3 Best Sights in Trinidad, South Central Colorado

Downtown Trinidad, called the Corazón de Trinidad, is a National Historic District, mixing historic original brick-paved streets and architecture with modern concerts, restaurants, shops, and festivals. Residents and officials recently launched a bit of a revival here with big plans for the creative district.

On the other side of the Purgatoire River, this museum at Trinidad State Junior College takes viewers back millions of years to examine the true origins of the region, including early geological formations, plant and marine-animal fossils, and prehistoric artifacts.

This complex with two historic houses (only accessible through tours at an additional charge), a museum, and a garden is a place to learn about the town's history. The first is Baca House, the 1870s residence of Felipe Baca, a prominent Hispanic farmer and businessman. Displays convey a mix of Anglo (clothes, furniture) and Hispanic (santos, textiles) influences. Next door, the 1882 Bloom Mansion was built by Frank Bloom, who made his money through ranching and banking. He filled his ornate Second Empire–style Victorian with fine furnishings and fabrics brought from the East Coast and abroad. The adjacent Santa Fe Trail Museum is dedicated to the effects of the trail and railroad on the community. Inside are exhibits covering Trinidad's heyday as a commercial and cultural center. The Historic Gardens are filled with native plants and grapevines similar to those tended by the pioneers.