Hotels in Salida

TheSimple Lodge & Hostel, 224 E. First St. (📞 719/650-7381; www.simplelodge.com), is the best value in town, offering bunks for $21 to $24 a night and private rooms for $55 to $160 a night in a slickly restored 1883 railroad boardinghouse just 2 blocks from the town center.

Northwest of Salida, Mount Princeton  Hot Springs Resort, 15870 C.R. 162, Nathrop (📞 888/395-7799 or 719/395-2447;www.mtprinceton.com),ifeatures several soaking pools  (admission is $12 to $22 for non-guests; overnight guests are free). Lodge rooms are $180 to $225 in peak season, and cabins  $325 to $450. There is also a restaurant and good access to hiking.

Or you can drive a bit further on C.R. 162 and stay in St. Elmo, a ghost town that sits at the end of Chalk Creek Road northwest of Salida. (Only 4-by-4s need test the mountain passes beyond.) Take your pick of cabins from the St. Elmo General Store (📞 719/395-2117; www.st-elmo.com) for $79 a night or rooms in the stately Ghost Town Guest House, 25850 C.R. 162(📞 719/395-2120; www.ghosttownguesthouse.com), with rooms for $175 to $195 double.