Birding Colorado

Chaffee County
Author(s):  Sherrie York
County Seat: Salida
Size: 1,008 square miles
Low Elevation: 6,880 ft. - Arkansas River on the Fremont border
High Elevation: 14,420 ft. - Mount Harvard
Best Birds: Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (1908), Golden-crowned Sparrow (1908)
Checklist: Chaffee County Checklist
Introduction: Chaffee County. Fourteeners and the Banana Belt in the same day! From Salida at 7,000' elevation to the summits of the Collegiate Peaks, the Upper Arkansas Valley offers good access to a wide variety of habitats: alpine tundra, ponderosa forest, pinyon-juniper woodland, high meadows, big aspen groves, and over 100 miles of river riparian. Over 70% of the county is public land, with plenty of trails and access along both the Continental Divide and the Arkansas River Valley floor. If you like to mix your birding with other forms of recreation, be sure to bring your kayak, your skis, your mountain bike, and your fishing pole and don't forget your swim suit (or in some places your birthday suit) for a dip in the area's hot springs when you've got a bad case of binocular neck.

The public river accesses through Chaffee County are managed by the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation District, a joint Colorado State Parks/BLM arrangement. Most require a State Parks Pass or a day use fee. While there are many points marked "DOW Fishing Access," please keep in mind that usually these are state leases on private land for fishing access only. Technically that means that unless you're carrying a fishing pole and a license, you're not supposed to be there and the property owner can make a complaint. Information and maps can be found at the AHRA office in Salida, on G Street between Sackett and First (Hwy 291). There is a Forest Service office on Highway 50 in Salida, as well and in the summer the "Crossroads" Visitor Center is open at the junction of Highway 50 and Highway 285 in Poncha Springs.

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