My family will be staying at the black bear retreat in Howard co this weekend - I think we'd like to fish, raft , dinner in Salida and was curious about other activities and restaurants around Salida. Any activities / outfitters / restaurants that are good?

Amica's Pizza and Moonlight Pizza are both good.
Patio Pancake Place is good for breakfast.
It may be worth the drive up to Buena Vista if you have the time.
If you're traveling along hwy 50 from Canon City, you'll go right past the Royal Gorge. There's a dinosaur museum right near the turn off to the royal gorge that is great for kids.
Canon City also has a museum of prisons. I haven't been to that.
Hwy 50 Burger in Salida is good. A little pricy for burgers but lots of good options.
Elevation Beer Co is a pretty good brewery on the west side of town.

My wife and i have stayed at the Creekside Chalet west of Salida a few times, but we mostly go there to relax and rest. That whole valley is scenic, it's a great area to explore.

Sweetys sandwiches are delicious.

Went to Jan's in buena vista a couple times this summer. Good prices for good food. Traditional diner type place.

Patio pancake place.

The Fritz, Currents, Sweeties, and Moonlight are all great options. Amicas is good, but we prefer Moonlight (I think we are in the minority).

Salida is a great town to just walk around and take in the different shops/sights.

Phantom Canyon Road is worth the drive!

Ark Anglers is a great fishing guide for that area

We used to pig out at the pancake patio place for breakfast. Arrive early. It's good but not great, but after camping in the national forest a week, it hit the spot.

The city park along the river is interesting as you can watch people kayak and it's rather nice for a city park. There's some nice outdoor bars nearby.

I'd suggest a trip down to Boathouse for lunch in Salida. Laid back atmosphere right on the river, can usually grab a patio seat right over the water if it's not too crowded. Food and beer is decent as well and it's fun to watch the kayakers run the river shoots right under the bridge.

Would also highly suggest doing one of these trips as well. Ducky Adventures they're just inflatable, single kayaks, but it's a pretty leisurely float that only takes a couple of hours and dumps you right out in downtown Salida. I liked it a lot better than the big group rafting trips.

We drove through Salida going to/from Pagosa Springs a couple weeks ago and got burritos at Moe's both ways.

If you are there for the 4th, they have a good fireworks show over Tenderfoot Mountain.

Tres Litros is a good brewery a block from the river.

Moonlight has better pizza than Amicas,

You can rent tubes or boogie boards and jump in the river. Go down about a quarter mile and walk back. The water is COLD, but you get used to it if you stay in the sun.

We parked at the Pleasant Valley RV Park in Howard the last two summers and absolutely love it. That's probably our favorite park we've ever stayed in. Great people and you can't beat the location on the river. If you're staying in Howard, Riverside Cafe is great and about your only option nearby. Ate breakfast there a few times and it was always good.

I'll throw in another vote for Moonlight and Moe's in Salida. The Fritz is still good, I assume. I believe its under new ownership but hopefully hasn't lost any quality. Lots of good little bars and brew pub places near the downtown area. The restaurants on the river aren't bad but you're paying for the location. Pretty fun to sit and watch the kayaks and tubers come down the chute. I've never fished with Ark Anglers but they have always given me good advice and publish great info on their website. On the Canyon City side, the Gorge is a fun thing to do with kids. It's good for a half day or so. The train ride is also pretty cool. Rafting through the gorge is also a big deal. If you're in Canyon City, the Lost Cajun is surprisingly good.

Be careful on 50 between Howard and Salida. That road is dangerous AF!

We just got back from the area yesterday. The best thing we did was whitewater rafting out of Buena Vista. We did the Brown Canyon run. Still plenty of water flow but it will probably shutdown within the next month.