From downtown arts and antiques to hiking and biking, add Florence to the road trip list
By Eric Peterson
While it’s known among true crime aficionados for the infamous maximum-security prison next door, Florence is a vibrant small town of 3,700 people. And the presence of standout craft beer at Florence Brewing Company hasn’t hurt the town’s prospects.
Photo courtesy of Florence Brewing Company Facebook
History
The site of the first oil discovery west of the Mississippi River in 1862 (and that well is still pumping), Florence is located on the Arkansas River about 30 miles west of Pueblo. The town, incorporated in 1887, was named for the daughter of James McCandless, its first mayor and postmaster. It later became a hub for the processing of ore from the mines in Cripple Creek.
Located in the Downtown Florence Historic District — which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017 — the Florence Pioneer Museum features exhibits and artifacts that tell these stories and many more.
Arts
Today, Florence’s economy is linked to the ADX Florence super-maximum security prison, but arts and culture also contribute to the local economy in many ways. The Florence Arts Council operates the Bell Tower Cultural Center, an 1898 church reinvented as a creative hub for the 21st century, complete with art exhibitions, live performances and art classes onsite.
The town also has its fair share of public art, including a mosaic in the style of Spanish artist Antoni Gaudí on a retaining wall behind the cultural center. A pair of local galleries, FloCo Gallery and Gifts and Blue Spruce Art and Antiques, add even more to the creative broth.
Antiques
Florence is nicknamed The Antique Capital of Colorado, and offers about 15 different dealers lining Main Street. Many stores, like the Florence Flipping Peddler and the Globe Antique Store, have numerous vendors under one roof, while others focus on certain categories. For instance, Salvage, Antiques, Vintage, Etc. specializes in architectural salvage, including everything from doorknobs to window frames to coat hooks, while Antiques & Arts of Asia has an inventory of finds from the Far East and most everywhere else.
In September, the two-day Junktique Antique Show and Flea Market takes over downtown and dozens of vendors sell all manner of vintage goods and quirky artwork.
Outdoors
On the eastern fringes of town, Florence River Park features a short trail alongside the Arkansas River with a boat launch, as well as a wave that’s popular among paddle boarders and river surfers.
About 10 miles to the southwest, the 200-acre Florence Mountain Park offers more hiking opportunities. From the trailhead here, the Newlin Creek Trail is a local favorite, a moderate 6-mile round trip through an evergreen forest that takes you to the ruins of a historic sawmill.
About 15 miles north of Florence near Cañon City is the Oil Well Flats trail system. It’s popular with hikers and mountain bikers because of its sweeping views from the centerpiece rock formation, Island in the Sky. Then there’s the Royal Gorge itself, a major tourist draw to the west of Cañon City, that has a trail system, a via ferrata for climbers and the whitewater in the river below.
After a day on the trails, there’s no better place in Florence to hoist a pint than the aforementioned Florence Brewing Company. Founded by Hans Prahl in 2016, the brewery quickly won over the locals, with a great location in a historic building downtown that formerly housed a hotel and a newspaper. There’s a dog-friendly patio, and grub is available from a regular rotation of food trucks and the onsite Atomic Sandwich Lab. Next door, the Other Side event space has a regular calendar of events, ranging from trivia to yoga.