When in the San Luis Valley you should drop by the Colorado Gator Farm aka Reptile Park. Located in Mosca, Colorado which is only 17 miles north of Alamosa Colorado on Highway 17. The park is opened year around for both young and old! Kids under 5 get in for free and seniors get a discount.

Many still refer to the Park as the Gator Farm, but it has expanded since it opened to the public and added many new attractions such as Ostriches, Emus, donkeys and over 100 species of reptiles including Rattlesnakes, Gaint Pythons, Tortoises, Crocodiles and more. Still it’s main attraction is the gators and the park has well over 400 gators!

You can do a lot more than just look at the gators, you get to hold them and even attend an Alligator handling class, if you are “brave” enough to do so. This is the only class in the world where you are able to get hands-on experience with an 11 foot alligator. You will learn how to handle a small gator and then gradually build up to a larger size alligator, the whole way up to the 11 footers! The three hour class fee is a hundred dollars and you must sign up and pay in advance.

The Colorado Reptile Park’s address is 9162 CR 9N., Mosca CO, 81146 and for you GPS die hards out there the GPS Coordinates 37 42.373N 105 52.201W (but seriously you can’t miss the gaint alligator signs on Hwy 17 or give them a call at 719-378-2612)