Rio Grande National Forest · Colorado

Archuleta

7.0 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 839 · trail class 2 · typical grade 8-10% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Boat launches

Along the way Big Meadows Reservoir Boating Site

Trailhead Big Meadows/Archuleta Trailhead # 839 Drive there

Archuleta Trailhead - Trails # 741 & # 740 the Forest Service's write-up

The Archuleta trail is composed of 2 segments. Trail 741 is 4.3 miles long. It begins at Forest Road 121 and ends at Forest Trail 740.1. Trail 740.1 is 6.99 miles long. It begins at Trail 740 and ends at the Forest Boundary with the Tierra Amarilla Grant.

The trails are open for the following uses: Off Highway Vehicles (OHV) less than or equal to 50 inches wide, motorcycles, snow mobiles, mountain bikes, horseback riding, backpacking, hiking, cross country skiing and snow shoeing.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Big Meadows/Archuleta Trailhead # 839 the Forest Service's write-up

No Fees · reservation required · season June to

This trailhead is located at the reservoir Boat Ramp on the northeast corner of the lake.

The facility consists of a parking lot, pit toilet, and trail signing. This is a major trailhead to the Weminuche Wilderness and Archuleta Lake as well as a connector to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST).

Restrictions No Overnight Camping at the trailhead.  No motorized uses within the Weminuche Wilderness Area.  No camping, horse holding, or campfire building within 200 feet of the shoreline at Archuleta Lake.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Rio Grande National Forest

Other trails from the Big Meadows/Archuleta Trailhead # 839

All 227 trails in Rio Grande National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.