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Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Picture a Jeep flexing up a ramp to show off its suspension, and forty feet away a trail runner lacing up for a 14K. Same festival. Same weekend. Same trails.
That is the whole point of 14er Fest, and most people do not realize how rare that is in Colorado.
Here is the thing. In this state, motorized and non-motorized trail users tend to treat each other like rival gangs. The dirt bike crowd and the day hikers. The rock crawlers and the mountain bikers. Everybody wants the same ground, and when the fighting gets loud enough, land managers do the easy thing and just close the trail to everybody. Nobody wins.
So a couple of Buena Vista outfits decided to try the opposite approach. Put everyone on the same trails, on purpose, and get them to work together to keep those trails open. That is the mission, stated flat out. Unite motorized and non-motorized users, recreate together, maintain together.
The festival is presented by two locals. The Trailhead, which is Buena Vista's own outdoor retailer, and Colorado Off Road Enterprise, or CORE, a Buena Vista motorized action group. So you have got the hiking-and-fishing side and the four-wheel side co-hosting the same event. That partnership by itself tells you what this is about.
And they are doing it in the right zip code. Chaffee County has the highest concentration of 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado, which also makes it the highest concentration in the entire United States. This is the place to argue about who gets to use the mountains, because there are simply more mountains here.
It runs Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27, 2026, based downtown at the end of Main Street. It is a multi-sport deal. Off-roading, mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing, rock climbing, trail running. Basically every way you can get after it in the Collegiates, all in one weekend.
The four-wheel stuff is the part I always point people to, because it is genuinely fun to watch. Historic 14er Fest activities have included an RTI ramp, which is that setup that measures how much your vehicle's suspension can flex. And they have run guided rides up toward Mount Antero, which sits at 13,800 feet, and Mount Princeton at 14,196 feet. Real high-country lines, not a parking lot demo.
Now here is how you actually get on the trips, because this trips people up. Your trail pass or event wristband gets you access to the guided outings and clinics, but you do not book them online ahead of time. You sign up in person at the Registration Booth in Vendor Village. The info booth takes reservations Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. for Saturday's trips, and Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. for Sunday's trips. So plan your weekend around those windows or you will miss the one you wanted.
If running is more your thing, there are two options Sunday, September 27, both starting and finishing in Vendor Village right by the Eddyline beer garden. Which is dangerous for me, honestly, finishing a race ten feet from a beer garden.
The 14K crosses the Arkansas River bridge onto the Midland Hill Trail System. Over 500 feet of climbing and straight-on views of the Collegiate Peaks. That is a real trail race.
The 5K is the friendlier one. It winds through Buena Vista River Park with only 62 feet of total elevation gain the whole way. So bring the family, bring the person who says they hate running, that one is doable.
Anybody who registered before September 17 got 14er Fest race swag, so the early folks are covered there.
The swag bag is a nice touch. Souvenir stainless steel pint glass, one beer token, and a 14er Fest branded beanie. The pint glass and the beer token clearly know their audience.
And the camping might be the best part. Festival camping is set up right downtown next to the Arkansas River, under the Collegiate Peaks, and it is within walking distance of the event center. So you roll out of your tent, walk to the trailhead or the start line, and you never touch your car all weekend. In late September, with the aspens turning, camping under those peaks is the reason you drove out here in the first place.
Peak fall color in the Collegiate Peaks is a reason to go by itself. Buena Vista in late September is one of the best drives in the state, and if you have watched these mountain towns the way Hayley and I have, you know that weekend books up.
But the real story is bigger than fall leaves. Every year another Colorado trail gets threatened with closure because the user groups cannot get along. 14er Fest is a working example of the other way. Off-roaders and hikers on the same ground, keeping it open for both of them. That is worth your attention, and worth your weekend.
Head to downtown Buena Vista, end of Main Street, September 25 through 27.