuberance by hosting their annual Crested Butte Wildflower Festival. This 10-day festival hosts more than 150 workshops focused on the town’s wildflowers, with workshops centered on pollination, culinary teachings, medicinal teachings, painting, photography, hiking, and more. Set in July, the Wildflower Capital of Colorado holds this festival to create awareness for the importance of preserving wildflowers. Aside from the festival, visitors seeking to indulge in the arts can take a ride to the Center for the Arts Crested Butte, an events hub for the town’s musical and artistic interests. Created from the determination of a group of locals, the center is home to an art gallery, an outdoor stage, and a large auditorium. It's a great place to wind down with some jazz, blues, or classical music in the summer evenings.

Carbondale

A stunning view of Mount Sopris from Mushroom Rock in Carbondale, Colorado.
A stunning view of Mount Sopris from Mushroom Rock in Carbondale, Colorado.

With a range of residents from the Ute peoples, to silver prospectors, to cattle ranchers, and finally potato farmers, Carbondale has a strong countryside history to explore. Now a community of arts and music, the town chooses to incorporate all parts of its history: mining, skiing, ranching, and, as of recently, sustainable businesses. Set at the bottom of Mt. Sopris, Carbondale’s Creative District sits in the Roaring Fork Valley, a region of festivities that embrace and cultivate creative minds. With venues of art, dance, and other performing arts, this district embodies the spirit of the arts in every way. The Powers Art Center offers a world-class collection of contemporary art. Finally, Carbondale is home to the Thompson House Museum, an 1880s home created by one of the town’s first homesteaders that holds artifacts from its first residents, Hattie Thompson-Holland and Oscar Holland.

Minturn

View over Minturn, Colorado.
View over Minturn, Colorado.

The 19th-century American merchant Robert B. Minturn was vice-president of the railroad that founded the town of Minturn, inspiring the town's name. This town’s Evercrisp lettuce has earned it the nickname “lettuce capital of the world,” establishing its reputation in agriculture. Once famous for its mining, it is now a quiet town focused on outdoor recreation. While Minturn may not have many attractions, it offers visitors a memorable experience through its natural sights. Passing through, visitors will come across Maloit Park, a public park open to seasonal activities: snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and more. There is also a big grassy patch of land for families, kids, and some trails are dog-friendly. Reaching out to its agricultural roots, the Minturn Market has quite a bit to offer. This local artisan market is a family-friendly, kid-friendly, and dog-friendly spot for the community of Minturn to come together and enjoy the goods unique to this delightful town. Visitors can indulge in wine tastings, baked goods, art, pottery, jewelry, clothes, pet needs, and much more! Keeping it ever-so simple, the best views of the great outdoors can only be taken in through the Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway. Visitors will be sure to see Mount Elbert, Mount Massive, the Arkansas River, and even reach the neighboring town, Leadville’s Main Street. The drive starts at Minturn, finishing in Aspen or at Copper Mountain, but nevertheless, it is unique to this nestled mountainous town.

Granby

Trail alongside Lake Granby in Granby, Colorado.
Trail alongside Lake Granby in Granby, Colorado. Image credit mredd via Shutterstock

Granby is the embodiment of Colorado’s countryside as “The Heart of Something Grand.” This rustic town is tucked away in the corners of the Rocky Mountains with splendid sights such as the Continental Divide and Rocky Mountain National Park. Granby is situated over 7,900 feet above sea level, and yet this peaceful town is where visitors flock, especially due to its welcoming nature. This small town is filled with many recreational activities, including rafting, horseback riding, boating, hiking, hunting, and fishing - and those are just the summer activities. The Granby Ranch holds space for all seasonal sports, especially winter sports. In summer, the ranch accommodates over 40 miles of space for mountain biking and hiking trails, as well as an 18-hole golf course. In the winter, more than 400 acres of the ranch are used for skiing, with options for skiers to visit any one of the 41 trails, join their ski school, or even go night skiing!

Granby also represents its town history through a couple of spots to visit. The Moffat Road Railroad Museum is a great place to start for those history buffs. The museum is a dedication to David Moffat and his work with Colorado’s railroads. His projects included the Moffat Tunnel and the Denver Northwestern & Pacific Railway. Other railroad cars and equipment housed in this museum include a 1913 steam derrick, a 1905 passenger car, and other early 1900s locomotives. Finally, a memorialization of Granby’s aviation history: the Emily Warner Field Aviation Museum. The museum site is in a former airline terminal, which showcases a range of artifacts and displays of aerial navigation in Grand County. Along with the volunteers who helped maintain the airport, the museum houses exhibits devoted to WWII pilots, Grand County military pilots, and other famous fliers.

Paonia

A row of vineyards with mountains background in Paonia, Colorado.
A row of vineyards with a mountain background in Paonia, Colorado.

A land abundant in apple trees, peonies, and wineries. A land once used as a hunting ground by the Ute peoples. A land founded as the “Paeonia,” the Latin name for peony, and eventually finalized as Paonia. This town has its intricacies from mining to agriculture to cattle farming. Located amongst the river valleys of Delta County, Paonia offers a world of countryside living. For wine-lovers, exploring the Stone Cottage Cellars is a great first stop. The cellars began as a way for the owners to leave their modern and corporate life behind, embracing the vineyards of North Fork Valley. This family business was built to create a connection with the community, which visitors can also indulge in with their wine cellar, tasting room, and upcoming winery space. Visitors can immerse themselves in more local stops on their trip to Paonia by taking a moment to discover the Western Culture Farmstead & Creamery. This small farm makes the best handcrafted goat cheese and sells it through their creamery. As their own supplier and seller, this local business is an artisanal gem. And finally, the Lamborn Mountain Farmstead is a beautiful spot to pass through. This small, woman-owned, family business is nicknamed Lavenderland for its gorgeous purple landscape. This farm is devoted to sustainable lavender farming, producing lavender products, culinary products, essential oils, and goat-milk products.

