San Luis is Colorado’s oldest town, a quiet adobe village in the southern San Luis Valley founded on April 5, 1851. Climb the shrine trail on the mesa above town, walk the old plaza and you’ll feel a living Hispano heritage that’s older than the state itself.

San Luis grew from the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, one of several Mexican land grants in the valley, and its settlers brought Spanish and Mexican traditions of shared land and water that still shape daily life. The town’s acequia, the San Luis People’s Ditch, was dug in 1852 and still carries water to fields, and La Vega, about 633 acres of communal grazing land, remains one of the rare true commons left in the country. The historic core is listed as the Plaza de San Luis de la Culebra Historic District, and San Luis is also the seat of Costilla County.

The town’s must-see is the Shrine of the Stations of the Cross, known as La Mesa de la Piedad y de la Misericordia (Hill of Piety and Mercy). Built by parishioners of the Sangre de Cristo Parish in the 1980s, it follows a half-mile trail up the mesa past 15 life-size bronze sculptures by local artist Huberto Maestas, from the Passion to the Resurrection. At the top stands the twin-towered adobe chapel La Capilla de Todos los Santos, with sweeping views over town, the Culebra Range and the valley. The shrine welcomes visitors of all faiths; please keep voices low and dress respectfully.

Back in town, stop at the San Luis People’s Market on Main Street, the store long known as R&R Market, which dates to 1857 and is often called the oldest continuously operating business in Colorado. Then look in at Most Precious Blood Catholic Church and the Costilla County Courthouse. Insider tip: San Luis makes a great day trip with Fort Garland Museum, about 16 miles north, and Great Sand Dunes National Park beyond it.

The Town of San Luis celebrates its founding every April 5 with Founders Day. The town is restoring the 1940s Sangre de Cristo Heritage Center, home of the San Luis Museum and Cultural Center, which remains closed for renovation with no reopening date announced. For town news, see townofsanluisco.org.