n the remote corners of the San Luis Valley, the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve offers in 2019 by the International Dark Sky Association. Today, the preserve is part of a coalition of organizations and government agencies in southwestern Colorado working to create the largest dark sky reserve in the world. The proposed Sangre de Cristo Dark Sky Reserve covers 4,200 square miles, straddling its namesake mountain range and stretching from Salida to the New Mexico border and from Alamosa east to LaVeta, where light pollution would be forever limited. The goal: to preserve the glowing wilderness above 14,000 feet, keeping the sky dark so the stars can shine bright.
