About Carnero Guard Station
Carnero Guard Station is situated in a high open meadow surrounded by forest at an elevation of 9,840 feet. The high-elevation cabin is located in the north-central area of the San Luis Valley in the Rio Grande National Forest. The guard station was first proposed in 1907 by the Cochetopa National Forest, and was originally named the John Smith Ranger Station after a homesteader who built a cabin near the site, but never filed on the land. Construction on the cabin began in 1908 and the name was changed to the Carnero Guard Station in 1916. The cabin is a good base camp for hunting, and fishing, which is available at several creeks within a short drive. The area also offers many opportunities for hiking and off-road vehicle adventures in summer, and cross country skiing and snowmobiling in the winter. There is an off-road vehicle trail about 10 miles southwest of the cabin that travels…
- Fees: $50 per night. Recreation.gov charges a reservation fee.
- Season: Late May – Late November
- Managed by: Rio Grande National Forest, FS
- Where: 22 mi north of Del Norte, CO · 37.98833, -106.42417
Things to do:
Official page for this camp (fees, closures, booking)
Weather by month
Typical daily highs and lows (°F), 1991–2020 NOAA normals. Best months: Jun–Aug (comfortable days, mild nights, little rain). Nights below freezing: Oct–May.
Fly over it in 3D, check today's weather and fire news, plan the drive and print a trip plan.
Trails near camp
| Trail | Open to | From camp | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnero Gs Road | ATV road | at camp | 0.2 mi |
| Carnero | ATV road | 0.1 mi | 17.2 mi |
| North Carnero | Horse | 2.6 mi | 5.9 mi |
Straight-line distance from camp, from Forest Service, BLM, state and OpenStreetMap trail data.
Good to know
No signal at camp
From the carriers' FCC coverage maps, which tend to be generous.The Milky Way casts shadows and the sky is crowded with stars.
Class 1 of 9, from NASA/NOAA night-light data.Propane: 24 mi
Nearest of each within 25 miles, straight-line.