Rito Seco is a tributary of
Culebra Creek
Rio Culebra (also called Culebra River, Río de la Culebra and Culebra Creek) is a river or creek in Costilla County, Colorado. The Rio Culebra rises in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and is long. It empties into the Rio Grande west of the tow ...
in
Costilla County, Colorado
Costilla County ( Spanish for "rib") is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,499. The county seat is San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado.
History
On July 8, 1694, ...
. The name means ''dry creek'' in the dialect of Spanish spoken in southern Colorado and New Mexico.
Course
The creek rises northeast of
San Luis, Colorado
The Town of San Luis is a statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous town of Costilla County, Colorado, United States. Formerly known as ''San Luis de la Culebra'', it is the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. ...
in the
Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It flows through Rito Seco Park then flows southwest along Rito Seco Road in an arc towards San Luis. In San Luis, its flow reduced by ditch diversions, Rito Seco goes under Main Street (
Colorado State Highway 159) and through the Rito Seco Creek Culvert, which carries the creek under
Colorado State Highway 142. From here it continues south a few blocks to its mouth at Culebra Creek.
Rito Seco Park
The creek gives its name to Rito Seco Park, a high mountain park and camping area, elevation about ,
in the Culebra Range. Although the camping area was first opened in the 1970s, it lacked hiking
trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
s. Over a period of twelve years ending in 2022, Costilla County and an organization called San Luis Valley Great Outdoors worked to get grants to construct trails in the park. The four trails include several newly built wooden bridges over Rito Seco, and one of the trails is a
single track mountain bike trail. The park is important because almost all of Costilla County is private land, and there is no government-owned open space, apart from the park.
Rito Seco Creek Culvert
Built in 1936, the Works Project Administration-built
Rito Seco Creek Culvert
The Rito Seco Creek Culvert, in San Luis, Colorado, was built as a Works Progress Administration project. Rito Seco flows through the culvert. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Plac ...
is essentially a bridge that carries
Colorado State Highway 142 over the creek. Made of volcanic stone, the structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
See also
*
List of rivers of Colorado
This is a list of streams in the U.S. State of Colorado.
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Alphabetical list
The following alphabetical list includes many important streams that flow through the State of Colorado, including all 158 named rivers. Where available, t ...
References
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Rivers of Colorado
Rivers of Costilla County, Colorado