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]
Questa is a village in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,770 at the 2010 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, US in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 542 at the 2020 census. Red River is on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, and is 36 miles (58 km) from Taos.
The Rio Grande Gorge is a geological feature in northern New Mexico where the watercourse of the Rio Grande follows an eroded chasm. Beginning near the Colorado border, the approximately 50-mile (80 km) gorge runs from northwest to southwest 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.
The San Juan Skyway Scenic and Historic Byway is a 236-mile (380 km) All-American Road, National Forest Scenic Byway, and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan, and San Miguel counties, Colorado, United States. The byway forms a loop in southwestern Colorado traversing the heart of the San Juan Mountains. The San Juan Skyway reaches its zenith at Red Mountain Pass at elevation 11,018 feet (3,358 m). Mesa Verde National Park was one of the original UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Silverton Historic District and the Telluride Historic District are National Historic Landmarks.
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, and other private lands.
Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers and is administered by the United States Forest Service. The Forest Service's "mixed use" policy allows for its use for recreation, grazing, and resource extraction.
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, in the United States. 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.
Smith River National Recreation Area is a protected area located in northwestern California, United States. The 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 meets the northern border of 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, United States, 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. 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 stream in Taos County, New Mexico, United States, that a tributary of the Rio Grande. 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.
The Trail of the Ancients is a collection of National Scenic Byways located in the U.S. Four Corners states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. These byways comprise:
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, United States, 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).
Pot Creek Cultural Site is an abandoned 13th century pueblo located on private land owned by Southern Methodist University and on public Carson National Forest land in Taos County, New Mexico.
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.
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.
