Two northern New Mexico mountain towns that have long been linked by a winding highway will soon be linked by trail as well. The Carson National Forest has approved the Questa to Red River Trail, an approximately 11.9-mile unpaved, multi-use pathway between the Village of Questa and the Town of Red River.
Questa District Ranger Amy Simms approved the plans on April 14, 2026, according to the Forest Service. That decision moves the project, listed by the Forest Service as Project 67508, from years of planning into its next phase. Approval is not an opening date, and no opening date was announced in the approval notice, so hikers and riders should not expect a finished trail this fall. What the approval does provide is a clear picture of what is intended.
The route would roughly follow New Mexico State Highway 38 between Questa and Red River, staying close to the river corridor that gives the town its name. Bridges are part of the plan, crossing the Red River multiple times and Columbine Creek once. Trailheads, bridges and parking access points are included in the associated infrastructure, details that matter for a route designed to work for everyday outings as well as longer point-to-point trips.
Most of the trail, about 10.6 miles, would be an engineered path with an unpaved soft surface, native surface or compacted crusher fines, built to allow multimodal recreation. In plain terms, that points to a shared route for walking, hiking and riding, rather than a narrow wilderness footpath. Near Red River, an additional primitive section of about 1.3 miles would extend along mostly National Forest System lands, offering a rougher, more natural finish at the eastern end.
The setting helps explain the appeal. Highway 38 climbs from Questa through the Red River canyon, passing campgrounds, trailheads and side canyons in the Questa Ranger District before reaching Red River and continuing over Bobcat Pass toward Eagle Nest. A separate off-highway path gives visitors and residents a way to experience that canyon at human pace, with the sound of the river nearby and frequent chances to stop, fish, picnic or turn around for a shorter out-and-back.
For now, the practical advice is simple: watch for Forest Service updates on construction timing and any temporary closures, and keep using the district's existing trails and recreation sites in the meantime. When work begins, trail users should expect the usual cautions around crews, equipment and bridge construction near water.
When completed, the Questa to Red River Trail would add something the Carson has not had in this corridor before: a continuous, low-elevation link between two communities, built for repeat use by locals and visitors alike. That is a significant addition to the forest's 330 miles of trails, and one worth following as it moves from approval toward the ground.