Cuchara Recreation Area

Cuchara Recreation Area gives outdoor enthusiasts a myriad of choices, such as picnicking, hiking and walking, hunting, lake fishing, and four-wheeling.

The Cuchara Day Use Areas include four picnic areas. These sites are located along Forest Road 422, on Cuchara Creek, within the first two miles of the road.

This is a popular summer destination offering scenic mountain views, beautiful aspen forests, camping, and all the activities listed above.

Indian Creek Trail is recommended for novice ATV riders while Trinchera Peak provides more of a challenge. Portions of the trails may still be snow covered until early June.

Wildlife in the area includes mountain lions, wild turkey, and black bears.

The Cuchara River Recreation Area follows the river upstream, west of State Highway 12, the Scenic Highway of Legends, 4 miles to Blue Lake and the Blue Lake Campground.

At the campground is an intersection with a jeep trail heading southwest to the North Fork Trail (1.5 miles) and then continuing on above treeline to the ridgeline that defines the Sangre de Cristo’s.

From this upper end of the jeep trail, you can hike south and up onto Trinchera Peak or go north over a series of lesser peaks to the end of the Forest at Sulphur Springs. If you don’t go left or right, the road heads on another mile and ends at Bear Lake and the Bear Lake Campground.