The San Luis Hills[2] are a group of small mountain ranges in Conejos and Costilla counties in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado.[4] The individual mountain ranges that make up the San Luis Hills include the Fairy Hills, the Brownie Hills, the Piñon Hills, and the South Piñon Hills. The San Luis Hills' highest point is Flat Top, elevation 9,206 feet (2,806 meters).[1]
Geographical setting
Each of the separate mountain ranges includes flat-topped mesas and hills, and the ranges trend from the southwest to the northeast.[4] Because the individual hills rise from the floor of the San Luis Valley, which is about 7,500 feet (2,300 meters) in elevation,[5] they appear more as hills than mountains, despite rising to eight or nine thousand feet above sea level.
The public lands in the San Luis Hills are not developed for recreation. However, some informal hiking trails exist, and mountain climbing and bouldering are possible, especially around the Manassa Dike on south side of Flat Top.[12]
Protected areas
The San Luis Hills Wilderness Study Area occupies a 10,883-acre (4,404-hectare) tract of land in the Piñon Hills. The wilderness study area was established in 1980 and is owned by the Bureau of Land Management.[13]
In 2016, the Western Rivers Conservancy got funding from the Conservation Alliance to purchase a 17,019-acre (6,887-hectare) tract in the Brownie Hills on both sides of the Rio Grande, some of it adjacent to or overlapping with the Rio Grande Natural Area. The plan is to transfer the land to Costilla County, which will manage it for wildlife habitat, agriculture, and public open space.[14]
^Burroughs, Richard L. (1971). "Geology of the San Luis Hills, south-central Colorado". In James, H.L. (ed.). San Luis Basin (Colorado): New Mexico Geological Society 22nd Annual Fall Field Conference Guidebook. New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 277–287.
^ abcThompson, Ren A.; Shroba, Ralph A.; Machette, Michael N.; Fridrich, Christopher J.; Brandt, Theodore R.; Cosca, Michael A. (2015). Geologic map of the Alamosa 30′ × 60′ quadrangle, South-Central Colorado(PDF) (Map). Scientific investigations map ; 3342. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
^Elison, Jeff (2020). "chapter 18: Rock climbing in the San Luis Valley: Penitente and beyond". In Beeton, Jared Maxwell; Saenz, Charles Nicholas; Waddell, Benjamin James (eds.). The geology, ecology, and human history of the San Luis Valley. Louisville, Colorado: University Press of Colorado. pp. 466–475. doi:10.5876/9781646420407.c018. ISBN9781646420414.
