Local Attractions/History

Westcliffe/Silver Cliff

To learn more about the Westcliffe, Silver Cliff, the Wet Mountain Valley and surrounding area, visit the local visitor website.

Restaurants

  • Alpine Lodge – East slopes of Sangre de Cristo Mtns (719) 783-2660
  • Silver Cliff Mountain Inn & Restaurant “aka Willie’s” (719) 783-2688
  • Tony’s Mountain Pizza – Hwy 96 in Silver Cliff (719) 783-9300
  • Days (inside the Silver Dome Saloon)
  • Chappy’s Mountain View Bar & Grill – Westcliffe (719) 783-0813
  • 4 Kings Bar & Grill – Silver Cliff (719) 783-3331
  • Rancher’s Roost Restaurant – (located in the bowling alley) (719) 783-2417

Grocery Shopping Options

  • Lowe’s Supermarket. Located at the end of Main Street in Westcliffe, this local grocery offers all your basic needs, fresh produce, a meat counter, etc. (719) 783-0550
  • Sunflower Natural Foods (Westcliffe). Located on Main Street in Westlcliffe, Sunflower Natural Foods offers supplements, seasonal organic vegetables and a variety of packaged grocery items. (719) 783-9266
  • Safeway, Colorado Springs (Hwy 115). Located at the intersection of South Academy and Hwy 115 (see reference on Directions page), this Safeway shopping center offers a large Safeway and liquor store.
  • Sam’s Club, Pueblo. About a 1 hour 15 minute drive from Ranch. 412 Eagleridge Blvd, Pueblo 81108 – (719) 584-3028
  • Sam’s Club, Colorado Springs. Good location if you are driving in from Denver or have flown into Colorado Springs. Located off the South Academy exit and I-25. 4385 Venetucci Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80906. – (719) 244-9657
  • Costco, Colorado Springs. There is a new conveniently located Costco located on the north side of Colorado Springs right off of I-25. Heading south from the Denver area, as you begin to enter Colorado Springs, you will come to the Nevada Exit. Take this exit and there is a big Costco center about a ½ mile up on your right. 5050 North Nevada Avenue – (719) 264-5010

Recreation

  • Health Club and Pool – Altitude Fitness, located in Silver Cliff, offers a 25 yard lap swimming pool, gym, yoga classes and more. Altitude Fitness is located on your left, in Silver Cliff, right past the Mining Company Restaurant and Country Store. (719) 783-0750.
  • Bowling – Cliff Lanes, located in Wescliffe, offers 8 bowling lanes, an arcade, community room and the Rancher’s Roost snack bar. (719) 783-2031
  • Tennis Courts on Hermit Lane. To get to Westcliffe’s tennis courts, drive into Westcliffe and make a left on 4th Street. Go to the Hermit Lane, just past the park, and make a right on Hermit Lane. The tennis courts are located immediately on your left.

Hiking

  • Rainbow Trail. One of the areas best know hiking trails, the Rainbow Trail runs horizontally along the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at around 9-10,000 feet. The trail can be accessed by one of the many roads that head up into the Sangre range.
  • Other hiking trails. The Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains offer a variety of hiking options, too many to include here. We have several hiking trail books and maps at the ranch and local merchants also offer information on hiking in the area.

ATV

Antique Shopping in Florence Colorado

Florence is fast becoming known as the best Antique Row in all of Colorado. Get a small group together and visit the more than 20 antique stores in this quintessential Colorado town. While shopping, don’t miss out on a great lunch at one of the many restaurants located in Florence.

Royal Gorge and the Royal Gorge Bridge, Canon City, Colorado

Known as Colorado’s Natural Wonder, the Royal Gorge is a vertical canyon along Colorado’s Arkansas River. The park offers tours of the Royal Gorge Bridge, an aerial tram, thrill seeking “SkyCoaster”, narrow gage railroad dining cars, and much more. Learn more by visiting www.royalgorgebridge.com or calling (888) 333-5597.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, San Luis Valley, Colorado

Although it takes about 2 hours to get to, Great Sand Dunes National Park is an amazing example of what mother nature is capable of. Located between 7,000 and 9,000 feet along the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, these sand dunes are the largest sand dunes in North America. For information, go to www.nos.gov/grsa.

