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Recreation

Trails webpages and information will not be available until May 2025. Thank you for your patience while we work through getting the most updated, accurate information for you during this time.

Come and enjoy the natural splendor of the San Juan Mountains and your public lands! The stunning scenery ranges from high desert mesas and canyons to high alpine peaks and meadows. Recreational opportunities abound from fishing to biking, hunting to hiking, OHV riding to simply going to for drive along one of our scenic forest roads. 

In addition, did you know that the San Juan National Forest includes four Wilderness Areas and a National Monument? Explore Chimney Rock National Monument, a culturally-rich area where you can take a step back in time and imagine the landscape as it was a thousand years ago with cultivated fields and settlements extending from the valley floors to the mesa tops.

Showing: 1 - 10 of 66 results

Aspen Guard Station

Hiking Biking Off Highway Vehicles (OHV)
Aspen Guard Station is a beautiful cabin. Built between 1938-1940, this cabin offers a visit to the past  while being near enough to civilization to have a foot in both worlds.  This old cabin…

Blanco River Group Campground

Site Open
Hunting, Fishing and Shooting Hiking
The Blanco River Group Campground is a convenient stopping point between Chama, New Mexico, and Pagosa Springs, about 15 miles southeast of Pagosa Springs. This group campground offers one group…

Bradfield Campground

Site Open
Water Activities
The Bradfield Campground is located 30 miles northwest of Dolores in the Dolores River Canyon below McPhee Dam. The campground is large and open with 22 campsites, all first-come, first-serve. It…

Bridge Campground

Site Open
Picnicking Hunting, Fishing and Shooting Hiking
Bridge Campground offers 19 campsites in a flat, open area all on a first-come, first-serve basis between May and September.Plenty of large sites offer views of the high peaks to the north. Horses…

Buckles Lake Trailhead

Horse Riding and Camping Hiking
The Buckles Lake Trailhead leads to both Buckles Lake Trail (688) and V Rock Trail (578).Buckles Lake Trail is 3 miles long. It begins at Forest Road 663m - Buckles Lake Road, continues past…

Burro Bridge Campground

Site Closed
Horse Riding and Camping Hunting, Fishing and Shooting Hiking Off Highway Vehicles (OHV)
Two miles northeast of Dunton, Burro Bridge is one of three campgrounds along the West Dolores Road (Forest Rd. 535). The campground has 14 sites with a few shade trees on a sloping hillside above…

Cayton Campground

Site Closed
Picnicking Hunting, Fishing and Shooting Off Highway Vehicles (OHV) Hiking
Cayton Campground, located off Highway 145 north of Rico has 27 campsites and 3 picnic sites along the Dolores River. Two loops offer a choice of sites. The lower loop near the river has 14 mostly…

Chris Park Group Campground

Site Open
Water Activities Hiking Biking Horse Riding and Camping Picnicking Hunting, Fishing and Shooting
The Chris Park Group Campground, one mile south of Haviland Lake on Forest Rd. 166, has 3 group campsites. Two group sites accommodate 75 campers each. A third group site accommodates up to 150…

Cimarrona Campground

Site Open
Picnicking Hunting, Fishing and Shooting Water Activities
Cimarrona Campground is located next to Cimarrona Creek with views of the meadow and Williams Reservior to the south. The campground has 21 sites. There are both sunny and shady sites to choose…

Coal Creek Trailhead

Hiking Horse Riding and Camping Off Highway Vehicles (OHV)
The Coal Creek Trailhead is the beginning of Coal Creek Trail (581). The trail is 8.8 miles long. It begins at Forest Road 667 - East Fork Rd. and ends at Forest Road 666 - Fawn Gulch Road.The trail…