The San Luis Valley

The San Luis valley is a nearly flat plateau nestled in the southern end of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Its elevation varies from about 7800 feet at the northern end of the valley to about 7500 feet at the southern end. The valley is large measuring approximately 70 miles wide at its widest point and about 120 miles long. Six Mile Lane crosses the valley in an east/west direction and connects the town of Mosca in the center of the valley with the Great Sand Dunes National Monument in the north east corner of the valley. The road was repaved one year prior to the Cheetah's world speed record and so was very smooth, however, the road cuts through a Bison preserve and included several cattle grates to prevent the escape of the Bison. The record was set on a 3.5 mile part of the road starting just west of the first cattle crossing as the road is traversed west from the monument towards Mosca.