Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service;National Park Service
5,595 acres4.3 mi of trail
Bushnell Lakes Trail 1402Stout Creek Lakes Trail 1403Rainbow Trail
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yet
–Not graded
Outdoors in Coaldale
Few parks or trails are on the map in Coaldale
The biggest trail networks: Sangre de Cristo Wilderness (4.3 mi). 44% of Coaldale’s land is conserved, about 8,704 acres. 32 miles of mapped trail cross Coaldale, 1.0 per square mile of land.
Conserved land
44%
8,704 acres · of 31.0 sq mi of land
Trails
32 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
12,451 ft
Galena Peak
Lakes & rivers
2
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, with 4.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
Managed by Colorado Parks & Wildlife
31 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
8,704 conserved acres
44% of Coaldale’s land. Who manages Coaldale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service7,856 ac
State fish & wildlife675 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits172 ac
State parks13 ac
National Forest · 7,856 acState Other or Unknown · 629 acUnknown Easement · 172 acState Park · 39 acState Conservation Area · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 178 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Isabel National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 7,855 | Open |
| Short Creek Baldy State Trust Lands State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 629 | Restricted |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - BLM Site State Park | State fish & wildlife | 19 | Open |
| Coaldale Ponds State Habitat Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 9 | Closed |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - Vallie Bridge State Park | State fish & wildlife | 8 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters State Park | State parks | 7 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - Coaldale State Park | State fish & wildlife | 5 | Open |
| Rio Grande National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 2 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Coaldale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Coaldale
Galena Peak12,451 ft elevation · In Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
DirectionsHamilton Baldy9,488 ft elevation
DirectionsHeyden Baldy9,016 ft elevation
DirectionsShort Creek Baldy8,537 ft elevation
DirectionsFleming Mountain7,923 ft elevation
DirectionsPole Mountain6,988 ft elevation
DirectionsGobblers Knob6,811 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.9 miHorses · 3.2 miUnpaved · 10.7 mi
Rainbow Trail5.6 mi
Bushnell Lakes Trail 14022.2 mi
Stout Creek Lakes Trail 14031.1 mi
Lazy T-H0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Coaldale: May to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 57 | 67 | 77 | 82 | 79 | 73 | 61 | 48 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
January is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 1.8 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Coaldale →
Next door
Coaldale and its neighbors
Coaldale has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaldale | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Howard | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Coaldale
Where can I hike in Coaldale?
The longest trail networks: Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, 4.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
Are dogs allowed on Coaldale’s trails?
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness and Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Coaldale?
161,487 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Coaldale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,717 of them inside the town line.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Coaldale neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →