Pike & San Isabel National Forests
Cimarron & Comanche National Grasslands

USDA Forest Service
Pike & San Isabel
National Forests
Cimarron & Comanche
National Grasslands
2840 Kachina Drive
Pueblo, CO 81008
719-553-1400

Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
719-553-1404

Comanche National Grassland

Picture Canyon Picnic Area - Elevation 4,300 feet 

LOCATION:

From Springfield, Colorado drive south on Highway 287 for 17 miles; turn right (west) on County Road M for 8 miles; turn left (south) on County Road 18 for 8 miles; turn right (south) at the Picture Canyon road sign (Forest Service Road 533) and continue 1 mile to the parking area.

From La Junta, Colorado drive south on Highway 109 for 58 miles; turn left (east) at Highway 160 for 25 miles; turn right (south) at County Road 10 for 9 miles; turn left (east) on County Road M for 8 miles; turn right (south) on County Road 18 for 8 miles; turn right (south) at the Picture Canyon road sign (Forest Service Road 533) and continue 1 mile to the parking area.

ATTRACTIONS:

Picture Canyon is home to a variety of plants, wildlife and American Indian rock art. Petroglyphs as well as pictographs can be found along the canyon walls. Some petroglyphs may have had astronomical significance (PDF, 203KB); plan to visit Picture Canyon during the Fall or Spring equinox when limited public tours are offered. Picture Canyon is open to the public year-round for self-guided touring. Scenic vista and unusual rock formations are the main attraction of the 4 mile loop hike and horseback riding trail.

SPECIAL USER FEE:

None

USE:

Heavy - spring and fall
Moderate - summer
Light - winter

FACILITIES:

3 covered picnic tables with grills (fires allowed in grills only)
1 vault toilet
4 mile loop trail with horseback cutoff
8 mile loop trail
drinking water not available

No electricity, drinking water, or garbage cans are available. Charcoal fires in grills only. Please pack out all trash.

TRAIL SAFETY:

Please carry water with you. Spring water is not safe to drink

Look for cairns, or stacked stone posts to help you locate the trails. Please stay on the trails.

Pay attention to the trail. Shortgrass prairie and rocky areas are home to rattlesnakes and cacti.

MAP:

CONSERVATION & PROTECTION:

As you enter this area, please remember that you are the guardian of this unique canyon. Rock art, stone tools, charred bones, and rubble from dwellings provide evidence that people thrived on the Comanche National Grassland for thousands of years. Each relic of the past holds a clue that archaeologists use to reconstruct life here long ago. These cultural resources are ancient, fragile, and irreplaceable. If destroyed or removed, the information they reveal is lost forever. And so is a legacy that belongs to us all.

Please do not touch rock art. Oils from your hands promote deterioration of the drawings and the rock surface. Do not draw or scratch graffiti on rocks or cliff faces. Graffiti defaces a fragile, irreplaceable legacy.

All cultural resources on public lands are protected by law. The Antiquities Act and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act impose fines and penalties for disturbing or removing artifacts. Please help protect our past. Report any acts of vandalism to the Comanche National Grassland office in La Junta: (719) 384-2181 or in Springfield: (719) 523-6591.

We thank you for observing the rules for this area and for helping us to preserve this valuable resource. Please be part of the solution, not part of the problem