Santa Fe National Forest

National Forest, Roughly 1.6 Million Acres In Two Blocks Either Side Of The Rio Grande; Holds The Pecos, San Pedro Parks, Dome And Chama River Canyon Wildernesses And The Truchas Peaks At 13,102 Feet · Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe National Forest covers about 1.6 million acres in two blocks that face each other across the Rio Grande valley: the Sangre de Cristo on the east, and the Jemez Mountains on the west. The eastern block holds the Pecos Wilderness, which is the high country of northern New Mexico - the Truchas Peaks at 13,102 feet, alpine lakes at 11,000 feet and a trail network that carries more traffic than anywhere else in the state above treeline. The western block is volcanic, wrapped around the Valles Caldera, and holds the San Pedro Parks Wilderness, an unusual plateau of wet subalpine meadow at 10,000 feet, plus the Jemez corridor along NM 4 with Battleship Rock, Jemez Falls and several hot springs reached on foot. It is working land with grazing permits and land grant communities, it is free to enter, and it closes large areas for fire most springs. Valles Caldera and Pecos National Historical Park both sit inside its boundary and are separate federal units with their own rules, which confuses people every season.

11 Forest Lane, Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87508, United States

Open all year, day and night, with no gate and no entrance station. Ranger district offices at Espanola, Cuba, Jemez Springs, Pecos and Coyote keep weekday daytime hours and are where current road, fire and trail information comes from. Developed campgrounds run roughly May to October with water off outside that. High roads and passes are snow-closed from about November to May, and fire restrictions and full area closures are routine March to June.

Santa Fe National Forest on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos