Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Southeast Colorado & the San Luis Valley
Why Go?
Colorado's arid southeast is a place of high desert landscapes backed by craggy peaks and
flat-topped mesas, where silvery sage and scraggly juniper trees begin to replace the aspen
and pine forests of the central mountains. Dotted with signature landmarks - Pikes Peak,
the Great Sand Dunes, the Royal Gorge - southern Colorado interweaves dramatic vistas
with hardscrabble history to great effect.
In this stripped-down setting, the bones of the earth are particularly evident: fossilized
dinosaur footprints, massive petrified sequoias and the volcanic vestiges of the Spanish
Peaks serve as a stark reminder of a geological timescale in which human life is no more
than the blink of an eye. But a fascinating human element lingers here, too: come discover
a time when the Southwest belonged to Mexico and played host to the Santa Fe Trail,
which brought together the intersecting lives of Native Americans, Mexican pioneers,
French trappers, Pikes Peak-or-bust miners and the covered wagon trains of hope-filled
American homesteaders.
When to Go
May-Jun
Explore the Sand Dunes before the heat of summer.
