Saguache is Colorado’s up-and-coming paradise

Goin’ to Saguache! This place in southwest Colorado, with about 600 inhabitants, has moved up on the must-see “tour America” list for scads of travelers…when it’s safe to go and mix and mingle. 

Saguache is pronounced as “suh-WATCH,” and the town is smack-dab in the middle of quaint and quirky. Some say it’s the quintessential western village. 

Here, you can ride with real cowboys and walk among gardens full of tall and colorful hollyhocks…as well as read the world-famous weekly newspaper – The Saguache Crescent. 

It is the only community newspaper on the planet that is still being produced with “hot metal” on a 100-year old letterpress.

“Saguache” is a form of a Ute word meaning “water at blue earth,” due to deposits of blue clay that were once found along Saguache Creek. The town was incorporated in 1891. 

Mayor Elvie Samora said: “We are the northern gateway to the San Luis Valley – surrounded by the Sangre de Cristo mountain range on the east and the San Juan range on the west.” 

“We are located in a high alpine valley with an elevation of 7,703 feet. Saguache County has 1,000 miles of roads, but not a single traffic light,” he remarked. 

“We enjoy the small-town life here. We have abundant trees and wildlife. In the evening you can see deer walking around the neighborhoods.”

It is the only community newspaper on the planet that is still being produced with “hot metal” on a 100-year old letterpress.

Farming and ranching are the region’s premier industries. Leading crops are grains and vegetables, although some farms are moving into cannabis production. 

It’s fertile land. Beneath the valley is an “enormous two-tier aquifer” that contains at “least 2 billion acre-feet of water,” reports The Colorado Sun, an online media outlet. (One acre-foot of water equals about 326,000 gallons.) 

Suffice it to say, the aquifer is one of the largest in America. It provides Saguache “with clean water, which is better than any bottled water. No fluoride or chlorine is added to our water,” Mayor Samora said. 

The Saguache Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to preservation and progress. Its logo features the “cowboy and the hollyhocks,” combining the western heritage and culture with a natural beauty – symbols that represent the glory of the past and the hope for the future.

 

Elvie R. Conley Jr., chamber president, and about 60 fellow chamber members, say: “Welcome one and all. Come shop, play, stay and live with us.” 

The town has become a magnet for artisans, and that attracts a certain breed of tourists.

 Saguache is also on the radar of outdoor adventurers – horseback riders, rock climbers, hikers, campers, mountain bikers, hunters, fishermen and river rafters. 

Nearby is the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, which includes the tallest sand dunes in North America. It’s a 30-square mile sand dune field at the base of the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo range.

Sandboarding and sand sledding down from the tallest dune, with a 750-foot vertical drop, is an exhilarating experience. 

In late spring, Medano Creek, which flows down the mountains through the park, offers a rare experience, one that is akin to riding ocean waves. 

As the snow melts and flows down the mountain, the water creates amazing “surge flows” in the creek. The fast-flowing current pushes sand grains into small underwater ridges called “antidunes.” Like dams, antidunes trap water until they finally break, sending waves of water gushing downstream. 

Each surge flow creates a beach-like playground.