Uncompahgre National Forest

Uncompahgre National Forest
Uncompahgre National Forest
	Wetterhorn Peak in Uncompahgre National Forest
Location	Colorado, United States
Nearest city	Montrose, CO
Coordinates	37°58′59″N 107°46′55″W / 37.983°N 107.782°W
Area	955,229 acres (3,865.67 km2)
Established	June 14, 1905
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
Website	Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests

Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres (1,492.55 sq mi, or 3,865.68 km²)^[1] in (in descending order of land area) parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, Hinsdale, San Juan, and Delta Counties in western Colorado. Its headquarters are in Delta County, in the city of Delta. It borders the San Juan National Forest to the south.

Within the national forest boundaries can be found the arid Uncompahgre Plateau and the northern portion of the San Juan Mountains. The forest contains three alpine wilderness areas: Uncompahgre (formerly the Big Blue Wilderness), Mount Sneffels, and Lizard Head.

Uncompahgre National Forest was established on June 14, 1905. The Uncompahgre, Grand Mesa, and Gunnison National Forests were all administered separately until 1954 when Grand Mesa and Uncompahgre started to be administered as a single unit, with Gunnison added in 1973. Today, Uncompahgre National Forest is administered jointly with the Grand Mesa and Gunnison National Forests from the Forest Supervisor's Office in Delta, Colorado.^[2] There are local ranger district offices located in Montrose, Gunnison, and Norwood.^{[citation needed]}

Recreation

The varied climate, sparse population, and abundance of sun make the Uncompahgre National Forest popular with jeepers, atv'ers, sight seers, and hikers. A common recreational activity within the Forest boundaries is scenic driving, thanks in part to the Million Dollar Highway.^{[citation needed]} Some other local attractions include Trout Lake and Bridal Veil Falls, near Telluride.^[3]

There are several dirt roads within the Uncompahgre; some are mining roads left from the 1800s mineral rush, others are occasionally used by the Forest Service. Paved roads include the San Juan Skyway, Alpine Loop, the Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway and Owl Creek Pass, which is gravel.

In 2024 the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests purchased the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Track site near Ouray, Colorado. The trackway includes 134 fossilized footsteps of a sauropod from the Late Jurassic. It is the world's only existing example of a 270-degree looped turn and has the most continuous steps.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Colorado with Uncompahgre National Forest in red
The Million Dollar Highway along the Uncompahgre Gorge, just south of Ouray, Colorado

Wilderness areas

There are three officially designated wilderness areas lying within Uncompahgre National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. One of them lies mostly in a neighboring National Forest, while another one extends onto land that is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (as indicated).