My experience with Kit Carson is undoubtedly bolstered by the sublimely transcendent experience of…read moreMichael Franti concerts (each time I've come here it's been for him). But I'd say this park lives up to the Taos standard that captures your heart with the nearly disastrous temptation of leaving the world you knew behind and submerging yourself instead in the blissful soul-spa that only New Mexico mountain hippies can create. It's grassy. It's shady. AND it's sunny. It's got goatheads I hear, but I never found them. It's backdrop is the marvelous little town of Taos and all the lovely mountains that surround it. Good for a picnic I think, but I didn't see tables, and I think the port-o-potties were set up for the event, so you might need to pee before you get there. Fortunately, it's also right in the middle of their downtown/old town district, across the street from all the little shops and cafes you can handle. So go have amazing brunch at Michael's and use their john while you're there. Then go back to the park and nap off the gluttonous hangover on your blanket in the grass.

My husband and I came here to look at the Kit Carson grave because we had extra time on our hands…read more Plus, I have a thing for old cemeteries. First off, it was very confusing as to how to get into the cemetery. We had to pass through the park, which is under construction and just looked very rundown. We had to use the porta potty and it was horrible. Urine covered the floor. The small cemetery, itself was pretty rundown. The only thing that made my visit worthwhile was that there was some vandalism that reminded people that heroes did not rest here but rather thieves against indigenous people. It was obvious that Kit Carson's grave had been restored after many years of vandalism.

Carson National Forest - while in desperate need of more rainfall - is still such beautiful wild…read moreland. This part of the forest is nearest Taos, NM. If there was a more "New Mexico" town than Santa Fe that I could recommend to newcomers of the Land of Enchantment, it would be Taos. And you would be virtually engulfed by the Carson NF. You'll see deer and elk. Maybe - just maybe - you'll see the lone moose that I have heard in this area, affectionately referred to as Marty. Actually I haven't heard of him in a while. He was quite the craze in recent years. I hope he is king of the mountains and not in downtown Espanola or something. Aside from those more prominent larger herbivores, let's not forget the pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, black bears, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, all the smaller critters, and cougars too. I have yet to see a cougar and do not want to. I was more recently disheartened and disgusted by news that I learned on August 20, 2026, about "Suspected destructive devices recovered in New Mexico forest, reward offered" (ABC News). https://abcnews.com/US/suspected-destructive-devices-recovered-new-mexico-forest-reward/story?id=135812837 What? Why? Like some Ted Kaczynski wannabe? Talk about a bored begrudging ineffective citizen of the world, though, man. Pack it in, pack it out please. This forest is very special.

Carson covers a lot of land. We drove one way round the Enchanted Circle up to Angel Fire and the…read moreother way to Ojo Caliente from our crib in arroyo Seco. We reached 9,000 feet, it was cool and the Aspens had almost turned during early November. Still beautiful and so deserted we had the road to ourself. A bit nippy for hiking for us softies but we saw a few parked cars.

The Ranger was friendly! $20 per car, cash or card. The hike trails are both about 1/4 of a mile…read more Prepare to get your shoes and legs wet if you go through the bottom trail. Top trail has a few steep sections. We spent a little over an hour (hiking both trails). Got some good pictures and enjoyed nature!

This waterfall blew my mind! I didn't know that such a large waterfall existed in NM! I'm so glad…read morewe hiked it, and I'll be back! The water was pretty frigid, but still fun!

Really wonderful park in heart of Santa Fe for young, old, 2 and 4 legged. Big playground area with…read moreplenty to climb and run around. Also a unique series of nicely landscaped trails with plenty of benches. Big grassy areas for picnic, and several tables as well. Well done! The parking lot was a bit hard to find. It's on a short narrow road - Callejon- off of Paseo de Peralta. It's a small road, easily missed. It's like an alley behind a big building, parallel to the railroad tracks. If you miss it, turn into Camino de la Familia (next turn onto another small road but more visible) - there is a paid lot there with access to the park. Both my dog and I enjoyed this park!

This review is for the park. The Playground feels as if it was created 10 years ago and things have…read moregone wrong since then. Some of the slides are literally gone, while others could not be used because the ground is too far from the bottoms. Some of the toddler area interactive objects are cute and fun, but altogether it seems like things have gone long forgotten here. Parking is one dollar an hour. All of the rope climbing stuff looks cool, but my kids are kind of young for that.

I'll never get tired of the view towards the Rio Grande River from Overlook Park in White Rock. On…read moreevery trip to Northern New Mexico (however far apart), you'll find me here (hot or not) admiring the scenery. Last week was but one experience that I hope to repeat.

We came back in May and it's just not as nice. No waterfall. It's hotter. The sunlight is so bright…read moreand air is drier so there's less color saturation/contrast in the area. Sept and October are the months to visit.

Nice to hike the trails along the Rio Grande. Signage, security on site, some art vendors, overall…read morenice views of the river and mountains.

Did the Rio Grande Gorge West Rim Trail (off Rest Area Rd) with a giant group of friends and found…read morethe hike/stroll to be rather boring. Left the comfort of our Airbnb to check out the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and would have preferred visiting the actual bridge instead of taking pictures from so far away. This particular trail is out and back. Great if you love peering into gorges but there's otherwise nothing interesting to experience.

Its a bridge. People were selling things in the parking lot that looked nice. The view was cool…read more There was construction in the area that made it a pain to get in but once in it was a nice view.

Located about 10 miles from Taos, NM stands this majestic bridge!…read more While on vacation, we decided to come see the gorge, the Rio Grande River, and the bridge that spans it. And what a sight it was to behold! We parked in the Rio Grande Gorge Rest Area. The bridge & gorge are viewable from here. There are sheltered picnic tables and restrooms here. In 1963 the bridge was started and was completed in 1965. It is part of the US Highway 64. There are three spans connected to create one bridge 1,280 feet long (two 300-foot-long approach spans with a 600-foot-long main center span). September of 2012, the bridge underwent a $2.4 restoration which included structural steelwork, a new concrete deck surface, new sidewalks, ramps, curbs, and gutters. We were unable to walk out onto the bridge, but we did walk out to the rim. The dirt path was easy to navigate. Once near the rim, it becomes rocky and there is no barrier to keep you safe from falling off the edge, so watch your step! Since I am not very steady of my feet, I didn't go out as far as I would have liked to. A few more steps and I would have had a better view, but I stopped. Sadly, the bridge was closed to pedestrians in Sept. 2025 due to suicides. I feel that by not getting to walk across the bridge, my experience was hindered. I would have loved to get a full head on view of the gorge! For me, having the view from here would have been safer and more ideal! You've probably seen this bridge since it has appeared in a few movies including Natural Born Killers, Twins, White Sands, She's Having a Baby, The Signal, Paul, Vacation, Wild Hogs, and Terminator Salvation. Locals call this bridge the "High Bridge" or the "Gorge Bridge". It is the seventh highest bridge in the U.S. It is located in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. If we make it back here in the future, I hope we will be able to walk to the center of the bridge!

Frijoles Creek flows right through the Bandalier National Monument. It is a gentle waterway here as…read moreit passes under foot bridges and along creeks dotted with river rock. But that was not always the case as the gigantic 2011 Las Conchas wildfire burned through the monument's watershed. According to a story in the Albuquerque Journal newspaper, " the fire left thousands of acres charred and denuded, and cleared the way for huge floods through Frijoles Canyon in 2011 and again in 2013 that threatened key features of the (Bandalier) monument and the visitors center." Yes, little Frijoles Creek (El Rito de los Frijoles, Spanish for "the little river of beans,") turned into a mighty raging river of water.The floods here washed out Frijoles Rim Trail and the bottom part of the Falls Trail down to the Rio Grande. The Bandelier website says the "Frijoles Canyon Trail between Alcove House and the Upper Crossing "is basically a streambed hike at this point - passable but challenging in places due to erosion, rockfalls, fallen trees, log jams, flood debris, dense vegetation and numerous stream crossings," said the Journal newspaper at the time. Frijoles Creek generally flows at 10 cubic feet per second or less. But in September 2013, it was rushing along at 9,000 cfs, park rangers say. That's a lot of water moving around. Frijoles Creek was so powerfully flooded that 300-year old trees came toppling down along it's banks. But this Creek is so important because it is one of the few places in the plateau region where water flows year-round This reliable source of water must have been very important to the Native Peoples who utilized the H20 for drinking and cooking. Animals and wildlife would have been attracted to the area to drink at the stream. A wide range of plant life would have flourished along the stream. The Creek I saw at Bandalier in May 2015 was a peaceful stream of cold river water. The water is so cold because it flows down from the melted snow up in the mountains above the plateau. The Creek has waterfalls. Both Upper Frijoles Falls and Lower Frijoles Falls feed the Creek stream. But these waterfalls are not really the main attraction, as not much water flows over them. However, the hike up to see the Falls and the beautiful rocks around them are fantastic. I have to give Frijoles Creek 5 YELP STARS for it's unusual name and the fact that this hardy watershed has recently survived both a raging wildfire and torrential flooding. It's consistent flow of water enabled the Ancestral Pueblo people to survive and flourish in this sometimes arid and harsh climate.