Santa Fe National Forest - New Mexico

Hike among rock cliffs, jagged peaks and bristlecone pine. The Santa Fe National Forest is brimming with diversity in wildlife, recreation and scenery, enough to satisfy the pickiest of visitors!

With 1.5 million acres of landscape ranging from the open cattle country of the Glorieta Mesa to the high peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Range to the still-active volcanic lands of the Jemez Mountains in the west, this southwestern forest is more reminiscent of the Colorado Rockies.

Visitors to the Santa Fe National Forest will love vistas of jagged peaks, glacial cirques and dramatic rock cliffs, dotted with Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, white fir, corkbark fir, ponderosa pine, limber pine, bristlecone pine and aspen. Nature lovers will enjoy watching for the elk, deer, bear, turkey and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep that call Santa Fe National Forest home. Look for the cliff dwellings and many-hued sandstone bluffs that make the forest unique, as well as the huge Pecos Wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, one of the best and most popular hiking destinations in the Southwest. The scenery and cool summer temperatures draw vacationers to go camping, horseback riding, river rafting, lake or stream trout fishing, and in the winter, enjoy activities like downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. The Santa Fe National Forest has campgrounds scattered throughout for those who want to extend their break, and also available are sites for dispersed car and backcountry camping.

The Santa Fe National Forest is located in Northern New Mexico, around the communities of Santa Fe, Espanola, Cuba and Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Rio Chama runs along the northwest end of the Forest and the Rio Grande splits the Forest from north to south. Interstate 25, U.S. Highway 84 and State Highways 4 and 96 all run through portions of the Santa Fe National Forest.