Los Caminos Antiguos is the scenic byway that runs through Antonito

If you want a sense of the wider San Luis Valley from behind the wheel, the Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway is the route that ties it together. The name means “the ancient roads,” and the byway connects Antonito in Conejos County with Alamosa, the old village of San Luis, and Fort Garland.

The drive strings together the valley’s deep history. From Antonito it reaches past the historic Catholic parish at Conejos and the terminal of the narrow-gauge railroad, and the larger route heads on toward Fort Garland and the road to the Great Sand Dunes. It is as much a tour of old towns and cultures as it is of scenery.

A scenic byway is a designation, not a special kind of road. You are driving ordinary state and county highways across a wide, high valley, where wind, blowing dust, sudden weather, and winter ice are all part of the picture. Distances between towns and services are longer than they look on a map.

For the byway’s route, stops, and current road conditions, see the Colorado Department of Transportation’s scenic byways pages.