South Central

Prepare your eyes for a visual feast: South Central Colorado offers up a smorgasbord of pointed peaks, deep canyons and dazzling wildflowers. Streams of sunlight drape aspens in gold and throw sharp shadows across the mountainscape.

In this unpredictable terrain, the scenery greeting visitors is kaleidoscopic. Pristine silver lakes, hillsides covered in thick stands of aspen and pines and line after line of snow-capped mountains stretching across the horizon, a still-life of folded shapes. The ranges are never ending. Cross over one, and another comes instantly into view.

Against these towering, formidable backdrops, hardy towns nestle in wooded valleys. Leadville, the highest city in America, seems to rest on a cloud. The Collegiate Peaks cluster around Buena Vista and the Sangre de Cristos soar over the sweeping Great Sand Dunes. Colorado Springs offers a touch of urban class beneath the eminent heights of Pikes Peak.

In the San Luis Valley the land lies flat, as if to rest from the rolls and headstands it performs elsewhere. Here farmers raise crops in the rich soil and glistening streams snake through marshy meadows. At Royal Gorge the earth slips even lower, nosediving a thousand feet to the Arkansas River. Rafters, kayakers, and fishermen ply their skills here and on dozens of other pristine lakes and streams.

With all the ups and downs in this region, a visitor has to be ready for anything. You never know what you'll run into - but you can be pretty sure you'll like what you find.

LARGEST CITY: Colorado Springs, Colorado's second-largest metropolitan area, has a population of 465,885.

FAMOUS RESIDENTS: Frederick McKay, a Colorado Springs dentist, discovered the effects of fluoride in 1908. Elvira, horror movie hostess, went to high school in Colorado Springs, and horror-movie star Lon Chaney was born in Colorado Springs. Heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey grew up in Manassa ( he was known as the Manassa Mauler). Photographer Laura Gilpin is a native of Colorado Springs.

HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS: This is where the plains meet the Rockies and where fine arts blend with dark mines. Rich veins of ore were once found in the area’s mountains, catapulting the region into rapid growth and great popularity among settlers. In seemingly stark contrast to the grit of the mining lifestyle, arose the culture of high art in some of the region’s towns. The oldest townships in Colorado are also located here, and their Hispano-borne roots are as vibrant as ever.

FUN FACT: South Central Colorado contains Colorado's tallest mountain and its oldest town, church, and military post. It also boasts the tallest sand dunes in North America, the highest toll road in the world, the steepest railroad incline in the world, and the highest suspension bridge in the world (Royal Gorge).

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES:
Fine Arts Center of Colorado Springs
Town of San Luis
Town of Leadville