Wildlife

Early November is when a patient look upward starts to pay off north of Questa. The Rio Grande Gorge, protected within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, is home to two very different eagles. Golden eagles live here all year, riding the thermals that rise off the basalt walls. Bald eagles are the winter guests: the monument's founding proclamation notes that bald eagles roost above the river in winter, then fly out over the sagebrush of the Taos Plateau. As northern waters freeze, more of them follow the river south into our stretch of the gorge.

Saturday, October 31, 2026

There is no better place to spend a crisp fall Saturday near Questa than the rim of the Rio Grande Gorge at the Wild Rivers Recreation Area, in the heart of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. This morning starts cloudy and cool in the village, in the low 40s, before skies turn partly cloudy and the afternoon high reaches the mid-50s — fine weather for a slow drive out to the overlooks, a rim walk, and some patient wildlife watching.