Crestone & the San Luis Valley

High desert, big sky, strange stories. A field guide to Crestone and the San Luis Valley, Colorado.

Eat & Shop

23 local spots: food, shops, art, hot springs and services.

• Our Food is Art
• The Cloud Station
• Sage's Hearth
• Crestone Mercantile Grocery
• Elephant Cloud Market
• Crestone Hardware
• Crestone Spirits Liquor Center
• Crestone Artisans Gallery
• Blue Earth Design
• Crestone Eagle
• Crestone Post Office
• Colorado Gators Reptile Park
• Buddy Frank, Structural Integration (Rolfing)
• The Bliss
• People's Pub & Kitchen
• Mountain Laurel Apothecary
• Crestone Creative Trade Co.
• Worth The Drive Family Bakery
• Joyful Journey Hot Springs
• Valley View Hot Springs
• Sand Dunes Recreation
• Villa Grove Trade
• Always Azul Pottery

Explore

12 places to see, from dunes and peaks to a UFO tower.

• Great Sand Dunes
• Crestone Peak
• Crestone Needle
• Kit Carson Peak
• Baca National Wildlife Refuge
• UFO Watchtower
• Colorado Gators Reptile Park
• Zapata Falls
• Penitente Canyon
• Pike's Stockade
• Mosca Pass
• Saguache

Spiritual Centers

Temples, stupas, ashrams and retreat centers in the Baca Grande.

• Shumei International Institute
• Haidakhandi Universal Ashram
• Tashi Gomang Stupa
• Crestone Ziggurat
• Chöying Dzong (Yeshe Khorlo)
• Vajra Vidya Retreat Center
• Sangdo Palri Temple
• Sri Aurobindo Learning Center
• Jangchub Chörten, Stupa of Enlightenment
• Crestone Mountain Zen Center
• Chamma Ling

History

Explorers, ranchers, gators and UFOs.

• 1806: Peak he never climbed
• 1807: Pike sees the dunes
• 1807: A flag on Spanish soil
• 1820s: Robidoux's carts
• 1873: First photo of the dunes
• 1880: Crestone gets platted
• 1971: The Baca Grande
• 1977: Gators in a mountain valley
• 2000: A barn for aliens
• Mosca means fly
• Hidden refuge

Map

Every stop, business and center on one map.