When is peak fall color at Cuba-Rio Puerco Land Utilization Project?

Our forecast puts peak color at Cuba-Rio Puerco Land Utilization Project around 16 Oct. The four days to aim for are 15 to 18 Oct. We publish our error rate.

Cuba-Rio Puerco Land Utilization Project Fall Foliage: 2026 Peak Color Forecast

Q: What trees turn color at Cuba-Rio Puerco Land Utilization Project?

Quaking Aspen, Narrowleaf Cottonwood, Gambel Oak, Rocky Mountain Maple, Bigtooth Maple. Aspens turn gold in the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains, Gambel oaks go russet and orange at lower elevations, and cottonwoods line the Rio Grande bosque in butter yellow.

Peak color16 OctAim for 15 to 18 Oct

In the area today, Sep 25Starting to turn

Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.

No new reports from the ground here this week.

Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecast

Around Cuba-Rio Puerco Land Utilization Project The counties around it are painted by how far along their color is today, Sep 25.

That’s 4 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.

Plan this trip

If you can only come on certain days

Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.

ArrivingLeaving

Thursday 15 October to Friday 16 October

You’ll find it peak color.

That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.

Where to drive: Sandia Crest Road (NM 536), about 65 miles · High Road to Taos, about 68 miles · Alpine Loop (NM 475), about 68 miles
What turns: quaking aspen, Gambel oak, narrowleaf cottonwood, bigtooth maple, serviceberry

What turns, and when

quaking aspen31%
Gambel oak23%
narrowleaf cottonwood11%
bigtooth maple10%
serviceberry10%
willow8%

Also named across New Mexico, outside what the canopy read measures here: Rocky Mountain Maple.

Aspens turn gold in the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains, Gambel oaks go russet and orange at lower elevations, and cottonwoods line the Rio Grande bosque in butter yellow.

Across New Mexico as a whole: Late September at 10,000 feet, early-to-mid October at lower elevations.

This forecast is built from the species that stand here, their elevation and this September’s weather, and corrected in season by cameras, foresters and our own crew. Out here we score it against NASA's satellite record of when the canopy shuts down, read inside each unit’s own boundary: two dates in three land within 12 days of it. How this map is made

All of New Mexico

Nearby, and when they turn

Santa Fe and Carson and Pecos Wilderness are on the map above, with their own date.

Bandelier National MonumentNM · about 40 miles

Peak 18 Oct best 17 to 20 Oct

Sandia Mountain WildernessNM · about 67 miles

Peak 20 Oct best 19 to 22 Oct

Cruces Basin WildernessNM · about 72 miles

Peak 4 Oct best 3 to 6 Oct

Fall color roads near Cuba-Rio Puerco Land Utilization Project

Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the area, so allow more by road.

Sandia Crest Road (NM 536) · about 65 miles, NM · 14 miles of road

Aspen near the top of Albuquerque's mountain.

High Road to Taos · about 68 miles, NM · 56 miles of road

Cottonwood in the villages, aspen above Truchas.

Alpine Loop (NM 475) · about 68 miles, NM · 15 miles of road

Climbs from Santa Fe to the Ski Basin through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. One of the most accessible aspen drives in the Southwest.

Cumbres and La Manga passes (CO 17) · about 74 miles, CO · 50 miles of road

Antonito to Chama through the Conejos aspen, with the narrow-gauge train doing the same route.

Enchanted Circle (NM 38, 522 and 64) · about 93 miles, NM · 84 miles of road

Taos, Questa, Red River, Eagle Nest and Angel Fire, aspen on the Sangre de Cristo the whole loop.

Wolf Creek Pass (US 160) · about 100 miles, CO · 38 miles of road

South Fork to Pagosa Springs, aspen on the west side of the pass.