Top 3 Reasons to get married in Salida, Colorado:

The River
You are right on the river when you’re in town, and it’s perfect! Play on the river in your boat practicing tricks or throw on a life vest and jump on in to cool off in the middle of summer. It’s a great spot to raft or just play in the river water all day long!
Best 14er Basecamp
Surrounded by 14ers and 13ers it’s a great basecamp to eat and rest up before making another summit. Bag a 14er in the morning then relax and enjoy the town in the late afternoon and night for dinner.
Mountain Biking
There’s great mountain biking access from town to keep you challenged all weekend long! If you're looking for even more there are tons of more challenging ones in the mountains surrounding Salida.

About Salida

Salida Location & History:

Salida is about two and half hours from Denver. Sandwiched between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Sawatch Range. Salida was first named “South Arkansas” later named Salida for being the exit to the Arkansas River Canyon. The town really was made by it’s explorers, miners, railroad expansionists, farmers, and ranchers. It now draws visitors from all over for its proximity to tons of 14ers surrounding it and the river access.

Salida’s Best Wedding Month For:

Want to know when you're more likely to have the wedding of your dreams in the season that you're craving?!?! Well, the weather can be pretty unpredictable in Colorado! I'm here to give you the best possible chance for having a Granby skiing wedding or Granby summer wildflower wedding or a Granby fall wedding. These months are based on years of what I've witnessed but as you know, every year is different based on the amount of snowfall we get.

Salida’s Snowy Mountain View Wedding or Elopement - March
Salida’s Summer Wildflower Wedding or Elopement - August
Salida’s Fall Leave Hiking Wedding or Elopement - September

Salida’s Wedding Venues and Elopement Ceremony Locations

Salida’s Wedding Venues:

Salida is in the mountains located in a large valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. It almost feels like the plains when your in Salida besides the Spiral Dr. Summit Lookout. With it being in this big valley, there’s a bunch of ranches so most of the venues are ranch venues around here. This is a really awesome venue in the city of Salida that has a very urban industrial feel.

Howard Creek Farm - This red historic barn was built in 1861 in Indiana and moved to Colorado in 2019 for Colorado couples to enjoy for their reception. Located about 20 minutes from Salida, it’s the venue right next to the mountains. The ceremony site located right on the river, you can even arrive or leave in a raft!
Everett Ranch - This awesome ranch property has perfect views of the mountains. This ranch is about four miles from Salida. You have two options for outdoor ceremony sites on this property, a meadow or lake overlooking the 360-degree views of mountains. The rustic barn is perfect to gather all your friends and family on your wedding day.
Hutchinson Ranch - Surrounded by trees this is the perfect spot for a fall wedding venue. This awesome historic ranch venue is just two miles from Salida. The ceremony spot is overlooking the horses with mountain peaks in the distance. The barn located on the property is perfect for dancing in your boots!
Salida Steam Plant - This awesome urban industrial feeling building is situated right in the heart of Salida on the Arkansas River. You can get married outside on the patio overlooking the Spiral Dr. Summit Lookout and with the river right there. The ballroom is the perfect spot for your reception with industrial brick and black accents.

Salida’s Eats and Stays

Salida’s Rehearsal Dinner or Salida’s Reception Sites:

Salida is located on the Arkansas River and is bustling during rafting season. It is full of great places to sit around and drink some beer with friends and family. Here’s some awesome options for so very casual dining. You can show up to any of these in your raft gear!

Salida’s Places to Stay:

For such a variety of places to choose from to rest your head after an adventurous day in Salida. Whether you want to be with your friends and family all day, get a huge house or condo or if you're looking for something on the more intimate side there's plenty of hotels lodges and intimate airbnb's for you to choose from. Below you'll find a few of my favorite hotels, lodges and airbnb's.

The Amigo Motor Lodge - Stay in an adorable airstream! You can really feel like a hipster playing records and hanging out!

Loyal Duke Lodge - If you bring your pup, you have to stay at the Loyal Duke! It’s named after the town dog and you can visit his grave on the hill. They even have bikes for you to borrow to go downtown!
Salida Hostel - Staying in a hostel is just like staying in a big house there are just more bathrooms! It’s super fun if everyone stays together!
Silver Ridge Lodge - A great modern lodge atmosphere that’s close to downtown to rest after a full day. They also have bikes to borrow!
Baymont - I always like to have at least one standard hotel on the list! You know what you're getting because you’ve traveled enough to have stayed with them before. It’s great for a weekend away when you're exploring most of the time!

Salida Activities And Festivals

Salida Activities:

The very best thing about being in a cute little mountain town is that you have full access to everything outdoors. The main problem is going to be wanting more days in the mountains to do all the fun activities.

Hiking
- One of the best ways to see the mountains all year round! You are surrounded by 14ers if you still need to bag a few!
Mountain Biking
- There’s plenty of trails to access around Buena Vista. With tons of trails on the east of the Arkansas River. If you get bored, then there’s tons of other trails to explore within a short drive.
Fly Fishing
- The Arkansas River runs right through town and offers so many great places to fly fish when it’s not running too fast. There’s also a ton of other creeks to explore!
Snowshoeing
- If you want to slow down in the snow, it's great to take in the views at a slower pace.
Rock Climbing
- Lots of Trad climbing available to get you pumped.
Via Ferrata
- If you want to feel like an incredible on the wall without having to learn to climb, then definitely do the Via Ferrata. A non-technical way to get high up on a mountain wall without learning how to climb the crux.
Paddle Boarding
- Take an adventurous SUP river trip.
Surf
- Get on the river like a beach boy!
Off-Roading
- A little bit more relaxing way to explore the mountains. LOL! It’ll get my adrenaline shooting high with a four-by-four vehicle on the side of a cliff.
Rafting
- Go down the river with a big group of friends on a raft for an adrenaline rush! And some great quality time with fantastic views.
Mountain Biking
- Tons of trails can be accessed right from town! You must bring your mountain bike!

Salida Festivals:

While festivals are a fantastic town celebration, sometimes they can make wedding and elopement planning a bit difficult because of lodging, parking and day of transportation. It's always best to know what festivals or celebrations are happening in the town that you choose to have your wedding so you can plan accordingly. Part of the planning accordingly may be that your guests partake in the festivals! I mean how cool would it be to have your wedding day and then go to beer fest with all your guests the next day!

Salida Arts and Music Festival - July - A great street festival to take in and buy art and music.
Jazz Fest - August - Hosted by the Steamplant Event Center, take in some awesome jazz music.
Bike Fest - September - All bikes are welcome, this festival is truly about rolling around on bikes with all ages.