San Miguel River South Fork Preserve

Why You Should Visit

More than 80 percent of Colorado’s wildlife depends on rivers and riverside habitat. The San Miguel, one of the few remaining naturally functioning rivers in the West, supports some of the best riparian (streamside) habitat in the Upper Colorado Basin.

Natural flood cycles and a history of very little development have kept many parts of this river in pristine condition—much as they would have appeared before the state was settled.

Perhaps the most striking of the three TNC-protected preserves along the San Miguel, the South Fork Preserve lies below the towering 14,000-foot Wilson Peak of the western San Juan Mountains.

The preserve also fronts a backdrop of several incredible sights, including Ophir Needles, a designated National Natural Landmark, and Ames Wall, which is composed of stratified rock types (granite, sandstone and shale).

What to Expect

The preserve is open year-round, dawn to dusk.

Explore the preserve through a handicap-accessible, 180-foot elevated boardwalk and viewing platform with interpretive signage. Or hike along a half-mile gravel trail of moderate difficulty.

Use of other power-driven mobility devices (OPDMDs) may only operate on the existing roads and pullouts. OPDMDs must not be operated in dangerous or reckless manner. A person may be asked to leave the site if the OPDMD is being operated in an unsafe or disruptive manner. OPDMDs must yield to pedestrians.

Things to see

Plants

• This site plays host to the rare narrowleaf cottonwood-Colorado blue spruce/black twinberry plant community.

Animals

• Black bear
• Beaver
• Mountain lion
• Peregrine falcon
• River otter

You could say the ranch is a kind of birder’s paradise. The site has been designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. To make the most of your trip, consider visiting the two other Nature Conservancy preserves downstream: San Miguel Canyon and Tabeguache.