San Luis in Costilla County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Welcome to El Valle de San Luis

— The San Luis Valley —

Welcome to <i>El Valle de San Luis</i> Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2025

1. Welcome to El Valle de San Luis Marker

Inscription.

Welcome to El Valle de San Luis. — The San Luis Valley —. , What is a National Heritage Area? , A national heritage area is a region recognized by the United States Congress for its unique qualities and resources , natural, scenic, cultural, historic, and recreational. , Rich in history, religion, culture, and bio-diversity, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area preserves a special place in our nation's history where the villages and lifestyles of some of America's earliest Spanish settlements still exist alongside newer railroad communities of the late 1800s. , You are entering the home of some of Colorado's earliest people. Prehistoric Clovis and Folsom people, as well as later indigenous tribal people, have hunted and gathered in this valley and surrounding mountains. Spanish explorers, Mexican settlers, fur traders, miners, American soldiers, and others have passed this way. The area was a true crossroads of cultures. , ¡Bienvenidos al Valle de San Luis! Welcome! , You are standing in Colorado’s oldest town, amongst the descendants of some of the earliest settlers to the area. Many of our state’s other “firsts” can be found nearby as well. Take a reflective walk through the Stations of the Cross shrine as you view the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountain range , La Sierra , the mountain that gives life. , Timeline [across bottom of the interpretive panel] , 12000 B.C. • Paleoindian people in the San Luis Valley , 550 A.D. • Ancestral Puebloans settle in Mesa Verde , 1000 • Viking explorer, Leif Eriksson, arrives in America , 1350-1500 • Athabascan (Navajo and Apache) people emerge in Southwest , 1400 • Inca civilization appears in South America , 1492 • Columbus arrives in America , 1565 • St. Augustine, Florida established by Spanish (oldest permanently occupied European settlement in U.S.) , 1596 • Explorer Juan de Zaldívar enters the San Luis Valley , 1596-1800s • Spanish and other explorers to the San Luis Valley encounter indigenous peoples including the Ute, Apache, and Navajo , 1607 • Santa Fe, New Mexico founded by Spanish , 1607 • Jamestown, Virginia founded by English , 1620 • Mayflower arrives in Massachusetts , 1775-1783 • American Revolutionary War , 1776 • U.S. Declaration of Independence

What is a National Heritage Area?
A national heritage area is a region recognized by the United States Congress for its unique qualities and resources — natural, scenic, cultural, historic, and recreational.

Rich in history, religion, culture, and bio-diversity, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area preserves a special place in our nation's history where the villages and lifestyles of some of America's earliest Spanish settlements still exist alongside newer railroad communities of the late 1800s.

You are entering the home of some of Colorado's earliest people. Prehistoric Clovis and Folsom people, as well as later indigenous tribal people, have hunted and gathered in this valley and surrounding mountains. Spanish explorers, Mexican settlers, fur traders, miners, American soldiers, and others have passed this way. The area was a true crossroads of cultures.

¡Bienvenidos al Valle de San Luis! Welcome!

You are standing in Colorado’s oldest town, amongst the descendants of some of the earliest settlers to the area. Many of our state’s other “firsts” can be found nearby as well. Take a reflective walk through the

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Stations of the Cross shrine as you view the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountain range — La Sierra — the mountain that gives life.

Timeline [across bottom of the interpretive panel]
12000 B.C. • Paleoindian people in the San Luis Valley
550 A.D. • Ancestral Puebloans settle in Mesa Verde
1000 • Viking explorer, Leif Eriksson, arrives in America
1350-1500 • Athabascan (Navajo & Apache) people emerge in Southwest
1400 • Inca civilization appears in South America
1492 • Columbus arrives in America
1565 • St. Augustine, Florida established by Spanish (oldest permanently occupied European settlement in U.S.)
1596 • Explorer Juan de Zaldívar enters the San Luis Valley
1596-1800s • Spanish & other explorers to the San Luis Valley encounter indigenous peoples including the Ute, Apache, and Navajo
1607 • Santa Fe, New Mexico founded by Spanish
1607 • Jamestown, Virginia founded by English
1620 • Mayflower arrives in Massachusetts
1775-1783 • American Revolutionary War
1776 • U.S. Declaration of Independence

Erected by Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission, Colorado Historical

Marker detail: You Are Here — San Luis image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: You Are Here — San Luis

Society, Colorado Department of Transportation, and The Nature Conservancy.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Hispanic Americans • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 37° 12.135′ N, 105° 25.526′ W. Marker is in San Luis, Colorado, in Costilla County. It is on Main Street (State Highway 159) just north of 6th Street, on the right when traveling north. The marker is near the sidewalk on the west side of San Luis Community Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 650 Main Street, San Luis CO 81152, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains

and in the San Luis Valley.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also the Republic of Texas.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Oldest Town in Colorado

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2025

3. Welcome to El Valle de San Luis Marker

Welcome “Caminante” — to Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway and The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area
Looking north. This marker is the leftmost of two interpretive panels on the south side of the Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway kiosk in San Luis. Main Street (Colorado Highway 159) is on the left.

(here, next to this marker); Faith on the Frontier (here, next to this marker); La Sierra (here, next to this marker); San Luis (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hispano Folkways (about 600 feet away); San Luis Valley Country (about 600 feet away); Acequias (about 600 feet away); San Luis and Costilla County Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Luis.

Also see . . .
1. Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area.

Excerpt: With 11,000 years of documented human habitation, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area is a crossroads of the centuries. Here a unique blend of Native American, Hispano and Anglo settlement is reflected in the diversity of the people, art and traditions. The geographic isolation of our high desert valley and the peoples’ enduring ties to the land have given rise to a rich cultural heritage and ensured its preservation. Interwoven with the Valley’s natural history is a very long and rich human history. The San Luis Valley served prehistoric and Native American cultures as a seasonal hunting ground where fowl, game, and edible and medicinal
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plants were bountiful.
The San Luis Valley is a place where different peoples have converged for thousands of years. The Valley’s profound historical, religious, and cultural convergence remains visible in the landscape and can be experienced in its communities, art, food, lodging, and events.

(Submitted on March 1, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. San Luis, Colorado (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: San Luis is the county seat of and the most populous town in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. Formerly known as San Luis de la Culebra, it is the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. Hispanic settlers from the Taos Valley established several small villages along the Rio Culebra in the San Luis Valley and officially took possession of this portion of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant on April 9, 1851. The settlers built a church in the central village of La Plaza Medio. They dedicated it on the Feast of Saint Louis, June 21, 1851, renaming the village San Luis de la Culebra in honor of the saint.

(Submitted on March 1, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 26, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 44 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 1, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.