Chaffee County is a county in Colorado, United States, in the upper Arkansas River valley between two ranges of the Rocky Mountains. It had a population of 19,476 at the 2020 census and covers 1,013 square miles (2,624.7 km2) of land, centred near 38°44′N 106°11′W.
Salida is the county seat and its postal code is 81201. The county has one city, two towns, five census-designated places, and more than a dozen unincorporated communities. Chaffee County is in the Mountain Time Zone.
Towns & Villages in Chaffee County
Chaffee County’s incorporated places are the city of Salida and the towns of Buena Vista and Poncha Springs. Five census-designated places (CDPs) cluster around them, and the rest of the county’s places are unincorporated mining-era communities, several now near-ghost towns. Type key: CDP = Census-Designated Place, Unincorp. = unincorporated community.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salida | City · seat | 5,864 | 81201 |
| Buena Vista | Town | 2,860 | 81211 |
| Poncha Springs | Town | 1,142 | 81242 |
| Nathrop | CDP | — | 81236 |
| Johnson Village | CDP | — | 81211 |
| Maysville | CDP | — | 81201 |
| Garfield | CDP | — | 81227 |
| Smeltertown | CDP | — | 81201 |
| Alpine | Unincorp. | — | 81211 |
| Americus | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Belleview | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Browns Canon | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Centerville | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Cleora | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Futurity | Unincorp. | — | 81211 |
| Granite | Unincorp. | — | 81228 |
| Hamilton | Unincorp. | — | 81228 |
| Newett | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Princeton | Unincorp. | — | 81211 |
| Riverside | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Rockdale | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| St. Elmo | Unincorp. | — | 81211 |
| Stonewall | Unincorp. | — | 81211 |
| Turret | Unincorp. | — | 81201 |
| Vicksburg | Unincorp. | — | 81211 |
| Winfield | Unincorp. | — | 81211 |
Monarch, a small ski-area community on the Continental Divide, has its own ZIP code (81227) but is not a formally designated place; it is listed above with the unincorporated communities for completeness. Vicksburg and Winfield are 19th-century mining camps up Clear Creek, near the base of the Collegiate Peaks, and are largely seasonal today.
ZIP Codes
- 81201 — Salida (also serves Maysville, Smeltertown, Cleora, Turret, Riverside, Rockdale, Newett, Centerville, Belleview, Browns Canon, Americus)
- 81211 — Buena Vista (also serves Johnson Village, Alpine, Futurity, Princeton, St. Elmo, Stonewall, Vicksburg, Winfield)
- 81236 — Nathrop
- 81242 — Poncha Springs
- 81227 — Monarch (PO Box only)
- 81228 — Granite (also serves Hamilton)
Small unincorporated communities without a dedicated post office use the ZIP of their nearest larger neighbor rather than one of their own.
Geography
Chaffee County sits in a broad mountain valley carved by the upper Arkansas River, flanked by the Sawatch Range to the west and the Mosquito Range to the east. Fourteen 14,000-foot peaks rise within or along the county’s borders, including Mount Harvard, Mount Yale, and Mount Princeton. Land makes up 1,013 of the county’s 1,015 square miles; the remainder is water, chiefly the Arkansas River and its tributary creeks.
Chaffee County borders Lake County to the north, Park County to the northeast, Fremont County to the southeast, Saguache County to the south, Gunnison County to the west, and Pitkin County to the northwest.
Demographics
Chaffee County’s 2020 census population was 19,476, up from earlier decades as retirees and remote workers moved into the Arkansas Valley. Salida and Buena Vista are the county’s two largest communities. Median household income runs below the Colorado median of $92,911, reflecting the county’s tourism- and service-heavy job base rather than the higher-wage Front Range corridor. Population density is roughly 19 people per square mile, typical of a mountain recreation county.
Economy & Local Life
Tourism, outdoor recreation, and second-home construction drive the local economy, built around whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River, hiking and climbing the Collegiate Peaks, and skiing at Monarch Mountain. Ruby Mountain Springs, a natural spring near Nathrop, supplies water bottled and sold nationally by the Arrowhead brand. Salida’s historic downtown, one of the largest National Historic Districts in Colorado, anchors a growing arts and small-business scene, and FIBArk, the country’s oldest whitewater festival, draws paddlers to Salida every June.
History
Chaffee County was created on February 10, 1879, out of the southern portion of Lake County, as part of a Colorado legislature reorganization that also renamed the old Carbonate County (itself split from northern Lake County two days earlier) as the new Lake County. The county is named for Jerome B. Chaffee, one of Colorado’s first two U.S. senators. Silver and gold mining around Granite, St. Elmo, and Vicksburg drove the county’s earliest boom; when the ore played out, ranching and later tourism took over. The county’s nickname, “Heart of the Rockies,” dates to that mining-boom era.
Getting There
U.S. Highway 285 runs the length of the county north-south, and U.S. Highway 50 crosses it east-west through Salida via Monarch Pass.
- Colorado Springs — 90 miles east
- Denver — 130 miles northeast
- Gunnison — 65 miles west
- Leadville — 25 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport; Colorado Springs Airport and Denver International Airport offer wider service for longer trips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chaffee County, Colorado?
It is in central Colorado, in the upper Arkansas River valley between the Sawatch and Mosquito ranges.
What is the population of Chaffee County?
19,476 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Chaffee County?
1,013 square miles (2,624.7 km2) of land plus 1.6 square miles of water.
What is the county seat of Chaffee County?
Salida is the county seat.
How many towns and communities are in Chaffee County?
One city, two towns, five census-designated places, and about 18 unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Chaffee County?
81201 (Salida), 81211 (Buena Vista), 81236 (Nathrop), 81242 (Poncha Springs), 81227 (Monarch), and 81228 (Granite).
What is Chaffee County known for?
Whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River, the Collegiate Peaks fourteeners, Monarch Mountain ski area, and Salida’s historic downtown.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Colorado.