Wild Rivers Recreation Area is located in north central New Mexico within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Two rivers that run through the park, the Rio Grande and Red River are National Wild and Scenic Rivers. NM 378 that traverses the recreation area is designated a New Mexico Scenic Byway. Recreational opportunities include whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, fishing and camping.
The recreation area is located in the high plains 20 miles (32 km) from Questa. It is accessed via NM 378 off of NM 522. [1] It is located west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, east of the Tusas Mountains on the Taos Plateau volcanic field. [2] The Rio Grande and Red River, both designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, intersect in the park at an 800-foot (240 m) deep canyon. It has ancient forests of juniper and piñon trees. [1] Geographic features include volcanic cones, black rock canyons, and cliffs. [3]
The recreation area has the following services: [1] [2] [3]
The recreation area is wheelchair accessible. [1]
Wildlife in the park include mountain blue-birds, red-tail hawks, mule deer and prairie dogs. Fishing and boating is available with stipulations for fishing licenses, boating permits and other requirements. Mountain bikes may traverse roads and the Guadalupe Mountain Trail, Rinconada Loop Trail, and Red River Fault Trails. [1] Whitewater rafting, kayaking, and rock climbing activities are also available at the park. [2]
The recreation area is open throughout the year, [3] but during the winter months road conditions should be checked prior to travel. [2] The Visitor Center is open between Memorial Day and Labor Day. [3]
The byway is a designated one of the New Mexico Scenic Byways and operated between an area two miles north of Questa and Cerro. The 13 mile byway—NM 378—has panoramic views that include many mountain peaks like Blanca Peak. It also provides access to park facilities, like the Wild Rivers visitor center and parking lots to campgrounds and trail heads. [2] [3]
The recreation is managed by the Taos Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. [3]
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It was founded by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Chacón in 1795, to act as fortified plaza and trading outpost for the neighboring Native American Taos Pueblo and Hispano communities, including Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, El Prado, and Arroyo Seco. The town was incorporated in 1934. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,716.
Questa is a village in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,767 at the 2000 census. The village has trails into the Rio Grande Gorge, trout fishing, and mountain lakes with trails that access the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that overlook the area. Questa is on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, near the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red River. The "Gateway to the Rio Grande del Norte Monument", its visitors can drive to an overlook of the Red River meeting the Rio Grande in the depth of the gorge. The Carson National Forest parallels Questa to the east. The Columbine Hondo Wilderness and Latir Peak Wildness are in the Carson National Forest close to Questa.
Red River is a resort town in Taos County, New Mexico, United States, located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 477 at the 2010 census. Red River is a prime spot for tourism on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, and is 36 miles from Taos, New Mexico.
The Pecos River originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, NM, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet (3,700 m) feet. The river flows for 926 miles (1,490 km) before reaching the Rio Grande near Del Rio. Its drainage basin encompasses about 44,300 square miles (115,000 km2).
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountains run from Poncha Pass in South-Central Colorado, trending southeast and south, ending at Glorieta Pass, southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mountains contain a number of fourteen thousand foot peaks in the Colorado portion, as well as all the peaks in New Mexico which are over thirteen thousand feet.
The Rio Grande Gorge is a geological feature in northern New Mexico where the watercourse of the Rio Grande follows a tectonic chasm. Beginning near the Colorado border, the approximately 50-mile (80 km) gorge runs from northwest to southeast of Taos, New Mexico, through the basalt flows of the Taos Plateau volcanic field. The gorge depth is 800 feet (240 m) just south of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, which spans the gorge 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Taos.
Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway is in the U.S. state of Wyoming and spans most of the distance from Cody, Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park. The 27.5-mile (44.3 km) scenic highway follows the north fork of the Shoshone River through the Wapiti Valley to Sylvan Pass and the eastern entrance to Yellowstone. Most of the scenic byway is contained within Shoshone National Forest and is also known as US Highway 14 (US 14), US 16 and US 20.
The Valle Vidal is a 101,794 acres (41,195 ha) mountain basin in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains within the Carson National Forest, northwest of Cimarron, New Mexico. Elevations in the basin range from 7,700 to 12,554 feet. Valle Vidal is noted for its pristine scenery and wildlife. It was protected from oil and gas exploitation by an act of Congress in 2006. The Valle Vidal borders on Vermejo Park Ranch, Philmont Scout Ranch, Sandia Pueblo, and other private lands.
