10 Best Sights in South Central Colorado, Colorado

This elaborate creation, which resembles a medieval castle replete with turrets, buttresses, and ornamental iron, is the prodigious (some might say monomaniacal) one-man undertaking of Jim Bishop, a self-taught architect who began work in 1959. Once considered a blight on pastoral Route 165, the castle is now a popular attraction. Not yet complete, it is three stories high with a nearly 165-foot tower. Those who endeavor to climb into the structure must sign the guest book–cum–liability waiver. Bishop finances this enormous endeavor through donations and a gift shop.

Ranked among the best in the country, the Buell Children's Museum provides fun, interactive experiences for kids of all ages. The 12,000-square-foot facility has innovative exhibits on art, science, and history. It's in the same complex as the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center.

The fine City Park has fishing lakes, playgrounds, a carousel, a mini train ride, tennis courts, and a swimming pool.

A nicely designed repository for the city's history, El Pueblo History Museum extends its scope to chronicle life on the plains dating back before Colorado statehood. It tells of Pueblo's role as a cultural and geographic crossroads, beginning when it was a trading post in the 1840s. Hands-on features—a giant teepee where guests can go inside and play historic drum replicas; a dress-up chest full of pioneer clothing and hats; and a covered wagon that is just the right height for small hands to discover the trinkets on board—make this museum fun for the whole family. Remnants of the original trading post are now an archaeological dig enclosed in a pavilion next to the museum.

Stroll on the paths or take to the water on a boat tour or in a paddleboat to explore this 32-acre urban waterfront park. Boat rides are available at the riverwalk center at 101 South Union Avenue.

In City Park, this biopark is home to African penguins, ringtail lemurs, and boa constrictors—housed separately of course. Favorites here include African painted dogs, lions, river otters, and the annual holiday feature ElectriCritters, an evening light display that involves more than 250,000 lights, which runs from late November through the end of the year.

At the city's airport, the Pueblo-Weisbrod Aircraft Museum traces the development of American military aviation with nearly 35 aircraft in mint condition, ranging from a Lockheed F-80 fighter plane to a MiG-15. Curator Shawn Kirscht restored a Boeing B-29 Super Fortress of atomic-bomb fame on-site, which is now on display in Hangar One.

Leaving the Rockies far behind, U.S. 50 takes you toward the eastern plains, where rolling prairies give way to hardier desert blooms and the land is stubbled with sage and stunted pinyon pines. One fertile spot—50 miles along the highway—is the town of Rocky Ford, dubbed the "Sweet Melon Capital" for its famously succulent cantaloupes.

Exquisite maple, oak, and mahogany woodwork gleams throughout this splendid 37-room mansion, with ivory glaze and gold-leaf trim. Marble fireplaces, Tiffany-glass fixtures, and frescoed ceilings complete the opulent look. The top floor—originally servants' quarters—features the odd Andrew McClelland Collection: objects of curiosity this eccentric philanthropist garnered on his worldwide travels, including an Egyptian mummy.

The century-old stores and warehouses of Union Avenue Historic District make for a commercial district filled with a mix of stores ranging from kitschy to good. Among the landmarks are the glorious 1889 sandstone-and-brick Union Depot. Pitkin Place, lined with fabulous gabled and turreted mansions, attests to the town's more prosperous times. Walking-tour brochures are available at the chamber of commerce.