Attractions in Southern Colorado

Day Trips from Cucharas River Bed and Breakfast

Knowing that Southern Colorado has a subtropical climate, featuring over 300 days of sunshine per year, there are plenty of things to plan for in all 4 seasons. With your base at Cucharas River Bed and Breakfast you can easily explore the different attractions and be back before bedtime.

Mission Wolf

Mission: Wolf is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational wolf sanctuary in the remote Colorado mountains. They focus on sustainability, operate on solar power and build with recycled materials.

Their community of volunteers from around the world invites you to visit them any day of the year or see their travelling ambassador wolf outreach program nationwide.

Travel time: 1 hour 33 minutes (55.1 Miles)
Directions to Mission Wolf

Bishop’s Castle

For nearly 60 years, Jim Bishop has been constructing one of the most impressive monuments to perseverance in Colorado. Bishop castle is a monumental statue in stone and iron that cries loud testament to the beauty and glory of not only Having a Dream, but Sticking with your Dream

Every year since 1969, Jim Bishop has single-handedly gathered and set over 1,000 ton of rock to create this stone and iron fortress in the Greenhorn Mountain Valley.

Travel time: 1 hour 26 minutes (71.9 Miles)
Directions to Bishop's Castle

Pueblo Zoo

A 25 acre biopark where animals are exhibited in natural settings. Home to more than 420 animals of 140 species, the Zoo is managed by the Pueblo Zoological Society and accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA). There is also a large animal discovery room and children's petting zoo complex.

Be sure to take a ride on the vintage hand carved carousel built in 1911. The carousel is one of only 170 all wood, hand carved machines in existence.

Travel time: 1 hour 25 minutes (78.2 Miles)
Directions to Pueblo Zoo

Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum

This museum, unique to the state of Colorado, is a tribute to American Military Airmanship and is the largest collection of vintage aircraft on the Eastern Range. There are 26 airplanes on display including a B-29 bomber and RV-37. The museum is free of charge and is open seven days a week.

You can view authentic military uniforms of the era, arms and other relics of American Wars. There's even a full scale model of the Memorial Airport diorama as it looked during wartime operations.

Travel time: 1 hour 28 minutes (85.7 Miles)
Directions to Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum

El Pueblo History Museum

A property of the Colorado Historical Society, the El Pueblo History Museum is located at the actual historic site of the trading post built in 1842 north of the Arkansas River. Permanent exhibits chronicle human events in the region from prehistoric times through 1900 when railroads and commercial development helped make Pueblo the major industrial center in Colorado.

The Native American's story will examine the lifestyles and cultures of the historic American tribes of the area both prior to and following the arrival of the Spanish in 1540.

Travel time: 1 hour 19 minutes (86.2 Miles)
Directions to El Pueblo History Museum

Colorado Gators Alligator Farm

Visit the Colorado Gator Farm and learn about the integrated ecosystem that includes a Tilapia research and breeding facility for over 300 alligators, as well as an animal rescue operation.

The farm strives to be a family oriented, recreational, and educational farm making full use of natural resources with an integrated ecosystem that is practical and environment friendly.

Travel time: 1 hour 32 minutes (86.2 Miles)
Directions to Colorado Gators Alligator Farm

Great Sand Dunes National Monument

Nestled in southern Colorado, North America's tallest dunes rise over 700 feet high against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The wind shaped dunes glow beneath the rugged backdrop of the mountains. This geologic wonderland, containing 30 square miles of dunes, became a national monument in 1932.

With the passage of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000, resources now also include alpine lakes and tundra, six peaks over 13,000 feet, ancient spruce and pine forests, large stands of aspen and cottonwood, grasslands, and wetlands -- all habitat for diverse wildlife and Rocky Mountain plant species.

Travel time: 1 hour 24 minutes (75.1 Miles)
Directions to Great Sand Dunes National Monument

Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa

Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa is located in the northern gateway to the beautiful San Luis Valley. We invite you to join us at our peaceful spa for a relaxing retreat. Enlighten your senses with our rejuvenating waters, relaxing massage therapies and magnificent views of the Sangre De Cristo mountain range.

Joyful Journey is a place of rest and healing. While kids and dogs are welcome, it is crucial to the peaceful, spa environment that children and pets are carefully supervised, for their own safety and in consideration of all our guests.

Travel time: 2 hour 4 minutes (118 Miles)
Directions to Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa

Royal Gorge Route Railroad

This train takes passengers on an unforgettable 24-mile, 2-hour round trip journey into the depths of the Royal Gorge. Passengers experience the famous hanging bridge, which clings precariously to the steep granite walls of the Royal Gorge, with the rim towering over 1,000 feet above.

This spectacular section of track runs alongside the raging waters of the Arkansas River and is the only way through the Royal Gorge other than negotiating the rapids. Open from mid-May through mid-October.

Travel time: 2 hour 3 minutes (115 Miles)
Directions to Royal Gorge Route Railroad

Royal Gorge Bridge

Drive 45 miles and experience Colorado's own world wonder, the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. At 1,053 feet high, the panoramic vistas of the gorge are as awesome as the Grand Canyon. Spanning a quarter mile across the gorge is the world's highest suspension bridge, an engineering feat as inspiring as the Eiffel Tower.

Other man-made marvels include the world's longest single-span Aerial Tram and the world's steepest Incline Railway. There's more than 260 acres of rides, shows, and attractions. Come join the fun. More than 20 million visitors have already been enthralled. It's all waiting for you at the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.

Travel time: 2 hour 20 minutes (127 Miles)
Directions to Royal Gorge Bridge