Rio Chama Wild And Scenic River Camping

The Rio Chama, a major tributary of the Rio Grande, flows through a multi-colored sandstone canyon whose walls increase to 1,500 feet above the river as you travel downstream. Co-managed by BLM and the Forest Service (FS), 24.6 miles of the river is Congressionally designated as a Wild and Scenic River and flows through the Rio Chama Wilderness Study Area managed by the BLM, and the Chama River Canyon Wilderness managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Towering cliffs, heavily wooded side canyons, and historical sites offer an outstanding wild river backdrop for the angler or boater. To protect the river environment from overuse, and to maintain an opportunity for a high quality experience, boating is limited to set number of boaters per day. There is a lottery system to assign launch dates.

El Vado Lake is a reservoir located in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Water is impounded by the earth-filled El Vado Dam, on the Rio Chama, 642 feet (196 m) long and 175 feet (53 m) high, completed in 1935. The 3,200-acre (13 km2) lake is 5 miles (8.0 km) long and over 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, and lies at an elevation of 6,900 feet (2,100 m). The area was formerly part of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant. The former town of El Vado, which in 1910 had a population of 1,000, is now beneath the waters of El Vado Lake.
The eastern shore of the lake is the El Vado Lake State Park, featuring over 100 camping and picnic sites, and two improved boat ramps. The lake is a destination for salmon and trout fishing, as well as for boating. Unlike nearby Heron Lake, boat speeds are not restricted. A 5.5-mile (8.9 km) hiking trail runs to the north, crosses the Rio Chama Gorge via a pedestrian suspension bridge, and then connects to the Heron Lake State Park.

Read more about Rio Chama Wild And Scenic River at Wikipedia