Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest

Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests offer a diversity of outdoor opportunities and special places to explore. These lands are yours to visit, to care for and enjoy!

Photo credit: USDA Forest Service

The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland is located in north central Colorado. The forests and grassland encompasses 1.5 million acres and extends north to the Wyoming border, south of Interstate 70 to Mount Evans, west across the Continental Divide to the Williams Fork area and includes short grass prairie east of I-25. Headquarters are located in Fort Collins, Colorado with district offices in Boulder, Fort Collins, Idaho Springs, Granby and Ault, Colorado.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/arp

Wilderness Areas/Wild & Scenic Rivers

Byers Peak Wilderness - Byers Peak Wilderness encompasses 8,801 acres in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Grand County containing a variety of eco-zones from low-lying lodgepole pine forest and riparian drainages to alpine tundra fields of over 12,000 feet in e

Cache La Poudre Wilderness - Use is low and only one trail, the Mount McConnel National Recreation Trail, exists in the wilderness.

Comanche Peak Wilderness - The Comanche Peak Wilderness is becoming very popular with summer backpackers, hikers and anglers. It is also popular with hunters in the fall.

Indian Peaks Wilderness - Indian Peaks Wilderness is a popular destination for day hiking, backpacking, fishing, and viewing wildlife.

James Peak Wilderness - Adjacent to the Continental Divide on the eastern slope, James Peak Wilderness includes several peaks over 13,000 feet and more than a dozen alpine lakes.  

Mount Evans Wilderness - The Wilderness area includes two 14,000-foot peaks, and contains alpine tundra, bristlecone pines, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats.

Neota Wilderness - There are only 1.5 miles of a single, primitively maintained trail in this Wilderness, so this area is for the adventurous recreator. Please plan carefully.

Never Summer Wilderness - Never Summer Wilderness shares its eastern boundary with Rocky Mountain National Park and includes diverse landscapes from forested ridges to steep tundra ranging in elevation from 8,900 to 12,520 feet.

Rawah Wilderness - Lakes and streams are inhabited with lake, cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout. Graylings are also found in this area.

Vasquez Peak Wilderness - There are over 15 miles of trail across the alpine tundra and only one trail that climbs through a spruce/fir forest.

Invasive Species