TRAVEL DISTANCES

Denver 3.5 hr. International Airport

Co Springs 2.5 hr
Major Airport

Pueblo 1 hr Regional Airport

COUNTY AIRPORT

6800 ft. Paved Runway

Learjet Suitable

Daytime Only

Altitude: 8000 ft

8 miles to Westcliffe

Annual Average Precipitation

17 inches

POINTS OF INTEREST

Royal Gorge

Great Sand Dune Nat'l Monument

Abandoned gold and silver mines near Rosita ghost town

Wild West Properties, LLC

E-mail

TOLL-FREE
877-783-2939

local
719-783-0801

fax
719-783-2110

201 Main Street
Westcliffe, CO 81252

The Wet Mountain Valley, with its unspoiled beauty, friendly rural atmosphere, dry and sunny climate, numerous recreational opportunities and rich history is a very special place.

Location | Access | Climate | The Area | The Flora
Outdoor Activities | Education and Culture
Health Care | History

Recreational Map

Custer County is in Central Southern Colorado. Westcliffe, the county seat, is 56 miles west of Pueblo and 75 miles southwest of Colorado Springs. The county includes parts of the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Range. The elevation varies from 6700 feet to 14,240 feet at the top of Crestone Peaks. Between the two ranges is the fertile Wet Mountain Valley, which runs about 60 miles north and south and is only nine to twelve miles wide.

Access to the Wet Mountain Valley is not difficult, but it is certainly off the beaten track and has escaped discovery of most of the state's residents. Though there are three points of access, no major highways come close to its boundaries. The town of Westcliffe, situated at the center of the Valley, lies at the junction of these three secondary roads. There are miles of unpaved county roads that allow access to many parts of the Valley and the mountains.

Nearer the high dryness of northern New Mexico than the cold of northern Colorado, the climate is ideal: cold, clear and dry in the winter, warm in the summer and sunny all year round. Fall is most beautiful of all with the spun-gold Aspens and the first snow crowning the big range.

The Wet Mountain Valley is situated between the Wet Mountains on the east and the northern one-third of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the west. The area is uniquely beautiful. The Sangre de Cristo Range contains dozens of peaks stretching above 13,000 feet in height, and many that go beyond 14, 000 feet, with the Valley floor lying at 7800 feet.

The area has relatively little humidity and precipitation. With over 320 days of sunshine per year , the weather is pleasant the vast majority of the time, even in winter. The Valley is very lush, however, due to the tremendous amount of water that flows out of the Sangre de Cristo range. The gradual descent of the snowmelt has allowed vast forests of aspen and conifers to take hold.

The Sangre de Cristo range is the longest, straightest, and highest continuous mountain range on our planet. From the backbone of the range extend steep ridges that disappear into the valley floor. Between each of these flow creeks that originate at the high glacial lakes. The Rainbow Trail provides access to all of the valleys and draining streams and is maintained by the Forest Service. It would certainly take years for anyone on foot to visit all of the places that lie hidden within the high valleys of these mountains.

The flora that populates the ridges and drainage of the Sangre de Cristo range enhance the mystique of the Valley. Restricted by altitude, the quaking aspen remain lower in the foothills and provide a contrast to the conifers at the higher elevations. In the Valley, the scrub oak will approach ten feet, but rarely make it past six on the higher ridges.

In the spring and summer, delicate fields of iris, lupine and columbine blanket the ground in a dazzling display. During autumn, when the scrub oak is red and the aspen are yellow, glorious scenes appear from one end of the range to the other. When the Valley floor and the high alpine tundra assume their own fall qualities and the peaks inherit the first snows of winter, the spirit of the place is revealed.

Much of the bordering mountains are part of the San Isabel National Forest and contain literally hundreds of miles of hiking trails, provide great camping and some of the best technical mountain climbing anywhere.

Outdoors people find a paradise here trying to outwit trout in the lakes and streams and seasons for deer, elk, rocky mountain sheep, turkey, bear, mountain lion and antelope. The area is ideal for horseback riding and the Arkansas River features some of the best white water rafting in the country. Winter sports enthusiasts can enjoy countless miles of cross-country ski and snowmobile trails and major downhill ski areas are within driving distance.

For those who enjoy golf, there is St. Andrews at Westcliffe with its clubhouse converted from a 100-year old farmhouse.

Although sparsely populated, the community offers outstanding schools and a varied cultural scene. Two active arts councils sponsor classes, shows and performances. The Westcliffe area has been home of the "Jazz in the Sangres" for many years.

The local health care providers work closely with regional hospitals and Flight for Life air ambulance service. A crack EMT/ambulance corps is available round the clock.

The Ute indians loved it first-this broad Wet Mountain Valley, alive with game and grass, then the trappers and mountain men. Spaniards named the ranges: the Sierra Mojada to the east, the soaring Sangre de Cristos to the west. With the arrival of settlers, the Ute left the area that was once their home.

The miners came in the great boom of the 1880's and made Silver Cliff a town and a legend, and for a short time, the second largest city in Colorado. They mined, a few got rich, more went broke, and they too left the area.

Today the Valley is basically a ranching and farming community. Farms and ranches occupy most of the land, with the production of livestock and grains generating most of the Valley's revenues.

Lake DeWeese

San Isabel Nat'l Forest

Grape Creek

Rio Grand Nat'l Forest

Lake San Isabel

6 - 14,000 feet mountain peaks

Arkansas River

1,000,000 + acres of wilderness

52 high mountain. lakes

Wildlife

370 miles of streams

Nordic and Alpine skiing

OUTSTANDING VIEWS

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