The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River is a U.S. National Wild and Scenic River that protects 260 miles (420 km) of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas. The designation was first applied in 1968 to a 55.7-mile (89.6 km) stretch of the river in New Mexico; an additional 191.2 miles (307.7 km) of the river in Texas was added in 1978, followed by another 12.5 miles (20.1 km) in New Mexico in 1994.
Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Preserve, the 1,103,897 acres (4,467.31 km2) forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of Chaves, Eddy, Lincoln, and Otero counties. The three Ranger Districts within the forest contain all or part of four mountain ranges, and include a variety of different environmental areas, from desert to heavily forested mountains and sub-alpine grasslands. Established to balance conservation, resource management, and recreation, the lands of the Lincoln National Forest include important local timber resources, protected wilderness areas, and popular recreation and winter sports areas. The forest headquarters is located in Alamogordo, N.M. with local offices in Carlsbad, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso.
Smith River National Recreation Area is located northwestern California, United States. The Smith River National Recreation Area is in Six Rivers National Forest and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Created by Congress in 1990, Smith River National Recreation Area forms a northern border to Redwood National and State Parks.
The 56-mile (90 km) High Road to Taos is a scenic, winding road through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Santa Fe and Taos.. It winds through high desert, mountains, forests, small farms, and tiny Spanish Land Grant villages and Pueblo Indian villages. Scattered along the way are the galleries and studios of traditional artisans and artists drawn by the natural beauty. It has been recognized by the state of New Mexico as an official Scenic Byway.
The Red River of New Mexico, USA, is a short, perennial river that flows down the north slope of Mount Wheeler in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, flows west past the towns of Red River and Questa and then south into the Rio Grande just south of the La Junta Campground. The Red River is Taos’s winter fishery with prime time being from October through early April. The Red provides visitors the unique opportunity to fish and ski on the same trip to Taos. A myriad of springs flow into the river greatly increasing the flows and keeping the water temperatures in the optimum trout fishing range of between 45 and 60 degrees making the Red an ideal winter trout fishery.
The Rio Pueblo de Taos, also known as Rio Pueblo, is a tributary of the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico. From its source in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains it flows about 33 miles (53 km), generally south and west, to join the Rio Grande in the Rio Grande Gorge. On the way the river passes by Taos and through Taos Pueblo.
Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The national heritage area includes a section of the upper Rio Grande Valley that has been inhabited by the Puebloan peoples since the early Pre-Columbian era.
The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is an approximately 242,555-acre (98,159 ha) area of public lands in Taos County, New Mexico, proclaimed as a national monument on March 25, 2013 by President Barack Obama under the provisions of the Antiquities Act. It consists of the Rio Grande Gorge and surrounding lands, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway is a New Mexico Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway located in Northern New Mexico. It begins and ends in Taos, New Mexico.
The Trail of the Ancients is a New Mexico Scenic Byway to prehistoric archaeological and geological sites of northwestern New Mexico. It provides insight into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans and the Navajo, Ute, and Apache peoples. Geological features include canyons, volcanic rock features, and sandstone buttes. Several of the sites are scenic and wilderness areas with recreational opportunities.
Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway is a US National Scenic Byway commemorating Chiricahua Apache warrior Geronimo. The road is also recognized by the New Mexico Department of Transportation as a scenic and historic byway. The town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico lies at the center of this trail with a southern end at San Lorenzo, Grant County, New Mexico and a northern end at Beaverhead Ranger Station. The Federal Highway Administration gives the total length of this scenic road as 154.0 mi (247.8 km).
New Mexico State Road 75 is a 20.6 mi (33.2 km) long state highway in Northern New Mexico, located in the Southwestern United States. NM 75 is located on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains starting near the Rio Grande, passes through Pircuris Pueblo, and ends as a segment of the High Road to Taos near Peñasco.
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Coordinates: 36°40′47.12″N105°40′23.03″W / 36.6797556°N 105.6730639°W