Alamosa Travel Guide

Hotels Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge Alamosa
Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge is part of a three refuge complex headquarted in Alamosa, Colorado. The Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1962 and covers 11,169 acres in size. In contrast with its sister refuge, Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, the refuge at Alamosa is a much wilder refuge. It contains wet meadows, river oxbows and dry uplands. The Rio Grande river runs through the refuge. There is a two mile round trip hiking trail and a three and a half mile auto tour on the refuge. The refuge was set up to provide a place for migrating birds to rest and recover. In turn where there are prey species there are predators. The refuge is home to Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers, Rough Legged Hawks and Great Horned Owls. There are many types of mammals on the refuge as well. The refuge is free to use. The visitor center operates from March through to November Monday through Friday and is volunteer operated. From November to February the visitor center is closed for the winter. The paths and auto self guided tours are open from sunrise to sunset. In February the Sandhill Crane migration starts and 95% of the Rocky Mountain population funnels through the San Louis Valley.

Hotels Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge Alamosa
Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge is a part of the Alamosa, Monte Vista, and Baca National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It is located in the San Louis Valley. Headquarters for the complex is the indicated Alamosa address. Monte Vista Visitor Center is volunteer operated, March through November. The Monte Vista office is located at 6120 Highway 15, Monte Vista, Colorado 81144. The refuge is 6.95 km south of Monte Vista on state highway 15. Monte Vista offers 14,189 acres of man made wet lands, set aside primarily for the purpose of providing habitat for a variety of waterfowl and other water birds. It is a primary resting area for the migration in spring and fall for thousands of sandhill cranes. There is no fee for entry.