Carson National Forest

Encompassing 1.5 million acres of northern New Mexico, Carson National Forest is home to Wheeler Peak at 13,161 feet, the highest point in the state, and spans the rugged Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountain ranges. The forest contains six federally designated wilderness areas, including the Wheeler Peak Wilderness and the Pecos Wilderness shared with Santa Fe National Forest, offering vast stretches of alpine tundra, spruce-fir forests, and high mountain meadows. Taos Ski Valley, nestled within the forest on the slopes of Kachina Peak, is renowned for its challenging expert terrain and receives over 300 inches of snow annually. The Rio Grande Gorge slices through the forest's western reaches, creating an 800-foot-deep volcanic chasm that has been designated a Wild and Scenic River and is spanned by the iconic Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Centuries-old Hispanic land grant communities and pueblos border the forest, reflecting a rich cultural heritage of acequia irrigation, traditional grazing, and firewood gathering that continues to this day. The Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway loops 83 miles through the forest past alpine villages, aspen-covered mountainsides, and the ghost town of Elizabethtown, one of New Mexico's earliest gold rush settlements.