Discover Craig: Culture, Water and Trails

Craig combines cultural history with a variety of opportunities on the water. If you are looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home for your trip, you can choose the location based on whether your itinerary is more focused on visiting a museum, hiking, boating or taking a trip on the river. The town and its surroundings offer different starting points for these activities, without all excursions following the same style.

Cultural History at the Museum of Northwest Colorado

One notable cultural attraction is the Museum of Northwest Colorado. There, you can see exhibits from the working world of cowboys and gunslingers. The museum is located in the former Colorado State Armory Building in Downtown Craig. This combination of collection and building makes a visit an opportunity to get to know Craig through its regional history.

The annual Whittle the Wood Rendezvous is also part of the town's cultural profile. The date is not specified, so trip planning for it cannot be tied to a particular date. As a recurring event, however, the rendezvous can be an additional consideration if you would like to choose your travel period based on cultural experiences.

Water Activities Around Craig

Elkhead Reservoir State Park encompasses a 900-acre reservoir and offers boating. Alongside the town's historical attractions, this provides an excursion destination with a clear focus on water. If you plan such activities, it is worth paying attention when looking for accommodation to a location that suits your personal daily itinerary, rather than searching only by a general place name.

The area around Craig also offers a 39-mile flatwater trip through Little Yampa Canyon. Access is via the South Beach River Access Site on State Route 13 south of Craig.

Juniper Canyon offers another option on the water. In the Craig area, it has a short stretch of whitewater for rafting and kayaking. The flatwater trip and the whitewater stretch therefore represent different forms of paddling. If you are interested in both options, you can consider Craig as a base for a trip with changing activity focuses, without combining the two offerings into a single route.

Trails and Getting Around Locally

A hiking map for the Craig City Trail System is available for download. Printed maps for this trail system and for the trails in Loudy-Simpson Park are also available at the Moffat County Visitor Center, 775 Yampa Avenue, Craig. These two map options make it easier to incorporate the available trails into your plans either before the excursion or once you are there.

There are also several boat access points on the Yampa River in the Craig Reach section within the city of Craig. This adds further river access points to the excursion options at Elkhead Reservoir and in the canyons. You can then choose a suitable holiday apartment based on a location that matches this focus.

Craig as a Base for Different Days of Travel

Craig is suitable for planning a trip that includes more than just a single attraction. One day can be devoted to the Museum of Northwest Colorado and the town's cultural program, while on another day the focus can be on Elkhead Reservoir State Park, the Yampa River or a tour in the surrounding area. The documented routes and access points differ significantly: on the one hand, there is a 39-mile flatwater trip; on the other, there is a short whitewater stretch as well as several boat access points at Craig Reach.

If you are travelling with different interests, this selection allows you to arrange your stay flexibly. Culture, hiking trails and water activities can be considered separate elements of the trip. Accommodation in Craig can serve as a starting point for your search; which location within the town makes sense for you depends on the activities you actually plan to undertake.

For the overall travel overview: Moffat County.