There’s still quite a bit of vegetation poking through the snow at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Photo Courtesy NPS

VALLES CALDERA NEWS

Valles Caldera National Preserve will close the Valle Grande entrance station and main entrance road on Friday, Dec. 25 in observance of the Christmas holiday. Visitors are welcome to access the preserve on foot or bike. The entrance station and main gate will reopen at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 26.

Winter activities include hiking or mountain biking. Visitors who like to watch wildlife might catch sightings of coyotes, elk, and bald eagles. Once the snows are deep enough, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are wonderful ways to explore the preserve. The Valle Grande Bookstore, managed by Los Amigos de Valles Caldera, has snowshoe rentals on site.

The popular vehicle permits have been restricted to the cabin district, which the extent of snow removal on the preserve roads. Vehicle access into the backcountry will resume May 15, 2021, if road conditions allow.

Winter hours for the preserve are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All delayed openings and closures due to winter weather and road conditions will be posted as an alert on www.nps.gov/vall, on Twitter @VallesCaldera, on Facebook www.facebook.com/VallesCaldera/, and on the school closures section of KOB, KOAT, and KRQE news websites.

For more information, contact Valles Caldera National Preserve at (575) 829-4100, option 3.