Hot springs near Buena Vista, CO

Buena Vista sits on the Arkansas River in the upper Arkansas valley, a basin of the Rio Grande Rift between the Sawatch Range to the west and the Mosquito Range to the east. Faults along the rift carry warm water to the surface in the valley and its side canyons, most notably along Chalk Creek to the southwest. The San Isabel National Forest covers the Collegiate Peaks and the rest of the Sawatch Range, including the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. The Bureau of Land Management's Royal Gorge Field Office manages land along the valley and, with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area. U.S. 24 runs north to Leadville, U.S. 285 runs south to Poncha Springs and Salida, and U.S. 24/285 heads east over Trout Creek Pass.

Two summer routes over the Sawatch Range close in winter. Cottonwood Pass, the road west from Buena Vista toward Taylor Park and Gunnison, typically closes from November to May. Colorado 82 over Independence Pass, reached from U.S. 24 north of town, closes each fall and usually reopens the week before Memorial Day weekend. The Colorado Department of Transportation can apply its traction law to U.S. 24, U.S. 285 and other state highways during storms.