Trinidad, Colorado

The last Colorado town you encounter on Interstate 25 south to New Mexico, Trinidad is a small collection of art galleries, historic Southwestern houses and museums, and a nearby recreation area with lakes and trails. But it wasn't always so peaceful: it was a key stop along the Santa Fe Trail in the late 1800s, and Old West villains such as Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday frequently stopped here to raise hell in the streets and casinos. Trinidad celebrates its colorful history downtown with the six-mile La Corazon de Trinidad ("The Heart of Trinidad"). Small but weird footnote: tiny, placid Trinidad is colloquially known as the "sex change ...

The last Colorado town you encounter on Interstate 25 south to New Mexico, Trinidad is a small collection of art galleries, historic Southwestern houses and museums, and a nearby recreation area with lakes and trails. But it wasn't always so peaceful: it was a key stop along the Santa Fe Trail in the late 1800s, and Old West villains such as Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday frequently stopped here to raise hell in the streets and casinos. Trinidad celebrates its colorful history downtown with the six-mile La Corazon de Trinidad ("The Heart of Trinidad"). Small but weird footnote: tiny, placid Trinidad is colloquially known as the "sex change capital of the world." It began in the 1960s, after a former Korean War M.A.S.H. surgeon named Dr. Stanley Biber relocated here to become the town's general doctor. One day a woman showed up in his office and asked if he did "gender-reassignment operations." He had no idea what she was talking about, but agreed, and turned this transsexual into a man in 1969. Dr. Biber performed some 4,500 such surgeries before his death at age 82 in 2006.

About the Expert

Steve Knopper is the Denver-based author of Moon Handbooks Colorado as well as a contributor to numerous Fodor's city guides.