Entry No. 18 — the Pueblo file — filed under: outdoor-weird
Shrine of the Stations of the Cross (La Mesa de la Piedad y de la Misericordia)
San Luis has been Colorado's oldest town since 1851, and the mesa behind Main Street carries the Passion in bronze: fifteen stations by Huberto Maestas, a local who started casting them in 1988 at two-thirds life size — only the crucifixion and resurrection go full scale. His first-edition maquettes went to Pope John Paul II in 1991 and sit in the Vatican Museum. The dirt switchbacks end at La Capilla de Todos los Santos, a Spanish-Moorish adobe chapel finished in 1997.
The move: Climb the switchbacks station by station at golden hour, then sit on the chapel steps and watch the light drain out of the Culebra basin before dinner in town.
📍 Before you go The trailhead sits at the base of the mesa right off Main Street (CO-159) in the center of San Luis, with parking across the road by the visitor center. The dirt path climbs just under a mile in gentle switchbacks but is fully exposed high desert — bring water and real shoes. The chapel at the top is often locked outside of services; the stations, the Spanish Martyrs memorial busts, and the Culebra basin views are the real draw. Good Friday brings a genuine pilgrimage crowd; most other days you may have the mesa to yourselves.
- 📍 San Luis
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Trailhead off Main St (CO-159) at the base of the mesa, across from the San Luis visitor center, San Luis, CO 81152
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-11