The San Pedro Parks Wilderness is located in southern

Rio Arriba County Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line. Rio Arriba County comprises the Española ...

in northern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

and part of the

Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 feet (4000 m) at the summ ...

. It is (64 sq miles) in size. Elevations range from in the southwestern corner to at San Pedro Peaks near the center of the Wilderness. The Wilderness's average elevation is over 10,000 ft. Conifer forests, interspaced with grassy meadows, called "parks," characterize the wilderness. San Pedro Parks Wilderness is primarily visited for hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing. The

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail (CDT)) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico ...

passes through the Wilderness.

History

In 1931, San Pedro Parks was designated a "Primitive Area" by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

. In 1965 it was accorded

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

status and protection. U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles. Camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, but no roads, buildings, logging, or mining are permitted. Wilderness areas within National Forests and

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's ...

areas allow hunting in season San pedro parks -- NFS

Topography, flora, and fauna

San Pedro Parks Wilderness is located in the

Nacimiento Mountains The Sierra Nacimiento (official name), or Nacimiento Mountains, are a mountain range in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. They are just west of the more prominent Jemez Mountains near the town of Cuba, and are separated fro ...

, the western finger of the southernmost

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. The nearest town is

Cuba, New Mexico Cuba is a village in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 735. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. Description Located along the busy U.S. Route 550, Cuba has ...

. The wilderness is approximately by in size. Some of the hiking and horseback trails leading into the wilderness are steep but the heart of San Pedro Parks is a plateau, about five miles by six miles, at an elevation of 10,000 feet (3,100 m). Vegetation on the plateau consists of grassy meadows, called "parks," interspaced with forests of

Engelmann spruce ''Picea engelmannii'', with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is mostly a high-altitude mountain tree but also appears in watered canyon ...

, other conifers, and Quaking Aspen. The plateau is laced with several small streams which support populations of

Rio Grande cutthroat trout The Rio Grande cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarki virginalis''), a member of the family Salmonidae, is found in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in tributaries of the Rio Grande. It is one of 14 subspecies of cutthroat trout native ...

. San Pedro Peaks rises gently among the meadows to an elevation of feet. Wildflowers of many species abound. The meadows consist primarily of bluegrass, oat grass, sedge, rush, and Rocky Mountain iris. San Pedro Parks receives about of precipitation annually, making it one of the wettest areas of New Mexico. Snowfall is heavy in winter and snow cover can persist until early June. Many of the meadows are boggy from the heavy precipitation. San Gregorio reservoir is an artificial lake about one-half mile long and one-half mile wide at an elevation of on the southern edge of the wilderness. Animals found in San Pedro Parks are typical of the southern

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

, black bear.

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

, and, especially, elk. A large herd of elk summers in the wilderness. In addition, as of 2004 730 head of cattle are permitted to graze inside San Pedro Parks.

Climate

Part of the park has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

of the warm-summer type ( Köppen: ''Dfb'') and higher areas a

continental subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(''Dfc'') with short summers (using the 0 °C isoterm).

Recreation

About 100 miles of trails crisscross San Pedro Parks. The most popular is Vacas Trail, 7.5 miles (12 km) long. The trailhead is on Forest Road 70 and the trail leads north past San Gregorio Lake and continues to San Pedro Park, the largest meadow in the wilderness. Vacas trail intersects many other trails. About 8 miles (13 km) of the Continental Divide Trail passes through the northeastern part of the wilderness. Fishing for stocked

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

and native

is popular in the San Gregorio Lake and several small streams. Cross country skiing and snowshoeing are popular sports during the winter. In the fall, hunters visit the wilderness, seeking elk, deer, bear, and grouse.

Vacas Trail/San Gregorio Trailhead

Of all the trails in San Pedro Parks the Vacas trail is the most popular. Starting at the San Gregorio Trailhead, the Vacas trail is 10.69 miles to San Pedro Park, which is the largest "park" in the Santa Fe National Forest wilderness. The elevation at the San Gregorio Trailhead is approximately 9,000 ft, with the climb up to San Pedro Park being gradual. Along this trail there are several parks that appear as breaks from the primarily spruce vegetation.

References

{{Coord, 36, 05, 38, N, 106, 48, 48, W, scale:250000_source:GNIS, display=title Protected areas of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Wilderness areas of New Mexico Santa Fe National Forest Protected areas established in 1931 1931 establishments in New Mexico