Saguache, CO

Saguache is a statutory town in and the county seat of Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The 2020 census counted 539 residents. Saguache is a small historical village in an agricultural area in southern Colorado at the northern gateway to the San Luis Valley, a valley between the Sangre de Cristo Range on the east and the San Juan Mountains to the west. The site has been known for centuries to Native Americans who moved down from their summer homes in the mountains to the valley during the winter months. As the gateway to the San Juan Mountains, home to the Rio Grande National Forest and the La Garita Wilderness Area, Saguache offers outdoor activities such as sightseeing, cycling, hiking and camping.

ATTRJohn A. Randolph / Public domain

Highway 114 to Cochetopa Pass follows the original Old Spanish Trail, offering high country scenery and access to large tracts of public lands. Taken together, these details give a newcomer a usable picture of Saguache, where its history, geography, and current gathering places meet. For Saguache, the memorable detail is the way older history and current gathering places share one local map.