West of Aguilar, the Spanish Peaks rise into national forest and wilderness

The twin Spanish Peaks are a landmark you can see from much of Las Animas County. The land around them is not all the same, though, and the rules shift as you climb.

Lower down, much of it is San Isabel National Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Higher up, part of it is the Spanish Peaks Wilderness. “Wilderness” is a specific legal designation, not just a description. In designated wilderness, motor vehicles and motorized equipment are not allowed, and neither is mechanized transport such as mountain bikes. Most visitors travel on foot or on horseback. The one wheeled exception in the rules is a wheelchair, for people who need one.

This matters before you plan a day out. A road or trail that is fine for a vehicle or a bike on forest land may dead-end at a wilderness boundary where those uses stop. Dispersed camping, campfires, and group size can also carry their own rules by ranger district, and those can tighten during fire season.

Before heading into the Spanish Peaks country, check the current rules for that ranger district with the U.S. Forest Service.