Amazing Family Adventure in Salida

Happy Father’s Day!! We took a trip to Salida for Father’s Day. It’s been a place that David has wanted to visit for a while now.

We went on several off-road trails and found great picnic spots. We definitely found family adventure in Salida. There is so much to see that we will certainly be back again.

Where We Stayed in Salida

We stayed at the KOA in Salida. We have a small travel trailer that fits us well. This KOA has full hook-up, a shower house with laundry and a playground. We use our shower in the camper so we didn’t go into the shower house, but we did play on the playground.

One of the highlights of the campground was the prairie dogs. They were our neighbors. We spent lots of time just watching them live life. The little prairie dog family was super cute. They didn’t bother us and we didn’t bother them. They were great camp neighbors.

Another fun highlight was the creek! Yes… you read that right. There was this little creek that ran through the campground. The creek does run along the tent sites.

On Saturday when we arrived, the tent sites were packed. And even on Sunday, there were still a bunch of people back there.

We found a couple empty sites that we played at, but didn’t stay long. We spent a lot of time hanging around the very cold creek on Monday though. If you’re wondering if we caught anything in our nets… we caught squat.

What Did We Do On Our Family Adventure in Salida

We drove around town just to see what was there. We found a place where you could buy firewood and another place to camp, for when we come back. This place was on the Arkansas River.

We went on a few off-road trails. On Sunday we went on Marshall Pass to Poncha Pass Road. Then on Monday we went to St. Elmo, went a couple miles on Tin Cup Pass and then went exploring on North Fork Road.

Marshall Pass to Poncha Creek Rd Off-Road Trails

We got onto the trail pretty early. Well… pretty early for a family of 5. The trail was smooth, scenic and pretty easy to navigate through. We didn’t pass a single person. We did see a bunch of people camping.

Once we got to the Monarch Crest Trail, at the top of Marshall Pass, we stopped to use the restroom. The scenery was gorgeous. Like something out of a movie. When we were parked we saw 2 other vehicles.

As we descended down on Poncha Creek Rd, it was muddy. We slid a couple times. The trail improved as we went further along.

As we got further onto the trail, it turned super rocky.

The forest then opened up. The creek and the trail met. It went on like this for what felt like forever. We were all elated and couldn’t believe it.

We have it all on video on our YouTube channel. Go check out the videos.

Poncha Creek Rd was much better than Marshall Pass. The creek crossing wasn’t in the FunTreks book. The creek must have shifted. It was such a great surprise.

Once we got off the trail there was a parking lot across a one lane bridge. We stopped to use the restroom.

Everyone was getting hungry and we decided to find a picnic spot. Once we left the parking lot and headed down Silver Creek Road/F.S. 201. We passed one side street but it had balloons tied to a tree, so we figured that there were people down there.

A little further down the road, on the left, there was a side road that crossed a bridge. To the right was a camper. They looked to be there for the weekend.

We then turned left, the road went straight or to the right over the hill. We kept going straight. There was a sign that said no overnight parking. The road led to a great picnic spot by the creek. It was so awesome.

We were finished with lunch and I wanted to explore a little. We walked down by the creek, through some bushes, then back to the Jeep. Then the kids noticed a trail leading up into the forest. So naturally we went exploring. We then came to a sign… It was so unexpected. And such a pretty scene.

I did a little research and come to find out, the Christmas Tree for Peace came from this forest. If you want to read more about it, I have attached a link.

This was such a neat place. We had such a fun, exciting family adventure in Salida today. The kids raved about it for hours.

St. Elmo & Tincup Pass

St. Elmo is a ghost town surrounded by difficult off-road trails. Well…when you are looking at an off road map, that’s what it looks like.

The drive to St Elmo was amazing. You are on a road that looks like it’s going to run into a huge mountain. Then the road turns and up you go into the forest that is in between two mountains! It’s a scenic drive.

Right before you get to St. Elmo there is a sign that says there are no more bathrooms past this point, so of course we stopped. One thing that we have always packed with us on our adventures is toilet paper. It never fails that there is at least one restroom that doesn’t have any. This one was out.

There was a trail sign and a really pretty setting at the restrooms. One of the prettiest tucked away restrooms we’ve been to.

Once we got to St. Elmo there is a little shop you can go into. You can also feed the Chipmunks. Yes, you hand them food and they will take it from you. The little shop sells food for them. Then you cross the street, sit on the logs and feed them. There are signs that say not to touch them. The whole scene was super cute.

We walked down the street. There were a couple buildings you could go into and learn about how the town became a ghost town. Then we went up the hill a bit to look at another old building near the river.

We decided that we wanted to explore Tincup Pass. As soon as the trail starts, it’s super rocky.

We didn’t want to go too far into the trail, but we saw that it had water crossings! It was about 2 miles in that we went over both streams of water and then turned around.

We found a great lunch spot near a creek.

We then headed to a waterfall that we saw on Gaia. It was off of North Fork. The waterfall doesn’t have a name, according to Gaia.

This trail was a little bumpy and had fallen trees that we went under.

We then parked near the waterfall and walked to it. It is tucked away in the forest a bit. The kids had fun finding oddly shaped trees to sit on.

The waterfall is very pretty. It was fun walking through the woods to see it too.

Once again another fun family adventure in Salida. We really recommend spending a couple days here, just exploring what nature has to offer.

What Did We See On Our Family Adventure in Salida

On our way to Salida we saw a White Bison. At first it looked like a big pile of hay. As we got closer the big pile of hay had a face. The whole car was in amazement that we all just saw a white bison. No one got a picture. We were all in shock and it took us all too long to realize what we just saw.

When I got home I googled “White Bison”. It’s a sign of good luck! So fingers crossed that the myth is true.

On the way home we followed the Arkansas River for quite some time. There was an old railroad track along the river. Driving through the canyon was so pretty too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Family Fun Adventure Wrap Up

A quick wrap up of our family adventure in Salida. We saw a white Bison. Which I found out is rare and good luck!

Staying at the KOA in Salida was great. It was busy on Saturday and Sunday. But come check out time on Sunday, most people left. Which really let you see the amazing views it had to offer.

Poncha Creek Rd is better than Marshall Pass. There was much more traffic on Poncha Creek Rd, but it was still amazing.

We found the waterfalls on North Fork just by looking at Gaia for trails. And we found amazing picnic spots just by exploring.

We had such a great time. We will certainly be back.

Have you been to Salida? What trails did you go on?