Santa Fe National Forest closes campgrounds, roads, trails for construction and fire recovery

Two separate closure orders on the Pecos-Las Vegas Ranger District have shut down campgrounds, an equestrian area and a key access road while a much broader burned-area order keeps major recreation corridors off-limits through Dec. 31, 2027. Santa Fe National Forest announced the changes May 6, and the hit lands squarely on the kind of high-country itinerary many Northern New Mexico travelers build around the Pecos.

The first order closes Field Tract Campground, Panchuela Campground and Jacks Creek Campground and Equestrian Area, along with the road north of Cowles at the junction of State Road 63 and Forest Road 555. That closure runs from May 4 through Sept. 30, 2026, and the forest said it is tied to vault toilet and water system construction. The project will demolish 8 existing toilet facilities and replace them with 8 new vault toilets on the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District because the current mix of composting toilets, vault toilets and one flush toilet facility is posing human health and safety concerns for both the public and federal workers.

The bigger disruption is the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon burned-area order, which reaches deep into the travel map. Barillas Lookout, Forest Road 83, Forest Road 263, Forest Road 263B, Forest Road 263C, Skyline Trail 251, El Porvenir Campground, E.V. Long Campground, Baker Flat Picnic Site, Oak Flats Picnic Site, Big Pine Picnic Site and Burro Basin Trailhead all fall under the closure. The forest said the restrictions are necessary because of post-fire conditions and public safety concerns, with exemptions for landowners, emergency personnel and permit holders. For hikers, campers and equestrians trying to stitch together a route through the Sangre de Cristo and Pecos country, it is a hard reset, not a minor detour.

That burned area still carries the weight of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, which burned 341,471 acres across four counties in northern New Mexico and is described as the largest wildfire in state history to date. It began when two prescribed fires on Santa Fe National Forest land escaped control and later merged, then burned from April 6 to Aug. 21, 2022, when it was finally declared contained. Three years later, the recovery work is still extensive: as of April 2026, the forest reported 661 acres of hazard tree abatement, 4,020 acres of reforestation, 37 miles of trail maintenance, 62 miles of roads receiving short-term temporary maintenance or improvements and 21,007 acres of erosion-control seeding.

There is still some usable ground in the district, but it comes with caveats. Santa Fe National Forest opened the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District’s 2026 season on April 2, and Hermits Peak Trail #223 remains open for hiking, backpacking and horseback riding. Even there, the forest warns that burned areas can be difficult to navigate and reliable route-finding tools are essential. In this corner of northern New Mexico, access is now a line-by-line proposition.