Trail Restoration Reopens La Junta Access for Questa Hikers

Questa residents have reduced access to public lands due to the decade-long closure of La Junta Trail, one of northern New Mexico’s most iconic hiking routes to the confluence of the Red River and Rio Grande.

When conservation leaders recognized that severe erosion and unsafe stairs threatened the permanent closure of this beloved trail, they reached out to LOR with a solution to complete the final phase of a comprehensive restoration project.

LOR’s funding will help Friends of Rio Grande del Norte hire an engineer to design and a builder to install safe stairs, completing the final piece of the trail restoration effort. Once reopened, this trail will restore access to generations of local hikers and hunters while protecting sensitive canyon terrain through professional engineering that addresses drainage and erosion issues.