Explore Pueblo: Here are some of the Steel City's top attractions
Zach Hillstrom
With convenient access to the great outdoors, several sites honoring United States military members and veterans, a high desert climate perfect for summertime activities and some of the best Mexican food in the country — much of which is grown right down the road on Pueblo County farms — there are countless things to do in the Home of Heroes during the summer months.
Summertime in Pueblo is perhaps best known for the Colorado State Fair and the annual Chile & Frijoles Festival, but those are just two small facets of the many attractions the city has to offer. Pueblo has an immersive Creative Corridor that runs through three historic neighborhoods and is filled with museums, galleries, street sculptures, fountains, live music and more.
Here are some of the must-see destinations when planning a trip to Pueblo.
The Historic Arkansas Riverwalk
Located right in the heart of Downtown Pueblo, the Riverwalk is an attraction unlike any other in the Centennial State.
Aside from being one of the most beautiful and modern areas of Pueblo, the Riverwalk features some of the city’s best dining, bars, and shopping. There’s also plenty of opportunities for family-friendly activities, walking paths with views of public art displays and the famous Veterans’ Bridge — a patriotic pedestrian bridge that proudly displays the names of thousands of veterans from all five branches of the U.S. Military alongside Pueblo’s four Medal of Honor recipients.
Visitors can take an excursion boat, book a booze cruise, rent a paddleboat on Lake Elizabeth or grab their favorite canoe, kayak, or paddle board to hit the river by joining the Riverwalk Paddling Club.
It’s also a great place for a casual stroll along the mile-long channel on a cool summer evening.
For more information, visit puebloriverwalk.org.
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The Pueblo Zoo
Covering 25 acres in Pueblo City Park, the Pueblo Zoo is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facility that is home to more than 400 animals from 125 different species around the world. The zoo attracts approximately 90,000 visitors each year.
The city of Pueblo has maintained a zoo since the early 1900s and its current site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The zoo features education outreach programs and offers behind-the-scenes experiences, which allow participants to get up close and personal with some of the zoo’s favorite animals. It’s also great for group events like birthday parties and private functions.
For more information, visit pueblozoo.org.
Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center and the Buell Children’s Museum
The Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center has provided high-quality art exhibitions and arts education initiatives since 1972.
The Arts Center features performing arts and dance and an artistic space for meetings, performances and events and features about 24 new exhibitions each year.
Its seven galleries offer the best in historic and contemporary works by artists of regional, national, and international renown.
It also has popular permanent collections like the prestigious King Collection of Western Art, and the largest Gene Kloss collection in the world.
Right next door to the arts center is the Buell Children’s Museum, which has been recognized as one of the best children’s museums in the country for art and features hands-on exhibits with a focus on the arts, science and history.
The Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center and Buell Children's Museum are both accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
For more information, visit sdc-arts.org
Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum
Located at the Pueblo Memorial Airport, the nonprofit PWAM is comprised of 85,000 square feet and two hangars filled with countless artifacts from hundreds of years of military and aviation history, including planes, helicopters, fighter jets, and other historic aircraft that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
There are also several aircraft and military vehicles displayed outside of the museum.
Aside from the aircraft, PWAM has thousands of military artifacts and more than 100 display cases and exhibits including historic and present-day military uniforms, personal effects, weapons and much more.
For more information, visit pwam.org
Rosemount Museum
The Rosemount Museum is a 37-room mansion built in 1893 that has since been converted into a historic house museum.
The mansion is the former home of John A. and Margaret Thatcher and was named for Margaret Thatcher’s favorite flower. The property was designed by New York architect Henry Hudson Holly and the museum features nearly all of the home’s original furnishings, accessories, decorative arts, paintings, custom woodwork, wall and window treatments.
The museum typically has guided tours that begin on the half-hour each day, but make sure to check availability ahead of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rosemount has been called one of Pueblo’s lesser-known jewels and previously was featured on A&E cable network's "America's Castles" and the HGTV Series "Christmas Castles.”
For more information, visit rosemount.org
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Steelworks Center of the West
The Steelworks Center of the West is located in the Colorado Fuel and Iron Co. Administrative Offices in the heart of Bessemer and is on a mission to educate people about Pueblo’s proud steel mill history through historic archives and artifacts.
The museum has thousands of photographs, maps, financial ledgers, historic films and other artifacts associated with the CF&I steel mill and its mining communities.
For more information, visit steelworks.us
Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center
The Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center has campuses in Pueblo and Beulah and provide educational opportunities for community members to connect with nature through events, camps and educational programs.
The Mountain Park Campus in Beulah has 611 acres of open space with a lodge, an amphitheater, classrooms, hiking trails and a low-ropes challenge course.
According to its website, the Mountain Park is perfect for group retreats, weddings, family reunions, weekend getaways and overnight camping.
The Center’s River Campus is located in Pueblo on the Arkansas River and is used for weddings, reunions, parties, baby showers and community events. The River Campus can be used for hiking, biking, pet walking and cookouts.
The center also features a Raptor Center, where staff work to rehabilitate injured, ill, and orphaned birds of prey to be released back into the wild.
The raptor center has as many as 16 resident raptors at any time and rehabilitates about 200 birds per year.
For more information, visit hikeandlearn.org
Center for American Values
Of all of Pueblo’s claims to fame, the city’s proud history of producing distinguished military veterans and honoring those who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces is perhaps the one it's best known for.
And nowhere in town puts that pride on display quite like the Center for American Values.
The center’s purpose is to bring community members together through educational outreach, speaker series and several other initiatives to “learn and explore how doing the right thing for family, community and country will keep America great.”
Perhaps the top attraction at the center is its Portraits of Valor Exhibit — a vast collection of photographic portraits and documentation of more than 140 Medal of Honor recipients.
For more information, visit americanvaluescenter.org
Chieftain reporter Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com or on Twitter @ZachHillstrom