USFS · Colorado

Rio Grande National Forest

Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km2) U.S. national forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the world's largest high deserts located around mountains. The Rio Grande rises in the forest, and the Continental Divide runs along most of its western border. The forest lies in parts of nine counties. In descending order of land area within the forest they are Saguache, Mineral, Conejos, Rio Grande, Hinsdale, San Juan, Alamosa, Archuleta, and Custer counties. Forest headquarters are currently located in Del Norte, Colorado. There are local ranger district offices in Del Norte, La Jara, and Saguache.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.9 million acresUSFSCO54 campgrounds within 10 mi152 Forest Service sites213 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
4 fires
active
East Bench Piles Rx (prescribed burn) · 17 mi from the center · 5 acres
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateColorado
Size1.9 million acres
Forest Service code0209, region 02
Center point37.73° N, 106.61° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 17)

Boundary map

3 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Rio Grande National Forest20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.36 inches of precipitation, 5.3 inches of snowFebruary: 0.39 inches of precipitation, 5.7 inches of snowMarch: 0.72 inches of precipitation, 8.2 inches of snowApril: 0.79 inches of precipitation, 5.0 inches of snowMay: 0.80 inches of precipitation, 1.3 inches of snowJune: 0.60 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 1.50 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 1.66 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.06 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 0.81 inches of precipitation, 2.5 inches of snowNovember: 0.48 inches of precipitation, 4.8 inches of snowDecember: 0.51 inches of precipitation, 5.8 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 20.9°F averageFebruary: 26.6°F averageMarch: 36.1°F averageApril: 43.3°F averageMay: 52.1°F averageJune: 60.6°F averageJuly: 65.0°F averageAugust: 63.5°F averageSeptember: 56.6°F averageOctober: 46.2°F averageNovember: 33.1°F averageDecember: 22.6°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 in10 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Del Norte 3Ene, 17 miles from the center point at 7,845 feet, station USC00052184 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 10 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 39 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

36 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 18 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Alamosa Campground
First-come5 sites
FS · Inside
Aspen Glade
Reservable32 sites
FS · Inside
Big Meadows Campground and Picnic Area
ReservableCO
FS · Inside
Big Meadows Reservoir Campground (South Central Co)
Reservable47 sites
FS · Inside
Buffalo Pass Campground
First-come19 sites
FS · Inside
Cathedral
First-come22 sites
FS · Inside
Comstock
First-come6 sites
FS · Inside
Conejos Campground
First-comeCO
Show 4 more

42 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 152

The Forest Service lists 152 recreation sites in this forest, among them 37 campgrounds, 25 trailheads, 14 backpackings, 10 day hikings. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 92 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 213 named trails in this forest, 1,218 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Continental Divide NST ↗139.7
La Garita SD ↗57.1
Archuleta ↗19.7
Elk Creek ↗19.7
Dry Creek ↗16
Deep Creek ↗15.8
Lake Fork ↗15.8
Ute Creek ↗13.9
Fern Creek ↗13.7
Cotton ↗13.1

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 213 trails in Rio Grande National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    East Bench Piles Rx

    17 mi from the center point · 5 acres

  • Prescribed
    Wolf Creek Piles Rx

    20 mi from the center point · 2 acres

  • Prescribed
    Sargents Mesa Piles Rx

    41 mi from the center point · 116 acres

  • Prescribed
    Boogie Piles Rx

    41 mi from the center point · 171 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Park & Preserve · 4 mi
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
National Register listings within 15 miles · 70 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Colorado

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Hiking Colorado's Western Slope
    Bill Haggerty, 2025
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Dog Hikes Colorado
    Emma Walker, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Easy Day Hikes Colorado Springs
    Stewart M. Green, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best wildflower hikes Colorado
    Chris Kassar, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best hikes Colorado's Indian Peaks Wilderness
    Kent Dannen, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Rio Grande National Forest?

1.9 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Rio Grande National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Rio Grande National Forest in?

Colorado.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Rio Grande National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Rio Grande National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 37.726° N, 106.613° W. Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve is 4 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Rio Grande National Forest right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest East Bench Piles Rx at 17 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Rio Grande National Forest?

Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve (4 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Rio Grande National Forest?

The National Register has 70 listings within 15 miles, including Shenandoah--Dives Mill and Pike's Stockade.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Rio Grande National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.