The many trails in the forest are generally accessible to hikers, horses, and mountain bikes. Motorized travel is forbidden in the two wilderness areas, but there are a number of abandoned logging roads outside the wildernesses that are suitable for ORVs and dirt bikes. Please operate responsibly; damage in this terrain and climate takes a long time to heal. Trails and, to a lesser extent, logging roads in the high country tend to be soggy until June or even July due to snowmelt.
In much of the area, snowshoes are more satisfactory for winter travel than skis or snowmobiles, because of the steepness and narrowness of the trails. Sparse snow makes all of these means of travel marginal at elevations below 8000' or so. Although most of the mountains have relatively gentle slopes, there is some potential for avalanche hazard, particularly along the main ridge line of the Sangre de Cristos but also to some extent in the Jemez.
