The Wild and Scenic Rio Grande

Take Me to the River

The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River- the name conjures up grand adventure, and perhaps a little danger. And well it should, for soon after it leaves Colorado the Rio Bravo del Norte, as early Spanish explorers called it, courses through a gorge 800 feet deep with rapids too treacherous for all but the most daring. But what I offer you is a wonderful walk that lets you descend into once boiling lava, skip down trails that switchback across the rugged basaltic face of a massive canyon, bask along the furious white water, and yes friends, live to tell Aunt Martha about it.

The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic Recreation Area lies atop the Taos Plateau, close to the base of the Sangre de Cristo Range. Strung along the rim of the Rio Grande Gorge is a number of campsites, supplied with water, from which various trails lead down to the river itself. The very last campground is La Junta-there begins a one and a quarter mile trail that descends to the canyon bottom, follows the river past two springs and winds back up to the top, from which point you must walk back to where you started, a round trip total of about seven miles.

The la Junta Trail traverses a steep canyon wall, the base resting at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red River. A series of gradual switchbacks takes you through lichen-covered volcanic boulders, interspersed with junipers gnarled by centuries of winter and spring winds. The views are impressive. From the east the Red River cuts its own canyon through a course lined with big Ponderosa pine that softens the water to turquoise, until it reaches the Rio in a roaring white torrent. Due west, on the opposite rim of the gorge, is Cerro Montoso, an extinct shields volcano.