San Luis Valley: The Cradle of Colorado is hot off presses

SAN LUIS VALLEY—The San Luis Valley heritage brochure, San Luis Valley: The Cradle of Colorado, is hot off the presses and ready for enjoyment.

This beautiful 16-page brochure provides Valley residents and visitors alike journeys to explore all the Valley has to offer in its culture, history and heritage.

San Luis Valley: The Cradle of Colorado brochure includes six travel itineraries designed to lead visitors on a journey to distinct sites throughout the San Luis Valley. Each itinerary exposes a unique aspect of the San Luis Valley’s heritage including:

  • Introducing the Valley
  • Natural Wonders
  • In the Steps of Pioneers
  • Ring of Gold
  • Life in a High Desert Valley
  • The Creative Spirit

Along the Valley’s roads and among its attractions, the rich history of the San Luis Valley unfolds to reveal the diversity of the region’s land and people.

Cradled between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains at the headwaters of the Rio Grande, lies the San Luis Valley. This vastness, coupled with a diversity of geologic and geographic features ranging from lush river bottoms to an inland ocean of sand to craggy summits reaching elevations over 14,000 feet, has enticed and enthralled people since the times of Ice Age hunters.

While much has changed within the Valley, traditional values and cultural practices still endure. Well-preserved architecture and historic downtowns evoke the past. Whatever one’s interests, exploring the San Luis Valley’s colorful history and vast beauty can make its legacy part of Colorado’s heritage experience.
Along the Valley’s roads and among its attractions, the rich history of the San Luis Valley unfolds to reveal the diversity of the region’s land and people.

The San Luis Valley Museum Association (www.museumtrail.org/heritage) would like to thank all those that helped finance this project: the Rio Grande County Tourism Board, Conejos County Tourism Board, Costilla County Lodging Tax Board, Saguache County Tourism, Mineral County Chamber of Commerce; Bill Summers; Alamosa Local Marketing District Board, SLV Rural Electric, SLV Historical Society, SLV Tourism Association and the museums members of the SLV Museum Association.

Pick up a copy at any of the Valley’s 17 museums (www.museumtrail.org/museums), the Valley’s Visitor Centers in Ft Garland, San Luis, Antonito, Saguache, Monte Vista, Del Norte, Creede, and South Fork; and the Colorado Welcome Center – Alamosa.