The holidays are when Spanish Peaks Country turns back toward home. The summer visitors are gone, the first real snow settles on the peaks, and the porch lights come on a little earlier in Walsenburg, La Veta, Cuchara, and Gardner. It is the season we gather. We wait for the first chairlift ride at Cuchara, we bundle up on Main Street to watch the floats go by, and we walk into the forest to find the tree that will stand in our living rooms. If you have been looking for a reason to slow down before the holidays, come spend some of this season with us.
1. Cuchara Mountain Park Opens Its First Full Season Since 2000
For 25 years, the lifts at Cuchara sat still. Locals held on to their old lift tickets and told their kids what it was like to ski this mountain. Last January, the lift turned again for a short first season. This winter, Cuchara Mountain Park opens its first full season of lift-served skiing since 2000, with opening day planned for Saturday, December 12, weather permitting.
Huerfano County owns the mountain, and a volunteer nonprofit runs it. That matters here. The people getting Cuchara ready this fall are neighbors, and you can see their work all over the hill. There is a new beginner run called Slowpoke off Lift 4. There is a new snowcat to shape and groom the terrain park, and a halfpipe cutter so the park finally gets a proper pipe. New snowmaking pipe is going in along with nine new fan guns, six of them donated, some from Steamboat. The rental fleet has more snowboards, and the day lodge kitchen will serve burgers, hot dogs, and chili when you come in cold.
Nine trails on 47 acres make this a mountain built for beginners and families. It is the kind of place where your kid can learn on a quiet run while you watch from the lodge window. Cuchara is also on the Indy Pass, and a New Year’s celebration with a night ski is in the works. Passes and lift tickets are at cucharamountainpark.org.
2. The Parade of Lights Brings Walsenburg Together, November 27
For more than 30 years, Walsenburg has started the holiday season the same way. Families bundle up on Main Street the night after Thanksgiving and wait for the first float to come around the corner in a blaze of lights. Kids wave from the curb. Neighbors you have not seen since summer stop to say hello. It is one of those nights that feels like the whole town showed up.
This year’s Parade of Lights rolls down Main Street on Friday, November 27, at 6 p.m. The theme is “Your Favorite Christmas Movie,” and the best float takes home $200. If you want to be part of it, you can sign up through the Walsenburg Downtown Revitalization Committee’s float sign-up form.
The Shop Local Raffle starts the same night. Shop at participating Walsenburg businesses through December 18 to earn tickets toward a basket of local goods. If your family is home for Thanksgiving, this is a good way to get everyone out of the house. Details are on the Parade of Lights event page.
3. Small Business Saturday in La Veta and Walsenburg, November 28
Some gifts come with a story. The mug was thrown by a potter down the street. The painting was made by someone who knows every ridge of the Spanish Peaks by heart. The shop owner who wraps it for you will remember your name next year.
On Saturday, November 28, merchants in La Veta and Walsenburg are teaming up for Small Business Saturday. Walk Main Street in both towns, browse the galleries and shops, and bring home gifts made right here in Huerfano County. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant along the way and make a day of it. In Walsenburg, shopping at participating businesses also earns you tickets in the Shop Local Raffle. In La Veta, pick up a punch card at participating shops and fill it as you go for a chance to win prizes. Then stay for the tree lighting at dusk in Charlie’s Park.
When you shop here, you help keep the lights on in the places that make these towns feel like home. Participating shops, restaurants, and specials will be announced soon on the Small Business Saturday event page, and you can browse local shops anytime in our shopping directory.
4. Go Find Your Own Christmas Tree
Some holiday memories start with a saw and a thermos. Around here, plenty of families still head into the national forest for their tree. The kids run ahead through the snow. Everyone has an opinion about which one is just right. The winner rides home tied to the roof of the car, and the day ends with something warm to eat in La Veta or Cuchara before the drive home.
Christmas tree permits for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests are sold on Recreation.gov. Most of the San Carlos Ranger District, the closest district to La Veta, is open for cutting through December 31. Fourth graders with an Every Kid Outdoors pass can get a free permit.
A few things to know before you go. Bring a hand saw or an axe, since chainsaws are not allowed. Choose a tree up to 15 feet tall. Stay out of wilderness areas, campgrounds, and ski areas, and cut at least 200 feet from main roads. Print your permit and put it on your dashboard. Forest roads are not plowed, so check conditions, pack for snow, and give yourself daylight. The Forest Service has the full list of tree cutting rules.
5. La Veta Rings In the Return of Light, December 21
On Monday, December 21, the longest night of the year, La Veta walks together toward the light. As the sun sets behind the mountains, neighbors gather for the Annual Holiday Bell Ringing. Bells ring through town, people share well wishes for the year ahead, and then everyone comes in from the cold for refreshments. Festive or vintage clothing is encouraged. The La Veta Creative District hosts the walk, and the meeting spot will be posted on the Holiday Bell Ringing event page.
Make it a weekend in the mountains. If the snow cooperates, Cuchara Mountain Park will have been open for more than a week by then, and the runs will be waiting.
Also This Month: The Museum of Friends Gala, November 7
For years, the artists of Huerfano County have filled the Museum of Friends with their work. On Saturday, November 7, the community fills it back up for them.
The Fifth Biennial Gala runs from 6 to 10 p.m. in downtown Walsenburg, and this year it honors Ben Morea Eagle (1941 to 2026), Chipita and Bessy Berman, artists who gave a great deal to this county. It is a night to remember them in the way artists would want: with music, good food, and a room full of people looking at art together.
Every ticket helps restore the historic Roof & Dick Building, the museum’s home at 109 East 6th Street. Tickets are on the Museum of Friends website, and details are on our gala event page.
Plan Your Spanish Peaks Country Getaway
The holidays here are a full ski season at Cuchara, a parade on Main Street, a Saturday spent with the people who make these towns what they are, a tree you cut yourself, and bells ringing on the longest night of the year. It all sits within a short drive along the Highway of Legends National Scenic Byway.
Find a place to stay on our lodging directory, see what else is happening on the events calendar, and come be part of the season with us. We will see you out here.