lincoln national forest

We have made many trips to the Lincoln National Forest, which was always a beautiful forest of tall pine, fir and spruce trees. In 2013, a big forest fire (caused by lightening) burned a huge amount of forest north and west of Ruidoso. It changed how the mountains and terrain looks in the area. It still has its own beauty, but it is heartbreaking to see those once evergreen covered mountains with nothing but tall, charred "sticks" standing where it used to be so green. There are still many nice places to camp and enjoy the mountains which are covered with evergreens in the area. We haven't let the fire stop us from enjoying the area...we continue to RV there.

Great walking opportunities . The camping is pretty good too. Also a good bet for a quiet picnic. Definitely worth a look.

We entered the forest from The Bottlehouse Cabins. We got to see a bit of the old silver mine. Very cool. Fun Park

Beautiful and clean. Well maintained and good signage along the route. Can't wait to go back and explore more.

It's a great park with a lot of space to hike and some space to camp, and the location it's really near town.

Very different from a Texan park, however, clean, private, and amazing with snow. If you drive all the way to the back is fantastic, no place to seat but super worth it.

Beautiful Drive, Easy drive for it being in the mountains. Having spent some years in Colorado, I appreciated the mountains without the crowds.

My wife & I determined to "get out of town", away from the hot lower altitude of El PasoTX-USA, into the cooler, higher altitude of the Lincoln National Forest, where the burn ban had been lifted. We initially started investigating organized sites close to Sierra Blanca, but it had started to drizzle. That could make for difficulty starting a fire (though I had complete confidence in my "Scoutmaster's match"), but a likely damp tent/bag was not to our liking. So we motored a bit further South (40 miles/64kms) along 244 until out from under those weeping clouds, closer to US82/Cloudcroft and found a perfect site. Indeed it was perfect--no moisture at all during the night, and a wonderful fire to cook food/coffee/hot water. Hiking closely trails provided ample exercise before we motored back home, feeling very refreshed.

The mountains are beautiful and there was snow on the tops we were able to drive up and walk in the snow and saw animal footprints including a mountain lion

We have driven through Lincoln many times but never took the time to stop. This trip was nothing but time, so we took the entire town tour. Fascinating if you've never stopped. The museum and movie of Lincoln was worth the stop.

The Forest Service in Ruidoso decided that the Bonito basin and about 30% of the ski area as well as hundreds of homes were not needed in the area above the village of Ruidoso. So they stood around and watched a lightning caused fire that they had five days to quench rage out of control when the winds kicked up to 40 MPH. A disaster ensued of major proportions that ruined the best recreation and scenic areas on the east slopes of Sierra Blanca mountain, The result has been a very ugly drive thru a burned out forest and the loss of habitats for animals.It also has caused great anxiety in the people who live there due to the fact that the "Little Bear Fire" could have easily taken out the town if the wind had changed direction just a slight amount. My family moved from this area as soon as we could. It has fallen prey to political abuses and poor management in every regard,

There were a lot of closed roads in the forest so really couldn't do a lot of exploring. I think there had also been a fire so some areas had lost a lot of trees. Will have to come back another time maybe in warmer weather to camp.

Peace quite beautiful sunny October morning, past the Lake drove to Argentina Car park. Walked the trail. Drove back to the Horse stables. Filled my fresh water bottles from the ice cold stream, along the way. Drank crystal clear mountain fresh water, sat and walked the lake, watched all the birds a dark Royal Blue kind of bird? Deers, and more. Drove to Alto cafe for lunch. Great morning now nap time.

We love this 1.3 mile walking trail located just behind the Forestry's Office. Provides safe and natural path close to home with beautiful flowers, lovely trees and some stations for strength training. This is a daily highlight during our visit to Ruidoso!

I enjoy the LIncoln National Forest. Unfortunately some has been burned about 2 years ago due to lightning strikes, but it's still a lot left to look at. The flowers have started to really grow back good and the plant life is thriving once again. Lots of mule deer to see, some have seen the bears around and lots of birds of every kind.