Colorado’s Hidden Gems for Meetings & Events

 

By Beth Buehler

 

Colorado has a wealth of outstanding destinations for meetings and events. There are communities throughout the state that are experienced at welcoming groups. In this blog, we are highlighting places planners might not be as familiar with but offer great opportunities for groups: Chaffee County, Durango, Estes Park, Loveland, Pueblo and Trinidad.

 

To get the conversation started about Colorado’s hidden gems for meetings and events, I’ll begin in the southwest with Durango. Three historic hotels downtown—Strater, General Palmer and Rochester—offer memorable lodging and function space along with easy access to loads of shops, restaurants and museums. It’s an easy walk to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot and museum to take a beautiful ride to Soaring Tree Top Adventures for team-building on 27 ziplines through the forest or a day trip to the historic town of Silverton.  DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton Durango along the Animas River is among the other meeting and event hotels with a fair amount of meeting space in Durango, and consider booking an outing to Durango Hot Springs and gatherings at James Ranch, Bar D Chuckwagon and local craft breweries. Sky Ute Casino Resort also is nearby in Ignacio.

Chaffee County in south central Colorado is home to Buena Vista and Salida, both with vibrant downtowns, geothermal hot springs, and outdoorsy and artsy vibes. Salida, located along the Arkansas River, is the county seat and Chaffee County’s largest city with approximately 5,300 full-time residents. Buena Vista is a bit smaller with a population of 3,000. Among the standout places to meet and stay is Mount Princeton Hot Springs near Buena Vista. Whether you are planning a company meeting, board meeting or team retreat, there is a variety of function space, accommodations in the form of cabins and lodge rooms, a restaurant, and several hots springs to soak in before or after meetings.

 

Looking for a larger community that can deliver the unexpected as well as sizable function space? While Pueblo may be one of Colorado’s hidden gems for meetings and events, it has a wide variety of venue choices in the form of Pueblo Convention Center, Colorado State University Pueblo, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Colorado State Fairgrounds, Pueblo Memorial Hall and Pueblo Community College. In free time, groups can enjoy the restaurants downtown, Neon Alley and the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk. For more fresh air, head to local golf courses, Lake Pueblo State Park for water sports and gravel biking routes, and the Arkansas River Trail System for hiking and biking. Or perhaps time your gathering with signature events such as the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival and Colorado State Fair.

Located about 80 miles south of Pueblo and just miles from the New Mexico border on Interstate 25, Trinidad has sweet views that span mountains and plains, red brick-paved streets, beautiful historic architecture and state parks for outdoor fun. Groups can play a round of golf, visit a museum, book the vibrant food hall and take a free trolley tour of the historic downtown from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The Trinidad Riverwalk meanders through town along the banks of the Purgatoire River, and groups can find comfortable accommodations and meeting space at properties like La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham and Hilton Garden Inn Trinidad Downtown.

 

Farther north on the Front Range, Loveland and Estes Park also are among Colorado’s hidden gems for meetings and events. The two communities are close enough that planners can include both on an agenda. Around 45 miles north of Denver, Loveland is known as the Sweetheart City and an artsy destination with two sculpture parks (Benson Sculpture Park and Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra) that can be used for events, three bronze foundries (some offering tours), art galleries and the Loveland Museum downtown. Also make time to visit the abundance of local breweries and distilleries for post-meeting fun. The venues offering the largest capacities for gatherings are The Ranch Events Complex ,with more than 375,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, and the neighboring Embassy Suites Loveland with 263 guest rooms and more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space.

It’s only about 30 miles up the Big Thompson Canyon from Loveland to the mountain community of Estes Park, one of two gateways to Rocky Mountain National Park. The park is bordered by YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park Center, which offers groups an abundance of meeting space and year-round activities, 525 lodge-style rooms and several cabins of varying sizes. There is always something to do in Estes Park, from ice skating and snowshoeing in winter to golf and via ferrata rock climbing adventures in summer and fall. Make sure to provide free time for attendees to stroll the bustling downtown as well.

 

In terms of meeting capacity, about 4,000 lodging rooms are available, and Estes Park Event Complex can host large groups with more than 52,000 square feet of space. Holiday Inn Estes Park has 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space and is attached to the Estes Park Conference Center. Taharaa Mountain Lodge with 18 guest rooms and suites and Twin Owls Steakhouse is ideal for retreats and small meetings, while The Estes Park Resort on the shores of Lake Estes can host groups of up to 300.

 

There a unique place around every nearly corner in the state, but this is a glimpse of some of Colorado’s hidden gems for meetings and events. Shake up the norm and deliver something truly unique at your next gathering!

 

Top Photo: Benson Sculpture Park, courtesy Visit Loveland

 

Colorado native Beth Buehler has been editor of Colorado Meetings + Events magazine for 20 years and helped launch Mountain Meetings and Southwest Meetings + Events magazines. She has planned numerous meetings and events and enjoys exploring Colorado.