With the snowcapped summits of the Collegiate Peaks and Sawatch
Range towering above and the Arkansas River raging below, Buena Vista lives up
to its name, which translates to “beautiful view” in Spanish. BV, as locals
know it, has long drawn travelers seeking world-class white-water rafting and
easy access to fourteeners (the county holds a record 12 such peaks). But a new
multiuse development is improving the one-stoplight town’s dining and shopping
scenes, setting up the former railroad hub to attract more visitors—from
Colorado and beyond—than ever before.