Cripple Creek, Colorado

One of 3 towns in Colorodo that offers gambling in the style of the old west. About 1 hour and 45 minutes from the ranch. For information, go to www.visitcripplecreek.com

Local Skiing: Monarch Mountain Ski and Snowboarding Area

Monarch Mountain Ski area, located 22 miles west of the town of Salida near Monarch pass, is just 1 hour 15 minutes from Red Rock Ranch. A day use ski area, known as having the best powder skiing in the state, this ski area has 54 trails, two terrain parks, and an extreme terrain area called Mirkwood.

Entertainment

Check out the local visitor website for a schedule of local events and activities.

White Water Rafting

Parks

  • Hermit Lane Park. (Tennis Courts/Soccer Fields).
  • Westcliffe Town Park. Between 3rd and 4th Street. Playground.
  • Downtown Park. Public Restrooms

Lake Pueblo

Fishing

  • High Mountain Lakes. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains offer many high mountain lakes and streams for all varieties of angling. There are several hiking and mountain trail guides at the ranch that identify many of the local lakes and how to get to them.
  • Fly-fishing. Southern Colorado and the Arkansas River offers some of the best fly fishing in the state. Sign up for a 1/2 day or full day guided fly fishing trip, both on the river and along it’s beautiful shores. Learn from the pros.
    • RoyalGorgeAnglers/Arkansas River…(888) 994-6743 or visit www.RoyalGorgeAnglers.com
    • ArkAnglers FlyFishing, Arkansas River (719) 539-4223
  • Float Fishing Guides.
  • Cross D Bar Trout Ranch. Great for kids and adults of all ages. Just 15 minutes from the ranch, Cross D Bar Trout Ranch is a stocked lake. No fishing license required. Equipment provided. Easy…and fun, you are almost guaranteed to catch fish!
    • (719) 783-2007
  • General Fishing Information. Visit www.centralcolorado.com/recreation/fishing/fishing.htm.

Horseback Riding

Experience the beauty of Colorado while horseback riding. Choose a local outfitter for a several hour ride, or take your adventure to new heights and sign up for day trip into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

  • Bear Basin Ranch. Located just 5 minutes from Red Rock Ranch, Bear Basin offers horseback riding for beginners to experienced riders. (719) 783-2519 or visit their website at www.BearBasinPacktrips.com.

Zipline

Golfing

Information on Local Golf Courses [DOC]

  • Sumo Village/Florence (30 minutes)
  • Shadow Hills Golf Course/Canon City (45 minutes)
  • Elmwood Gold Course/Pueblo (1 hour)

Local Skeet and Trap Shooting Clubs

  • Cactus Flats Gun Range – Approximately 40 minutes from the ranch. 4612 County Road 123, Penrose, CO 81240
    (719) 372-3600. www.CactusFlats.weebly.com
  • Pueblo Skeet & Trap Club – Approximately 50 minutes from the ranch.6510 Red Creek Springs Road W, Pueblo, CO 81005
    (719) 564-1228, www.PuebloSkeetandTrap.com

Dark Skies

Dark Skies of the Wet Mountain Valley was started in 1998 with the goal of protecting the valley’s pristine night skies for future generations. Working with local ranchers, businesses and local government, the organization’s 17-year campaign included educating a wide section of the
valley’s population as to the many benefits of a preserved night sky. As a result, in 2015, Westcliffe and neighboring Silver Cliff were recognized by the International Dark Sky Association as the 9th International Dark Sky Community in the entire world, the first in Colorado, and the closest to the stars at nearly 8,000 feet. Now people come from all over the world to view our valley’s amazing night sky.

What is the history of Westcliffe?

