Hiking and Backpacking Tours
Picture Canyon-Sand Canyon Backpacking Itineraries
Group sizes 2-6 people w/ 1-2 guides
Day Hike (Cost Per Adult $65 max 8 people. Ages 10-18 $35 Adult required.) Explore the canyon on foot as you visit petroglyph panels, unusual geologic formations, springs, and homesteads. The hike can be customized for the group or individual. Lunch, water, and guide included.
Time: 4-8hrs
Distance: 4-8miles
One Night Backpack Trip
($99/pp, Ages 12-18 ½ price, adult required)
Experience the canyon on an overnight trip with shorter and longer options, making this a great trip for first time backpackers and families. The hike can be customized for the group. Canyon Journeys may be able to provide some equipment, but not all. We will work with you to make sure the group has the equipment that they need. Interpretation at sites, guiding, and meal preparation is provided. All backpacking trips follow Leave No Trace techniques on the grasslands, and will not have campfires.
Shorter: afternoon-next morning, Distance: 4-6mi
Longer: morning to next morning or afternoon, Distance: 6-10miles
Two Night Backpack Trip IT’s
($150/pp 1-2 people, +$75/pp max 6 people. Ages12-18 ½ price, adult required)
Immerse yourself in the canyons of the Comanche National Grasslands in southern Baca County on this 2 night backpacking trip. We will wind through the canyons exploring the area and its diverse array of historical sites, geology, and beauty. With two nights there will be periods of free time as we reach our destinations for lunch and evening camp sites. The hike can be customized for the group. Canyon Journeys may be able to provide some of the equipment for the group, but not all. We will work with you to make sure the group has the equipment that they need. Interpretation, guiding, and meal preparation is provided. All backpacking trips follow Leave No Trace techniques on the grasslands, and will not have campfires.
Average Time: afternoon of day 1-morning of day 3
Distance: 8-15miles
Picture Canyon-Sand Canyon Horse Trail Ride Itineraries
Group sizes 1-8 people with 1-2 guides
Trail Rides and horseback tours can be customized to fit the group. 1 hour rides focus on Picture Canyon or Sand Canyon, and longer rides will visit Holt, North, and Sand Canyons. Most trail rides are done in a loop and if needed lunch is provided. Please contact us for a quote and let us know what type of ride you are interested in.
1-2 hr (Cost Per Person: our horses- $40 your horses- $25)
1/2 day (Cost Per Person: our horses- $60 your horses-$40)
3/4 day (Cost Per Person: our horses-$75 your horses-$55)
Full day (Cost Per Person: our horses- $110 your horses-$65)
*Trail rides are limited to ages 10 and up, and Canyon Journeys retains the rights to refuse service in light of safety for the individual, animals or group.
**Canyon Journeys is not responsible for horses not owned by us.
Picture Canyon · $35pp
Picture Canyon has been a crossroads for travelers since people came to
what is now know as southeast Colorado. With readily available water and
mild winters, it provided fertile grounds and protection. The canyon is
in southwest Baca County and borders Oklahoma. It houses petroglyphs, pictographs,
a stunning equinox site and many clues for the debate over the pre-history
of America and pre-Columbian European visitors. The canyon also has picnic
tables, good walking paths, good opportunities for birding and wildlife
viewing, camping, and restroom facilities. Area history and WPA sites included
on the tours on the way to the canyon.
Time required for tour: from Pritchett
3hrs, from canyon site 1-1.5hrs, Everett Ranch 2.5hrs
Carrizo Canyon · $15pp
Carrizo Canyon is a beautiful site that provides opportunity for viewing
petroglyphs, birding, hiking, and camping. The canyon is a good example
of early indian inhabitance with live water year round, and protection.
Restrooms are also available. Area history and WPA sites included on the
tour on the way to the canyon.
Time required for tour: from Pritchett 2.5-3hrs,
from canyon site or Everett Ranch 45min
Driving Tours
North/Hold Canyon Driving Tour · $35pp
For those who would like to see the Picture Canyon area scenery, history
and heritage but aren’t able to walk or would like a driving tour this
option is for you. The North or Holt Canyon area is adjacent to Picture
Canyon and along with a scenic drive allows visitors to experience homesteads,
historic buildings, unique sandstone structures, and a historic cemetery
from the turn of the century.
Time required for the tour: from Pritchett
3-4hrs, from the Everett Ranch 2-3hrs.
Cottonwood Canyon Driving Tour · $25pp
County Rd M winds down into and back out of Cottonwood canyon in Baca
County, SE Colorado. The drive is scenic ranging from flat prarie with
open range roads, to flat top mesas and canyon lands where deer, turkey
and desert big horn sheep like to graze in the field bottoms. Good for
birding and a snap shot of area history, the tour is mainly for wildlife
viewing and is best done in the evening or very early morning.
Time required
for tour: from Pritchett 2-2.5hrs, Everett Ranch 1hr
Santa Fe Trail – Cimarron Cut-Off · $35pp
Guided to and around several Santa Fe Trail Sites in north eastern New
Mexico. Learn little known facts and see the actual ruts of the Santa Fe
Trail on private property. Can be customized to include museums, other
local rock formations, dinosaur tracks, and other local attractions or
simply kept to the Santa Fe Trail. Did you know there was up to 8 tracks
coming across north eastern New Mexico on the Cimarron Cut-off? Let us
show you all the things you might miss! Time required for tour: from Pritchett
4-5 hrs minimum, from Everett Ranch 4hrs minimum.
Time required
for tour:This is an all-day tour.
You can make it a two way or one-way to Clayton, NM.
Travel Packages
Tour and Stay Package
Choice of tour, breakfast and one nights lodging in the Historic Estelene Guesthouse. Package price good for two people.
$150/couple, small group quotes available
Equinox Viewing Tour and Stay
Stay at the historic and newly renovated Estelene Bunkhouse and enjoy a guided tour of Picture Canyon. That evening we’ll head to Oklahoma where a sunset solar alignment is experienced. The Package includes lodging and breakfast for two nights and a tour for two on Equinox. Driving time to Picture Canyon from Everett ranch is about 45min. To Oklahoma site is about 50min.
$175 individual, $200/couple, small group quotes available
Summer Evening Trail Ride & Stay Package
Summers in southeast Colorado are usually hot, but the evenings are beautiful and long. Join us for an evening hour-long trail ride on the Everett Ranch exploring the canyons and creeks. After the ride, shower and relax while we grill supper; hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggies outside. Then get get lost in a starry night as you relax on your porch before you turn into bed in our newly renovated guest house which served previous local families as a post office in the beginning of the 19th century.
$150/individuals, $200/couple, $275 family
**All tours can be customized or tours can be potentially built upon request.
