Discover Custer: History, stargazing, and landscapes

Cultural history, stargazing, and outdoor experiences offer different perspectives on Custer and Custer County. The Silver Cliff Museum focuses on the history of silver mining and the county; elsewhere, the emphasis is on lakes, trout, and a route through the landscape. If you’re looking for a vacation rental in Custer, it helps to first decide which of these themes you want to shape your trip.

Silver mining and local history in Silver Cliff

The Silver Cliff Museum is housed in Silver Cliff’s historic town hall and firehouse, built in 1879. The building is located along the Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway on Colorado State Highway 96. The museum features memorabilia and artifacts relating to the history of silver mining in Silver Cliff and the history of Custer County. Here, architectural history and the stories of two regional subjects come together in one place.

The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, from Memorial Day through Labor Day; admission is free. Since the hours are seasonal and may change, check the details before your visit. This schedule matters when planning your trip: a visit is easiest to fit in when your vacation falls during the open season.

Stargazing with a limited group size

The Smokey Jack Observatory houses a 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with computerized aiming and tracking. On reserved stargazing evenings, trained Star Guides assist guests. The evenings are free, but limited to a total of eight people per session. This makes stargazing a different kind of travel experience from a museum visit: it requires a reserved time slot and involves a small group. Availability depends on the date, so check which sessions might work for your trip.

The SilverWest AirFest may also be relevant when planning your dates: the air festival takes place annually in August, but the exact dates may vary from year to year. If it’s one of your travel interests, check the specific event date against your travel dates.

Byway, lakes, and trout waters

The Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway begins in Pueblo on CO 96 and continues to Westcliffe, where it ends at South 6th Street. Landscapes along the route include rugged mountains, wildflower-covered terrain, piñon-dotted foothills, and groves of golden aspens. The byway combines a defined route with a variety of landscapes—a different focus from the cultural history of Silver Cliff.

Lake Isabel is one of two recreation lakes in Custer County managed by the Colorado Department of Parks & Wildlife. Activities there include hiking, paddling, fishing, and birdwatching. Choosing a lake can therefore bring together different interests in one place. Check seasonal conditions before setting out.

Grape Creek below DeWeese Reservoir is also a place to spend time by the water, with a particular focus on fish: it has high densities of large brown and rainbow trout. Venable Lakes offer another focus. They’re suited to backpacking and horseback riding; both lakes have brook trout and other trout species. These details help distinguish the different outdoor experiences without treating the places or activities as interchangeable.

Routes and discoveries on different scales

The Comanche-Venable Loop is a 12.3-mile loop south of Westcliffe. It passes lakes, an old cabin, and three fourteeners. Compared with visiting individual lakes, this route puts a longer trail and several named landscape features at the center of the experience. Which option better suits your trip depends on whether you’d rather focus on individual outdoor highlights or the route itself.

Another discovery is the free Planet Walk, a permanent interpretive exhibit of the solar system at a scale of 1 to 4 billion. It’s located in Westcliffe and Silver Cliff. The scale makes the proportions of the solar system its subject, while the exhibit is spread across two locations. Free visitor information for Custer County also includes a town map of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, hiking maps for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Wet Mountains, and an overview of the county’s history.

When choosing a vacation rental in Custer, these different priorities can help you decide: consider whether you’d rather plan your days around the museum and event dates, stargazing, or lakes and routes. Match seasonal opening hours, event dates, and reserved sessions to your travel dates. That way, you can choose accommodation that suits the experiences you actually want to include in your plans.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Wetmore, Pitkin, Jefferson, Rio Blanco County, Montrose County, Elbert County, Eagle, Gilpin County.

For the main travel overview: Colorado.