Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service;National Park Service
1,584 acres3.9 mi of trail
Stout Creek Lakes Trail 1403Rainbow TrailForest Court
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Howard
Few parks or trails are on the map in Howard
The biggest trail networks: Sangre de Cristo Wilderness (3.9 mi). 26% of Howard’s land is conserved, about 2,819 acres. 7.6 miles of mapped trail cross Howard, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Conserved land
26%
2,819 acres · of 16.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.6 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
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 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
Managed by Colorado Parks & Wildlife
34 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,819 conserved acres
26% of Howard’s land. Who manages Howard’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service2,459 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits314 ac
State parks38 ac
State fish & wildlife33 ac
National Forest · 2,459 acUnknown Easement · 314 acState Park · 71 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 315 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 | 2,459 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters State Park | State parks | 38 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - BLM Site State Park | State fish & wildlife | 30 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - Coaldale State Park | State fish & wildlife | 3 | Open |
Trails & water
5 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.6 miHorses · 1.5 miUnpaved · 4.2 mi
Rainbow Trail2.6 mi
Forest Court1.5 mi
Stout Creek Lakes Trail 14031.5 mi
Arrowhead Court0.3 mi
Rolls Royce0.1 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Howard: 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 | 13.2 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 56 | 66 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
January is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 1.8 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Howard →
Next door
Howard and its neighbors
Howard has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Coaldale | — 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 Howard
Where can I hike in Howard?
The longest trail networks: Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, 3.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
Are dogs allowed on Howard’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 Howard?
149,068 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Howard or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,888 of them inside the town line.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Howard 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 →