Colorado National Forests

[View from Pikes Peak Barr Trail. Photo: Miguel Vieira] Colorado’s vast national forests are probably its biggest asset. They preserve, protect and promote the responsible use of millions of acres of public land in this state only. Read our federal lands blog. View all federal lands.

National Forests in Colorado

Eleven national forests cover millions of acres throughout the Rocky Mountains. They are spread across the state, west of the plains. Year round outdoor recreation can be found in these free, federal lands, from fishing and camping, to snowmobiling and Nordic skiing.

Arapaho near Golden	Grand Mesa near Collbran	Gunnison near Gunnison
Pike near Woodland Park	Rio Grande near La Jara	Roosevelt near Bellvue
Routt near Steamboat Springs	San Isabel near Salida	San Juan near Bayfield
Uncompahgre near Delta	White River near Minturn

Main Attractions to Visit in National Forests

Each of the eleven nation forests in Colorado are unique, with similar, yet different landscapes and ecosystems. Whether you’re out west exploring the mesa tops or in the San Juans marveling at the steepest, you’ll love exploring these national forest highlights:

in Arapaho National Forest

Arapaho NRA Granby	Berthoud Pass Winter Park	Echo Lake Evergreen
Guanella Pass Georgetown-Grant	Mount Evans Idaho Springs	Saint Louis Creek Fraser
Stillwater Pass Grand Lake	Vasquez Ridge Winter Park	Williams Fork Reservoir Parshall

in Grand Mesa National Forest

Grand Mesa Byway Collbran

in Gunnison National Forest

Bowerman Ghost Town by Pitkin	Cottonwood Pass Buena Vista-Almont	Kebler pass Crested Butte
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Aspen	Silver Thread Lake City-Creede	Taylor Park Reservoir Almont
Tincup Pass Nathrop-Almont	Waunita Pass Pitkin

in Pike National Forest

Antero Reservoir Hartsel

in Rio Grande National Forest

San Juan Skyway Southwest CO

Silver Thread Lake City-Creede

Weminuche Durango

in Roosevelt National Forest

Cache La Poudre Fort Collins-Walden	Neota Wilderness Fort Collins	Teller City by Gould
West Magnolia Nederland

in Routt National Forest

Buffalo Pass Steamboat-Walden	Fish Creek Falls Steamboat Springs	Flat Tops Trail Yampa-Meeker
Hahns Peak Lake Clark	Rabbit Ears Pass Steamboat Springs	Mount Zirkel Wilderness Steamboat Springs

in San Isabel National Forest

Anges Vaille Falls Nathrop	Clear Creek Reservoir by Buena Vista	Cottonwood Pass Buena Vista-Almont
Hancock by Buena Vista	Independence Pass Twin Lakes-Aspen	Saint Elmo by Buena Vista
Tincup Pass Nathrop-Almont	Vicksburg by Buena Vista	Winfield by Buena Vista

in San Juan National Forest

Lizard Head Wilderness Telluride	McPhee Reservoir Dolores	San Juan Skyway Southwest CO
Vallecito Lake Bayfield	Weminuche Wilderness Durango

in Uncompahgre National Forest

Lizard Head Wilderness Telluride

San Juan Skyway Southwest CO

Silver Thread Lake City-Creede

in White River National Forest

Ashcroft Ghost Town by Aspen	Dillon Reservoir Dillon	Flat Tops Trail Meeker
Flat Tops Wilderness Meeker	Green Mountain Reservoir Kremmling	Independence Ghost Town by Aspen
Independence Pass Aspen	Maroon Bells Scenic Aspen	MB-Snowmass Wilderness Aspen

Guide to National Forests in Colorado