Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 970-542-0844;
www.daysinn.com
;
1150 N Main St; r from $72; )
Your best bet if you plan
to stay the night. You may not like the Christmas carpeting, but rooms are large, very
clean and far enough from the interstate roar to get a decent night's sleep.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Sterling
POP 14,777 / ELEV 3935FT
North of the interstate, Old Sterling sits in a cozy six-block grid. Edged by an active rail
yard, it still has dated brick-house charm and new natural-gas money is injecting fresh life
into the once depressed burg. When the sweet old ladies at the
Visitors Information Center
(
970-522-8962;
www.sterlingcolo.com
; 12510 County Rd 370; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat)
in the rest area are asked
what there is to see around here, and they reply with a shrug and 'Not much,' you get the
feeling that this once major stop on the Overland Trail, a covered wagon superhighway
that brought settlers west to the gold country, has seen its best and most historic days.
Sights & Activities
Sterling Overland Trail Museum
( 970-522-3895;
www.sterlingcolo.com
; 21053 County Rd 370; adult/child $3/1.50; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat;
)
You should definitely visit this museum, which sports a great collection handed down
from the town's founding families. Out front in the gravel beds are vintage plows and
tractors, and inside are rooms packed with exhibits ranging from minerals to an insane
collection of authentic arrowheads, plus 19th-century firearms, bear- and buffalo-skin
coats, and vintage pianos, dolls and radios.
It even has dinosaur fossils. Out back there's a 13-building replica of old Main St from
the 1930s along with a covered wagon. Together it all paints a picture of Sterling's human
and natural history.
MUSEUM
Overland Trail Recreation Area
( 970-522-9700;
www.sterlingcolo.com
; Overland Trail; 4:30am-11pm)
Across the road from the vis-
itors center this concrete path follows the Overland Trail along the river for just over half
a mile. According to signs you can fish small and large mouth bass here.
HIKING
