Pike and San Isabel National Forests · Colorado

Homestead

4.8 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 1883 · trail class 2 · typical grade 5-8% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 37.0142, -102.7634 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Picture Canyon the Forest Service's write-up

season Open Year Round to

Picture Canyon allows visitors to step back in time to discover remnants of Plains Indian cultures in rock art and early 20th century homestead remains. It is also an excellent site for viewing Bullock's oriole, Scaled quail, several species of towhees, wrens and sparrows, Ladder-backed woodpecker, Eastern phoebe and Blue grosbeaks. Scenic vistas, unique rock formations, gentle sandstone canyons and rolling hills are the main attractions on the 13 miles of hiking and horseback riding trails that start here.

No camping is allowed in Picture Canyon.

Restrictions Park in designated areas only. No shooting. Use existing fire grates only. No camping is allowed. 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 at 719-384-2181 or in Springfield at 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.

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Pike and San Isabel National Forests

All 592 trails in Pike and San Isabel National ForestsFind 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.