The San Luis Valley Outdoor Report for the week of Dec. 10, 2025.
We’re joined by Alamosa Citizen intern and professional runner Bri Robles on the latest episode of the Outdoor Citizen podcast. Robles spends her mornings running under the San Luis Valley sky, even in the cold winter.
Host Marty Jones and Robles talk about how to dress for the cold and how to fuel yourself to recreate in the cold. Dressing right and prepping your mind are half the battle.
Tune in here, or wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you enjoy.
OUTDOOR CONDITIONS
Warm, says the weather man. La Niña continues to deliver warmer-than-usual conditions for the San Luis Valley. November 2025 registered as the second warmest November on record with an average daily temp of 36.2 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
The forecast into the Christmas season remains for a warmer December than what we’d like to see. The start of the new year, 2026, is looking the same with some chance for moisture right around the end of the year into 2026.
Our friends at the San Juan Nordic Club do report that volunteer groomers were able to groom Rock Creek Trails out to the meadows. It’s thin in places but a good start. The upper trails have been packed, according to Suzanne Beauchaine.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
BACKCOUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL
San Juan Nordic Club will host the Winter Wildland Alliance’s Backcountry Film Festival on Friday, Dec. 12, at the Monte Vista Church Project to promote winter recreation and raise funds for grooming efforts. Doors open at the Church Project, 256 South Broadway St., at 5:30 p.m. Films will start at 6 p.m. with an intermission at 7 p.m. Get tickets here.
CROW PARTY TRINKET EXCHANGE
Come to the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative, 602 Main St. in Alamosa, on Sunday, Dec. 21, for a trinket exchange! The event is 3:30-4:30 p.m. Bring a gently used trinket to trade with other corvid-minded individuals. Think things that sparkle, shine, or are just satisfying to the part of our brain that goes, “Oh, I like this!” No need to buy a new item, and please, no clothing items. Jewelry, pins, stickers, crystals, tchotchkes and other oddities are perfect for this gathering. If you don’t have anything and would still like to come, we’ll have a few extras on hand for you to choose as your offering! Water, tea, and coffee will be available.
RIO FRIO ICE FEST
The Rio Frio Ice Fest is nearly here and there’s a solid bit of water on the Rio Grande to boast. The Rio Frio Ice Fest hosts one of America’s unique 5k races. The race kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 24, 2026. This spectacular 5k race is conducted entirely on the frozen Rio Grande.
This is a chip-timed race. Race bibs, chips and swag bags are available for pickup from 6-7:30 p.m. at Knee Knockers Bar & Grill on Friday, Jan. 23, and from 8-9:30 a.m. at the Alamosa Senior Citizens Center the day of the race.
If you have any questions about this race, please contact the race director at dcarleo@alamosa.gov. To learn more go to RioRaces.com.
OUTDOOR NEWS
NATIONAL PARK FEES INCREASING FOR INTL. VISITORS
The Department of the Interior is increasing national park entrance fees for non-residents and international visitors. Launching on Jan.1, 2026, the Annual Pass will cost $80 for U.S. residents and $250 for nonresidents. Non-residents without an annual pass will pay a $100 per person fee to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee.
The national parks passes will be available in a fully digital format through Recreation.gov. Visitors will be able to purchase and use their passes instantly, store them on mobile devices and link them to physical cards for added convenience. According to the Interior Department, digital validation tools and updated training for field staff will ensure faster entry and a smoother visitor experience across the National Park System.
GREAT SAND DUNES VISITS
Visitors to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve are trending down slightly for 2025. Through November the Great Sand Dunes has seen 423,364 visitors, down 1.43 percent year-to-date from 2024. December typically brings another 8,000 or so visitors, one of the lightest months in the 12-month period. The Great Sand Dunes had its highest number of visitors ever in 2021 when 602,613 visitors hit the dunes.
PIKAS ON THE DECLINE
They kinda look like a rabbit or even a mouse hare and they make this high-pitched whistle when alarmed. They’re called American pika and they are on the decline in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and other habitats in the Rocky Mountains, according to CU researcher Chris Ray. “It’s a fun encounter when you’re hiking on a trail in the Rockies and a pika yells at you,” says Ray, lead author of the study and a research associate at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at CU Boulder. “If you don’t have that anymore, your experience in the wild is degraded.”
The study published in the journal “Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research,” wildlife biologists found that warming rocks and tundra areas are becoming too hot for the small animals to have habitable space. Warm temperatures increase the pika’s body temperature and they use the rocks for shelter, but at higher elevations those temperatures are increasing, leading to dwindling habitat.
Some studies have suggested that the pika will be one of the first rocky mountain dwelling animals to go extinct by the end of the century. In some areas, the study suggests, pika populations have decreased by more than 50 percent.
BEARS CONFLICTS ON THE INCLINE
While reports of bears doing mischievous things have slightly increased across Colorado, it was an average year for bear mischief in the San Luis Valley, says state wildlife manager Rick Basagoitia. “We once again dealt with situations where bears simply took advantage of easily avoidable situations and became used to easy access to human foods. Trash remains the leading source of conflict, and fruit trees continue to attract bears. We need the public to be vigilant about securing trash and picking up fallen fruit.” Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates there are 17,000 to 20,000 bears in Colorado and every year the majority of incident reports involve bears trying to access human food sources. There were 5,259 bear reports between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1 of this year, up from 4,996 in 2024. This year’s total ranks as the highest since 5,392 in 2019.
WOLF UPDATE
Colorado gray wolves continue to move throughout the state, showing activity in watersheds near population centers. Colorado Parks and Wildlife clarified how watersheds are highlighted as wolves move in and out of them.
In November, CPW’s Gray Wolf Activity Map showed much of the San Luis Valley’s watershed lit up with wolf activity. The map seemingly showed movement from Rio Grande County, through Alamosa County and into Costilla County.
“A lone individual briefly stepped foot in the western-most portion of Rio Grande County in what is named the City of Alamosa-Rio Grande watershed on a [Hydrology Unit Code] 10 map,” CPW said in a FaceBook post earlier in November.
While the lone gray wolf was present in the western most portion of this watershed in Rio Grande County, even just briefly, “there has been no collared wolf activity in the other counties.”
Additionally, CPW noted, there has been no collared wolf activity in any part of the San Luis Valley since Oct. 23. READ MORE