Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway
Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway is a State Scenic Byway in Colorado. Within Colorado it covers roughly 150 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
"The Ancient Roads" crosses the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, a high desert basin ringed by the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains. It passes Great Sand Dunes National Park, where the tallest dunes in North America pile against the mountains, and San Luis, the oldest continuously settled town in Colorado. The route is steeped in Hispano and railroad history, including the Cumbres & Toltec steam line near Antonito.
- Great Sand Dunes
- San Luis (oldest CO town)
- San Luis Valley
- Cumbres & Toltec railroad
- Sangre de Cristo views
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Places to stop along Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
North America's tallest dunes piled against the Sangre de Cristo range. In late spring, Medano Creek runs across the base of the dunes and families wade in it.
WebsiteZapata Falls
A 30-foot waterfall hidden in a rock cleft, reached by a short trail and a cold wade up the creek.
San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area
Wetlands and lakes on the valley floor below the dunes, good for birding, with sandhill cranes passing through in spring and fall.
WebsiteFort Garland Museum and Cultural Center
Original adobe buildings of an 1858 Army fort once commanded by Kit Carson, around a parade ground at the foot of Blanca Peak.
WebsiteSan Luis People's Ditch
A hand-dug irrigation ditch from the 1850s carrying the oldest adjudicated water right in Colorado, still watering fields around the state's oldest town.
Capilla de San Acacio
A small adobe chapel from the mid-1800s, considered among the oldest continuously used churches in Colorado.
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
A coal-fired narrow-gauge train that runs 64 miles from Antonito over 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass to Chama, New Mexico, crossing the state line again and again.
Website
Where to Stay along Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway
6 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway.
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What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.