Eastern Plains
Huerfano County
21 Porch Notes tied to Huerfano County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.
Money and taxes (2)
Money and taxes
Short-term rentals here: town rules and lodging tax both apply
If you rent a place short-term in Huerfano County, the rules and lodging taxes you owe depend on whether your property sits inside a town like La Veta or Walsenburg or out in the unincorporated county.
Read note ->Money and taxes
Your Huerfano County tax bill: assessor figures it, treasurer collects it
In Huerfano County, the assessor sets a property's value and the treasurer collects the tax, while the rate comes from the mill levies of every district that overlaps the parcel.
Read note ->Home and property (2)
Home and property
Quiet mountain creeks here can rise fast after a storm or burn
Small streams like the Cucharas and Huerfano can rise quickly during heavy rain or snowmelt, especially below burned ground, so creekside property carries flood risk.
Read note ->Home and property
Wildfire is part of life in Huerfano County's forest edge
Homes in the wooded country around La Veta, Cuchara, and the Spanish Peaks sit in wildfire territory, and defensible space is work worth doing before there is smoke.
Read note ->Water and land (4)
Water and land
Bring your boat clean and dry to Lathrop State Park
Motorized boats must pass an aquatic nuisance species inspection before launching at Lathrop State Park, where an invasive water weed has already been found.
Read note ->Water and land
Huerfano and Cucharas water is part of the Arkansas Basin
The Huerfano and Cucharas rivers feed the Arkansas Basin, and water here is managed under Colorado's priority system in Water Division 2, so land and water rights are separate questions.
Read note ->Water and land
Lathrop State Park near Walsenburg has two very different lakes
Lathrop State Park west of Walsenburg holds two lakes, Martin and Horseshoe, that follow different rules for boating and angling.
Read note ->Water and land
Lone rock towers near La Veta are old volcanic plugs
Isolated rock towers like Goemmer Butte near La Veta are the hardened cores of old volcanic vents, left standing after softer ground wore away.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire (3)
Outdoors and wildfire
Above La Veta and Cuchara, forest land turns into wilderness
Much of the high country around the Spanish Peaks in Huerfano County is San Isabel National Forest, and part of it is designated wilderness where the rules change.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Blue Lake and Bear Lake campgrounds sit in real bear country
The Blue Lake and Bear Lake campgrounds above Cuchara offer lake and stream fishing, and a food-storage order applies because bears are common there.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The West Peak Trail climbs high enough that afternoon storms matter
The West Peak Trail from Cordova Pass climbs the flank of West Spanish Peak into open, high country where summer lightning is a real hazard.
Read note ->Cars and driving (2)
Cars and driving
La Veta Pass and the I-25 corridor shape winter driving here
Huerfano County travel runs along Interstate 25 and over La Veta Pass toward the San Luis Valley, and both can change quickly with mountain weather.
Read note ->Cars and driving
The Highway of Legends loops over a high dirt road at Cordova Pass
An extension of the Highway of Legends climbs a narrow dirt road over Cordova Pass, which sits high and stays closed much of the year.
Read note ->Local rules (3)
Local rules
La Veta is a statutory town with its own local rules
La Veta is an incorporated statutory town inside Huerfano County, which means it has its own board of trustees and local ordinances on top of county and state rules.
Read note ->Local rules
Outside the towns, the county sets the building rules
Most land in Huerfano County is unincorporated, where the county's Land Use and Building department handles zoning, permits, and inspections rather than a city.
Read note ->Local rules
Walsenburg is the county seat where most county business happens
Huerfano County is run by an elected board of commissioners based in Walsenburg, the county seat, and that is where most county offices and public meetings are.
Read note ->History and culture (5)
History and culture
Coal and the railroad drove Walsenburg's growth
Walsenburg is older than the coal boom, but coal mining and the rail lines that hauled the coal out drove the town's growth and still shape the towns and land you see in Huerfano County today.
Read note ->History and culture
Francisco Fort Museum: La Veta grew up around Colorado's last original adobe fort
La Veta's Francisco Fort Museum sits inside an 1862 adobe trading post that the town grew up around, the last original adobe fort still standing in Colorado.
Read note ->History and culture
How Huerfano County got its name from a lonely butte
Huerfano County, the Huerfano River, and the area's Spanish name all trace back to a solitary volcanic butte north of Walsenburg that early Spanish travelers called El Huerfano, 'the orphan.'
Read note ->History and culture
Huerfano County's vanished coal camps, treated with care
Names like Pictou, Rouse, Walsen, and Cameron mark places that were once busy coal camps in Huerfano County, and most are now quiet sites best understood through archival and official sources.
Read note ->History and culture
The Spanish Peaks and their stone dikes are the county's landmark
The twin Spanish Peaks and the long stone walls radiating from them are a well-known geologic feature in Huerfano County, and the Highway of Legends byway runs through the country around them.
Read note ->