Fruita

Agricultural land in Fruita, Colorado.
Agricultural land in Fruita, Colorado.

William Pabor, a poet and scientist, arrived in Fruita and was immediately infatuated with the possibilities of this small town. Creating the Fruita Town and Land Company, Pabor started selling land to potential residents, making way for fruitful agricultural practices. Fruita is home to several quirky spots for tourists to visit. The first is the Dinosaur Journey Museum, a museum of paleontological discoveries originating in western Colorado. The museum offers interactive exhibits and displays of reconstructed dinosaur bones, an earthquake simulator, and a site where kids can unearth archeological findings on their own. Aside from the geological wonders of the museum, the nearby Colorado National Monument stands as a testament to Colorado’s natural beauty. The sandstone canyons, tunnels, and boulders create a red badlands-like landscape admired by both residents and tourists. The most famous rock formations there include the Kissing Couple, Pipe Organ, Praying Hands and Sentinel Spire, and Window Rock. When the sun hits the rocks at just the right angle, this stop is the best place to capture some photos with those famously shaped boulders. Finally, the Fruita Fat Tire Festival celebrates mountain biking in a non-competitive capacity. Filled with events focused on bikes, trails, and gears, this festival is for devoted bikers and bike enthusiasts who rejoice in their shared interest by riding through the various physically challenging trails.

Ridgway

A view of Ridgway, Colorado from Colorado State Highway 62 above the town
A view of Ridgway, Colorado from Colorado State Highway 62 above the town, By Jeffrey Beall - Own work, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The epitome of community, creativity, and culture, Ridgway embodies the deep bonds between land and people. As a certified Dark Sky Community, it is safe to assume that this small town thrives on its natural beauty and flourishes through sustainable practices within its community. The Dennis Weaver Memorial Park serves as a great example of this. This expansive 60-acre park memorializes humanitarian Dennis Weaver’s environmentalism. It features a picnic area, a river for fishing or kayaking, and a Medicine Wheel with an eagle statue. The Ridgway State Park offers another option, comprsising a stunning green escape for outdoor sports enthusiasts. This park offers numerous activities: camping, boating, fishing, hiking, picnics, wildlife watching, and other year-round recreation. Located at the base of the San Juan Mountains, it hosts 280 campsites, 3 yurts, and many scenic spots to explore. Ridgway also boasts a notable railroad history, showcased at the Ridgway Railroad Museum. As the origin of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, the museum preserves the town’s history through exhibits, photographs, and railroad equipment.

Dolores

Main Street in Dolores, Colorado.
Main Street in Dolores, Colorado. Image credit: Jeffrey Beall via Wikimedia Commons.

After the first inhabitants, the Puebloans, left this small town, Spanish priests passed through, named it “Dolores,” the same name they gave the nearby river, and then moved on. Since then, the town of Dolores has become a welcoming and lively destination for visitors. With plenty of outdoor activities available in its lush natural landscape, it’s a great place to be. The first highlight is a project of cultivation and preservation co-founded by two horticulturists. The Dolores Community Heritage Orchard was originally a peach orchard in McElmo Canyon, which the co-founders diligently restored to its former glory. Today, it’s an orchard filled with heritage fruit trees that evoke fond memories for previous generations of Dolores. The next stop is the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument & Museum. Known for its archeological sites, the museum commemorates the thousands of villages, kivas, field houses, petroglyphs, cliff lodgings, and roadways. With a vast history of Puebloan peoples, Ute and Navajo peoples, and Anglo settlers, this museum is perfect for visitors needing a taste of ancient history. After a long day outdoors and stimulating the brain with some Dolores history, the Dunton Hot Springs is a great spot for some relaxation. The springs are part of a 19th-century ghost town nestled in the mountainous regions, where visitors can indulge in luxury accommodations and an adventurous journey.

La Junta

Comanche National Grassland in Colorado.
Comanche National Grassland in Colorado.

The town of La Junta is situated at the former junction of the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail and the Trappers Trail. Hence the name La Junta, which means “the meeting” in Spanish. This small town is one of the rare ones, an open-minded and welcoming community that is less frequented. A primary spot for visitors to scope out is the Otero Museum, a large exhibition of history from 1875 to the Second World War. The museum also holds a series of exhibits dedicated to topics like the military, postal history, agriculture, business, education, transportation, and more. Another wonderful museum to look for is the Koshare Museum, a house of Native American history and art. Home to “the Kiva,” a large chamber in a Pueblo Indian village, this museum houses the biggest self-supported log roof in the world, an incredible accomplishment for La Junta. The museum acts more as an event space for the Koshare Indian Dancers, a Boy Scout group who helped build the museum, often for dances and religious ceremonies. Finally, La Junta is a great jumping off point for the Comanche National Grassland, 443,764 acres of land with a variety of wildlife. A likable spot for animal lovers, visitors can catch a sight of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Previously a home for the Indigenous population of the town, the concealed canyons of the area hold tracings and glyphs. The most prominent sight in the grasslands is the Purgatory River, a supposed haunted river with stories of spirits and lost souls. And that folks is the end of this journey!

Conclusion

A wonderful journey through the most welcoming towns in Colorado filled with a vast history, archeological discoveries, ranching families, and most of all, the beautiful and never-ending outdoors. One would think it rare to be welcomed into such rural towns in the middle of nowhere but think again. These towns greet visitors with open arms and show them the what a connected tight-knit community really looks like. There is something for everyone in each of these towns.

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