Trail Proposed Between Questa and Red River

Local conversations about the possibility of a trail between Questa and Red River have been ongoing for nearly a decade. The Carson National Forest and partners are now taking these talks to the next level. Let's look at the conceptual proposal and how you can get involved.

Proposal | Connections | Background | Get Involved

The Proposal

• An approximately 11-mile trail between Eagle Rock Lake in Questa and the western boundary of Red River.
• Four additional access points off Highway 38
• About 10 bridges would be needed to traverse the route.

The trail would be open to:

• Hiking
• Fishing
• Equestrian
• Bicycling, including class 1 and 2 e-bikes

Did You Know? E-bikes are currently only allowed on motorized routes on the Carson National Forest. This trail would be the first on the forest where some e-bike types would be allowed. Learn more about the Forest Service’s e-bike policy.

Connections

The proposed trail would connect to or near:

• Six existing campgrounds
  • Goat Hill, Columbine, La Bobita, Fawn Lakes, Elephant Rock, Junebug
• Columbine Canyon Trail (#71)
• Elephant Rock motorized trail system
• Hunting areas
• Existing rock climbing locations

Offshoot trails could be proposed in the future.

An Opportunity for Questa and Red River. While not included in this proposal because it would be outside the forest boundary, adjacent cities can connect existing or future recreation infrastructure to the proposed trail, and otherwise use the trail as a jumping off point for economic and tourism development opportunities.

Some brainstorming ideas from the community already exist, such as extending the trail from the Forest into Red River’s town limits or through Questa to Cebolla Mesa.

Background

The community-initiated idea for a trail between Questa and Red River has been around for years. Some formal discussions began in 2017, with meetings organized by the National Forest Foundation to envision and develop a proposal. Now, the Enchanted Circle Trails Association (ECTA) has partnered with Carson National Forest for the environmental analysis phase, which begins with this scoping effort.

Get Involved

This is the scoping portion of the process, as laid out by the National Environmental Policy Act. A conceptual proposal is released, opening up a 30-day comment period for the public, government agencies and other groups to help refine the proposal and identify issues to consider during environmental analysis.

• Read the proposal and view the map.
• Submit a comment by Feb. 13, 2025.
• Attend a meeting for a presentation with Q&A and map-and-topic stations for comment and discussion with Forest staff.
   

How to Comment:

Online

Online comments are preferred and can be submitted on the project website (under the heading “Get Connected,” select Comment / Object on Project).

By Email 

in Adobe (.pdf), MS-Word (.doc or .docx), rich text format (.rtf), text (.txt), or hypertext markup language (.html) to: comments-southwestern-carson-questa@usda.gov.

By Mail 

Send to:

Amy Simms, Questa District Ranger, Carson National Forest
c/o Tami Torres, Attn: Questa to Red River Trail Project
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, N.M. 87571

In Person

Office hours, for those who wish to hand deliver their comments to the Questa Ranger District Office at 184 State Hwy. 38, Questa, N.M. 87556, are Monday (12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.) and Wednesday and Friday​ (8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.).

Next Up

Once the commenting period ends, forest planners will begin the environmental analysis phase, reviewing comments and writing reports on several aspects of the project, such as hydrology, wildlife and more.

It is anticipated the level of analysis needed for this project will result in an environmental assessment, meaning the project would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment.

The draft environmental assessment may be released as early as summer 2025, starting a 30-day comment period to identify missing required information or analysis.