Arriving at Pueblo Memorial Airport in Pueblo means nearby cities such as Colorado Springs, Canon City, and Trinidad are all an easy drive away. Pueblo is a steel town turned river town on the Arkansas in southern Colorado, with a strong Hispanic and Italian heritage and a food culture built around green chile. It is sunnier and warmer than the Front Range cities to the north, and it has a down-to-earth, hardworking character all its own.

Standout experiences around Pueblo: - Walk the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk and take a boat ride through downtown - Eat a slopper, a cheeseburger smothered in Pueblo green chile - Visit the Chile and Frijoles Festival each September for roasting chiles and street food - Spend a day at the Colorado State Fair in late August - Boat, fish, or paddleboard at Lake Pueblo State Park - Tour the Steelworks Center of the West to learn the mill's history - Catch a show at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center - Explore the Union Avenue Historic District for shops and murals

Pueblo is a good base for the southern mountains. Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak are about 45 minutes north, Canon City and the Royal Gorge Bridge are an hour west, and the odd, hand-built towers of Bishop Castle rise about an hour southwest. Trinidad and the New Mexico line are 90 minutes south. Buy a bag of roasted Pueblo chiles in fall, when the whole city smells like them. With 300 days of sunshine, almost any weekend works.