Monte Vista and the surrounding areas offer recreational opportunities ranging from a municipal golf course to hunting and fishing along the Rio Grande River.

At the Monte Vista Golf Club you will find a pro shop and tennis courts to supplement the beautiful 9-hole golf course.

Through the Parks and Recreation Department of Monte Vista a variety of organized youth activities are available including tee ball, baseball, soccer, basketball, ponytail basketball, flag football, tackle football and indoor lap and swimming instruction.

Adult activities, special interest classes, softball, volleyball, tournaments, and other events are held annually. Ski Hi Park, the municipal recreation facility in Monte Vista, accommodates many of these activities including Ski Hi Pool, home of the 180-foot water slide. Monte Vista also has both an indoor and outdoor movie theater and a bowling alley to provide other forms of relaxation and pleasure.

Active youngsters and adults may join local clubs that provide constructive learning projects. The clubs include 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts, model plane club, square dancing, 4-wheel drive clubs, car club and gun club.

Wolf Creek Ski Area is world renowned for its snow depth, yet remains largely an undiscovered area with five active lifts. Skiers rarely wait in line at the foot of the lifts and enjoy a very exhilarating experience.

Deer and game bird hunting is popular along the Rio Grande River and in the fields and meadows around Monte Vista. Home Lake, just east of the city, and the Rio Grande River also provide excellent fishing and water sports.

Several other golf courses, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Narrow Gauge Railroad, Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, the Great Sand Dunes National Monument, and the Alamosa-Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge complex provide additional nearby recreational activities.

A variety of cultural and community activities are to be found in Monte Vista, including art shows, festivals, and other events. Some of these include the San Luis Valley 4-H Fair, trade shows, Ski Hi Stampede (the oldest pro rodeo in Colorado), and our Crane Festival.

Theater and artistic events are sponsored by Rocky Mountain Stage Productions, located in Monte Vista. The Creede Repertory Theatre is in nearby Creede and provides exceptional entertainment during the summer months. Adams State College also provides our area with numerous social and cultural events. The Rio Grande County Museum, one of the eight historic museums in the area, offers a glimpse of the colorful past of our area.

The Carnegie Public Library offers programs and cultural activities and access to any book in print. Telephone is (719) 852-3931.

For more information on our calendar of events, please call the Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce at (719) 852-2731, (800) 562-7085, e-mail us at chamber@monte-vista.org or visit our website at www.monte-vista.org.

Monte Vista's largest neighbor is the 1.8 million acre Rio Grande National Forest, headquartered two miles west of Monte Vista. Created in 1908 by a Presidential Proclamation by President Theodore Roosevelt, the Rio Grande National Forest boasts portions of two of Colorado's most spectacular mountain ranges - the San Juan and the Sangre de Cristo. Also located in the forest are the headwaters of the third longest river in the U.S. - the Rio Grande del Norte, or "Great River of the North" as it was known by the early Spanish and Indian inhabitants of the Southwest.

The Rio Grande National Forest of today is a mecca for campers, backpackers, mountain bikers, folks who enjoy lake, stream, or river fishing, elk and deer hunters, or just the many visitors who enjoy a picnic.