Picture Canyon-Commanche National Grassland, Colorados

Oh my gosh, this place is a gem! It's a daunting 90 miles into the Comanche National Grasslands from Trinidad, but worth the drive. The drive was an adventure in itself, taking us through beautiful grasslands and past several abandoned farm houses and other buildings. There are several hikes accessible from the parking lot that take you to farmstead's abandoned over 100 years ago, Indian pictographs, and much much more.

What a great place! Very remote. Went backpacking on a Saturday and didn't see another person on the trail the entire time. TRAIL MARKINGS: There are a combination of cairns, blazes, posts in cairns, posts, blazes on cairns, trail border rocks, and signs. Trail is very well marked, until it isn't in a couple places and because the trail is not frequently used, and crisscrossed by roads and deer trails, it's easy to lose if you aren't paying attention. Download the free Colorado Trail Explorer (COTrex) app that is run by the state. Download the maps for offline use with the topo map. Easy after that! The only place that got us once when the trail suddenly cut up a steep rock embankment (shortly after the first horse/pedestrian split when going counter-clockwise around Arch Rock Loop). It was marked by cairns, but we hadn't seen the use of that type of cairn, yet. A very strong trail continued in the direction of travel, but dead ended in a canyon. Quite a waste of time with heavy packs. Could have been avoided by referencing map more frequently or trusting the cairns. Places on COTrex map where road and trail overlap are clearly marked, so pay attention to when the trail leaves the road to keep an eye out for cairns.

What a hidden gem. To see 17th century petroglyph and pictographs left from the Plains Indians and ruins from an old homestead was cool. There is a vault toilet and the picnic areas are nice too.

Beautiful landscape. Camped here several nights in the picnic area. There is also a forest service road that branches out several different directions before getting to the picnic area for dispersed camping. Might need 4 wheel drive/high clearance on those roads though. The main road needs decent clearance ( sedans beware) as sand is building up in the road. There is only once section quite close to the picnic area that might become a problem.
Did some biking and hiking. All the trails are overgrown and hard to follow, especially the biking trails.
The picture canyon itself is 99% graffiti at this point, couldn't find crack cave though we must have walked right past it.
Beware of muddy roads (including county roads) into and out of this area after a heavy storm.

Beautiful area, trails are well maintained. Make sure you have provisions.

This is a beautiful place to visit. You will not regret hiking through the unique beauty of Southern CO. It is possibly one of the quietest, from human noise, places I've been. Because of the recent rain, everything was in bloom. The hike was mostly easy and interesting to experience what the "past" must of felt like. We headed South of Springfield to CR M, turned right and drove for 9 miles, turned left and drove 9 miles. There is a bathroom and three picnic tables with bar-b-que grills. No water available, bring plenty of water.

Beautiful. Plan on going back and exploring more. Place for a picnic and well. People have vandalized some areas. Sad that nothing can be left alone anymore. But my family still enjoyed it.

Step back into time and see the awesome "pictures" that have been left for generations. Beautiful canyons for this part of the country. Great family spot to get out and explore.

Great camp spot. Desolate! 1 person in 24 hrs.

This is one of my favorite places in Colorado. A long, boring drive, but worth it. Be ready for a short walk to the petroglyphs...WOW!

This is a fantastic location for camping and hiking, there is no source for pottable water so bring plenty of water.

Worth the drive to the middle of nowhere. Authentic native American drawings can be found along the trails.

An unexpected visual wonder.

Cool place in middle of nowhere. Great for a geologist

A must see! For any outdoorsy folks

Incredible hike

Awesome.

Beautiful place...

Beautiful part of the country

Pretty rugged terrain