San Luis's Stations of the Cross climb a mesa above the oldest town in Colorado

If you stop in San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado, start with the mesa on its edge. A dirt path less than a mile long climbs La Mesa de la Piedad y de la Misericordia, the hill of piety and mercy, and you can walk it for free any day of the year. Park across the street next to the visitor center and follow the trail up.

The climb is lined with the Stations of the Cross, cast in bronze by Huberto Maestas, a sculptor who lives in San Luis and whose smaller versions of this work are held in the Vatican collection. The figures stand on pedestals of native volcanic stone, fourteen stations leading to a sculpture of the Resurrection near the top, with a grotto shrine along the way. At the summit sits the adobe Capilla de Todos los Santos, the Chapel of All Saints, with domed bell towers over the entry.

The sculptures were finished around 1989, the chapel in the years after, the dream of Father Pat Valdez of the Sangre de Cristo parish. It was built as a place of prayer open to people of all faiths, so go quietly and let others pray. You don’t have to be religious to feel why the town points every first-time visitor here.

For trail and visitor details, see the Uncover Colorado landmark page.