The Spanish explorers “discovered” the valley, although the north end of the valley was for hundreds of years prior, a summer home to the Ute tribe of Indians. After the Spanish exploration for gold in the Sangre de Cristo range in the 1500’s and 1600’s, the hearty pioneers moved west looking for a better life.

In the late 1700’s, a large group of German settlers who escaped “Dirty Factory Life” in Chicago, took advantage of this lush valley for cattle ranching. In the 1870’s and 1880’s came a huge influx of miners finding both gold and silver. It is said that there were about 10,000 people who lived in the area and that Silver Cliff, Denver and Leadville were all in the running to be voted as state capital.

Finally, the Rio Grand Railroad came to town in the early 1900’s bringing more settlers, and more commerce. By the 1920’s silver became too expensive to get out of the ground versus what it was worth, and the population dwindled to the simple, but rewarding ranching life that dominated the valley until the late 1970’s when real estate became the primary economy.

What recreation is available in the area?

There are many books that have been written about the amazing hiking, fishing, and hunting in this region of Colorado. If you are an outdoor enthusiast, you could spend a lifetime exploring the hundreds of miles of trails and 370 miles of streams that converge into rivers and lakes, and create this lush high mountain valley.

There are over a million acres of national forest with trails leading to 52 high mountain lakes and streams which are filled with trout. Even if you are just hiking and not fishing, most of the lakes are at tree line and the natural beauty of these lakes nestled into the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo’s will take your breath away.

Wildlife including elk, deer, antelope, big horn sheep, bear, mountain Lion, bobcats, eagles abound in this national forest land. Many different hunting seasons in the fall, provide ample opportunity for the hunting sportsman.

The Arkansas River, only a 25 minute drive north of the ranch, is a plethora of recreation all unto itself, with white-water rafting and fly fishing topping the list. Only 45 miles east from Westcliffe, the Arkansas river pours into Lake Pueblo, which is Colorado’s largest recreational lake, with two marinas, boatslips, sailboating, water-skiing, jet-skiing, pontoon boating, fishing, kayaking, and windsurfing.

Horseback riding is probably second only to fishing in popularity in terms of recreation in and around the valley. There are numerous stables and opportunities to ride on private land, BLM land, National Forest Land, or even do a pack trip over the Sangre de Cristo range and into the San Luis Valley, and Great Sand Dunes National Monument.

What is it like to live in Westcliffe?

This is a full service town with restaurants, grocery and health food stores, liquor stores, bakery and butcher shops, lumber yard and hardware, banks, bowling alley and family fun center, tennis courts,  movie theater and repertory company, and a thriving local health care facility known as Custer County Clinic with local ambulance serviced by reverse directory 911 call-ins.

The Silver West Airport is located only 10 miles south of town, and provides private jets and planes with hanger facilities, and a 1.5 mile long paved runway, making access to the valley easy and simple for residents who own their own plane or jet.

There are only about 4,200 residents in the whole of Custer County. It wouldn’t be unusual to see real cowboys anywhere around the valley, as cattle ranches still thrive with the best meat and steaks right in the local butcher shop.

A set of very active community leaders, provide a great school system, many local organizations, a weekly farmers market (except winter), and the “Artist Culture” that dominates the community, provides a wide variety of arts and crafts year round.

There are numerous festivities and festivals that run from May through Christmas. To name a few: Memorial Day parade, Shakespeare Festival at the outdoor theater, an incredible Fourth of July Weekend, complete with a professional fireworks show over Lake De Weese. The Blue Grass and Jazz Festivals at “The Bluff Music Festival Grounds”, Westcliffe Stampede Rodeo Weekend, Western Days, The Art Hullabaloo, San Isabel Art Auction and the list goes on and on with something for everyone in this quaint little old west town, that truly makes you feel as if you have stepped back in time.

Known as the “Friendliest Town in Colorado”, it isn’t unusual on a drive down any of the valley’s hundreds of miles of roads, to have complete strangers give you the “Westcliffe Wave”, which is just to say “howdy” and have a good day!