San Luis Valley Museum

The San Luis Valley is one of the largest high desert valleys in the world, lying at an altitude of over 7,000 feet. It is approximately 125 miles long and over 65 miles wide. Surrounded by the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east and the San Juan mountains to the west, the valley is the size of Connecticut and is larger than many states and countries. The Museum has educational displays featuring artifacts, photographs, antiques and collectibles portraying early ranch and farm life. It features exhibits of Indian artifacts, Hispanic settlers, the Japanese-American community, Adams State College, Military regalia and early railroading. Museum displays show what an early mercantile or general store was like, along with a model US Post Office of years past, adjacent to a typical country grade school classroom designed around a fictitious valley town called Wayside, Colorado.