Carson National Forest

October is one of the last comfortable months to fish the Cimarron River before winter settles into the high country, and this year the trip comes with a welcome bonus. The Cimarron flows east out of Eagle Nest Lake through Cimarron Canyon State Park, a narrow, thickly wooded canyon off U.S. 64 between Eagle Nest and the town of Cimarron. It is a small tailwater that fishes like a classic freestone mountain stream, with riffles, pocket water, bend pools, undercut banks and beaver ponds packed into a tight corridor.

Deer hunters with a tag for northeastern New Mexico have one week to get ready. The first any-legal-arms deer hunts of the fall in Game Management Units 54 and 55 open Saturday, October 24, and run through Wednesday, October 28, according to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish deer rule for the 2026-2027 license year.

Not every good October hike in Carson country has to end on a summit. Williams Lake Trail No. 62, above Taos Ski Valley, offers a shorter high-country outing with a real alpine payoff: a natural lake at 11,040 feet, tucked in a basin below Wheeler Peak in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness.

Some hikes earn their lake. The Middle Fork Lake Trail, Trail 487 in the Carson National Forest above Red River, is one of them — a difficult two miles one way that climbs from 9,650 feet to a quiet alpine lake sitting at 10,845 feet. Mid-October is close to the last comfortable window to make the climb before winter takes the high country back, and for hikers who like their trails steep, wooded and uncrowded, it is one of the finest short backpacks-or-day-hikes left on the fall calendar.

If a fall trip into the Carson National Forest brings a whiff of smoke on an otherwise clear day, it may be planned fire at work. Forest Service fire managers have laid out an early fall prescribed fire season across the forest, with potential locations stretching from Valle Vidal to Ojo Sarco on the east side and from Tres Piedras to Canjilon on the west side.

Hopewell Lake is one of the quietest pieces of trout water in the Carson National Forest, and October is the month to check its status before making the drive. The Forest Service currently lists the Hopewell Lake Day Use Area as closed, so anyone hoping for a late-season picnic or a last cast should confirm conditions with the Carson before heading up Highway 64.

Waterfowl hunters in Carson country get their full season this weekend. New Mexico's regular goose seasons open Saturday, October 17, in the Central Flyway, joining a duck season that is already under way in the North Zone. For hunters from Taos and Questa to Eagle Nest and Angel Fire, it is the start of the long fall window for geese over high-country lakes, river corridors and valley fields.

October is turning the Rio Grande into one of the best bets in northern New Mexico, and the clearest sign came this week from below Taos Junction Bridge. In the state fishing report published October 14, an angler fishing a fly rod caught and released six brown trout there, including a fish that measured 18 inches. That is the kind of report Carson country anglers wait for all fall.

High above Questa, Cabresto Lake offers one of the quietest corners of the Carson National Forest in October. The Forest Service lists the small campground there as open, with four semi-dispersed campsites at 9,500 feet on a level ridge overlooking the lake, surrounded by high peaks. It is a simple, high-country base for anglers and hikers who prefer fewer crowds to full facilities, and mid-October is a fine time to see it before winter weather settles into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The clock is ticking on one of the easiest fishing stops in Carson National Forest country. The Red River City Ponds, right in the town of Red River, are open to fishing from March 1 through November 15, according to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. That leaves about a month from mid-October to make a last visit before the ponds close for the season.