From as far away as Colorado Springs, southbound travelers along I-25 can see the Spanish Peaks. But from that distance, the true beauty of these two mountains is slightly out of focus. But up close, the peaks, each rising more than 12,000 feet in elevation, rival any vista in the entire state. And nestled comfortably at their foot, is the town of La Veta, Spanish for ‘the vein.’
La Veta, with its population of 800 ‘and change,’ lies 16 miles west of Walsenburg and a few minutes off of U.S. Highway 160. But travelers often pass right by because it’s off the main road. La Veta real estate broker and California native Daniel Kiick says they don’t know what they’re missing.
Kiick says his adopted home is simply “charming,” and says its remoteness is OK with him. Every day in La Veta, he says, adds to its allure. “I am fortunate. I get to drive around here and allow them (clients) to fall in love with this place…I could not find a better place to live.”
La Veta, Kiick said, is a town not unlike a lot of special places in the country, in that it is a “Memorial Day to Labor Day” place. Off season, he said, a lot of places, including a few art galleries and restaurants, close down.
La Veta’s history includes various Native American tribes who lived in the region before the first settlers, including the Spanish who traveled north from what is today New Mexico. But around 1862, Col. John M. Francisco and a business partner, purchased nearly 50,000 acres in the region, some of which was originally part of the Vigil Land Grant. Francisco Fort became the region’s commerce center. In 1871 it was renamed Spanish Peak. But since 1876, it has been La Veta. Still, Fort Francisco remains part of La Veta’s history and the original fort remains part of the town.
La Veta, Kiick says, is almost perfect for people who want to experience a taste of Colorado’s outdoors but not have to deal with the traffic bottleneck that has come to define I-70, especially on weekends. “It has a natural beauty,” Kiick says. It also has “all the things you can do outside, hiking, hunting and the mountains.” Especially the mountains.
The two peaks, formally known as East Spanish Peak and West Spanish Peak, are unique. They are also not part of any mountain range and both are higher than any point in the U.S. farther east.
To the Native Americans, the peaks were called Huajatolla, meaning double mountains or ‘breasts of the earth’ for their obvious shape. They were also considered mystical.
The peaks formed some 25 million years ago from igneous or fiery intrusion. The magma formed a dyke wall and, said Kiick, “it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen.” You can see it today as it stretches miles across the hillside.
Despite La Veta’s natural charm, Kiick said, he doesn’t anticipate a rush from outsiders moving in. Any boom is from seasonal dwellers—people who live there in their second home. But, even then, many don’t stay that long. “The average second home is kept for two and a half years. We end up selling the same houses over and over again.”
Kiick said La Veta is also a bargain for home buyers. “A beautiful three-bedroom, three bath (home) is around $425,000.” There are also “million-dollar homes here, too.” But unlike so many other million-dollar homes, “these come with 35 acres of land.”
But Kiick said, if La Veta doesn’t change, that’s OK, too. Locals, Kiick said, have pretty much all they need living here. There’s a new K-12 school, a nearby hospital that serves both veterans and locals, a single town Marshall and volunteer fire department.
Otherwise, there is Trinidad to the south and Walsenburg to the east. Pueblo is also an hour away by car.
