Carson National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
195 acres1.1 mi of trail
County Road 235237A1684
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in El Rito
8% of El Rito’s land is conserved: 219 acres
The biggest trail networks: Carson National Forest (1.1 mi). 5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross El Rito, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
219 acres · of 4.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
3 ac
2.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does El Rito have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, El Rito is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of El Rito’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NM town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NM 0.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3 acres) · NM 7 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home5% of residents within a half mile of a park · NM 67% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 38%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
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 Carson National Forest, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Senator Matias L. Chacon Recreational Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
219 conserved acres
8% of El Rito’s land. Who manages El Rito’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service195 ac
Bureau of Land Management22 ac
State land board2 ac
National Forest · 195 acNational Public Lands · 22 acState Resource Management Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 195 | Open |
| Taos Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 22 | Open |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State land board | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
County Road 2350.5 mi
16840.3 mi
237A0.3 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Softball
1Tennis
1Basketball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in El Rito: April 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 56 | 63 | 73 | 83 | 86 | 83 | 77 | 66 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
February is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 2.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in El Rito →
Questions about parks and trails in El Rito
Where can I hike in El Rito?
The longest trail networks: Carson National Forest, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of El Rito is conserved land?
8% of its land, against a typical 4% for a New Mexico town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on El Rito’s trails?
Carson National Forest and Senator Matias L. Chacon Recreational Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near El Rito?
147,440 acres of parks and open public land lie inside El Rito or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 224 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does El Rito have?
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from El Rito 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 →