Huerfano County is uniquely situated between two Colorado cities, each with their own storied past.
Trinidad, roughly 30 minutes south of Walsenburg, is an almost perfectly preserved Victorian city with a historic downtown studded with Italianate stonework facades that give the city a European look.
Pueblo, 45 minutes north of Walsenburg, is known for cultivating an ethnically diverse community unique in Southern Colorado. Pueblo also offers exceptional dining and shopping, first-class facilities, a wonderful art scene, recreational activities, and a wide choice of accommodations.
Trinidad
Trinidad is a place where no one is a stranger, art thrives, and history runs deep. Just 12 miles north of the New Mexico border and Raton Pass, Trinidad offers visitors grand, historic architecture, a unique blend of culture, wildly fun events, and lots of opportunities for outdoor play.
In the early 1800s, Trinidad was simply a stop on the Santa Fe Trail and home to trappers, traders, and early ranchers. The city’s population grew during the late nineteenth century when coal mines sprang up in the surrounding hillside. In its heyday, the city was home to 30,000 people, most of whom had livelihoods tied to the mines.
Pueblo
Pueblo is a culturally and historically-rich Colorado city made famous by being one of the largest steel-producing cities in the U.S.
Built in 1881, Pueblo’s Colorado Fuel and Iron Steel Mill attracted a large number of immigrant laborers, resulting in Pueblo becoming the most ethnically and culturally diverse city in the West. At one point, more than 40 languages were spoken in the steel mill and more than two-dozen foreign language newspapers were published in the city. Irish, Italian, German, Slovenian, Greek, Jewish, Lithuanian, Russian, Hungarian, Japanese, and African-American groups arrived in the area at the turn of the century and remain till today. The convergence of cultures led to the city’s cosmopolitan character, resulting in a number of ethnically-rooted neighborhoods typically not seen west of the Mississippi.