Saguache County (suh-WATCH ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368. The county seat is Saguache.
History
Saguache County was formed December 29, 1866, in the Territory of Colorado when it was extracted from the northern half of Costilla County. A partition from Lake County on February 9, 1872, added the northwest section of the present-day county.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.05%) is water. It is the 7th largest of Colorado's 64 counties.
Adjacent counties
- Chaffee County - north
- Fremont County - northeast
- Custer County - east
- Huerfano County - southeast
- Rio Grande County - south
- Alamosa County - south
- Mineral County - southwest
- Hinsdale County - southwest
- Gunnison County - northwest
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 285
- 20px State Highway 17
- 20px State Highway 112
- 20px State Highway 114
National protected areas
- Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
- Great Sand Dunes Wilderness
- Gunnison National Forest
- La Garita Wilderness
- Rio Grande National Forest
- Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
Trails and byways
- Colorado Trail
- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
- Great Parks Bicycle Route
- Liberty Road historic mail route open to foot, horse, and bicycle travel between Crestone and the ghost towns of Duncan and Liberty crossing the Baca Mountain Tract Rio Grande National Forest.
- Medano Pass Primitive Road
- Montville Nature Trail
- Mosca Pass Trail
- Old Spanish National Historic Trail
- Sand Ramp Trail, a hiking trail within the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve which skirts the east and north of the dune field.
- Western Express Bicycle Route