By: Ernest Gurulé
There is a community in southern Colorado growing faster than any other place in that part of the state, but it’s invisible to a lot of Coloradans. But, in a thirty year period it has grown from a dot on the map into a full-fledged small town with amenities that meet big city requirements, including schools, employment and quality of life. It’s Pueblo West—not Pueblo, but Pueblo West!
It’s easy to see why land developer and oilman Robert P. McCullough saw value in the vastness of the area a dozen or so miles from Pueblo proper. In the late sixties, McCullough saw a future in the land that no one else apparently did. He saw a nearly endless expanse of open space and spectacular, postcard vistas extending from the high desert to Colorado’s southern front range. It was a land vibrant in vegetation, wild animal life and inspiring sunsets. Little by little, people began to see what McCulloch had seen so many years before.
Between 1990 and today, the population of Pueblo West has exploded, growing from a tiny burg of less than 5,000 to a population today estimated near 30,000.
McCulloch initially used a gimmick to attract and entice potential investors and homebuyers. He offered free flights from different points in the U.S. to Pueblo. There they could stay at the only hotel in the area, coincidentally the one he built. But it was as nice a place as any in southern Colorado and the trick worked. He found enough people to seed the area that has now grown into and adopted its own unique personality and flavor.
One of the things that Pueblo West has today that McCulloch didn’t imagine decades earlier, is Lake Pueblo State Park, southern Colorado’s largest and busiest aquatic amenity. Lake Pueblo, said Samantha Dosen, Pueblo West Communications Manager, has something for everyone. Families can enjoy “a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, boating, water recreation and much more.”
The lake, more informally known as the Pueblo Reservoir, may be for recreation but its water also serves the growing needs of the nearby community that has grown exponentially. Today, the community has two elementary schools, a middle school and its own high school. While it doesn’t yet have its own police force, it does have its own fire department and depends on the sheriff’s department for public safety issues.
Lake Pueblo, while a practical consideration as a water resource for Pueblo and parts of the Arkansas Valley, is also a tremendously popular destination drawing visitors from across the state and region. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the lake entertained more than 4.6 million visitors in 2021 setting a new record.
The community gives every indication of continued growth. New residents, including a number of retirees from Denver, have chosen it as home for its affordable housing but also its ‘around the corner amenities’ that would be far more expensive in the greater metro area, including golfing, an equestrian center, a nature and raptor center and the one thing that makes livable on a year-round basis: the weather.
Pueblo West advertises 300 days of sunshine each year with peak high temperatures in the upper 80’s to mid-90’s. Perhaps a drawback, if one considers it one at all, is the wind, a condition that many have come to expect in Pueblo West as ‘a price of admission.’
Pueblo West sits near state highway 50 which connects it on the west to Fremont County and Caῆon City. The 49-square-mile municipality is an hour’s drive to Colorado Springs where travelers often go to catch flights, but travelers also use Pueblo Municipal Airport, an approximate 20 minute drive directly east.
Pueblo West is a quick getaway from Denver, approximately 100 south on I-25 and another ten minutes west on Colorado state highway 50. “It’s a beautiful area to visit and live,” said Dosen. It offers the best of what Colorado has to offer; good quality of life, plenty of recreation and all the amenities one might need with southern Colorado’s hub city just seven minutes away.
Pueblo West offers a unique quality of life with a lower cost of living while still having the beauty and outdoor amenities Colorado has to offer. We have a small town vibe given our equestrian background, offering families a quiet escape from city life.
