I have driven past Picture Canyon dozens of times over the years but was always in a hurry. I had someplace to be or didn’t feel like driving the 34 miles of dirt to get there and back. That all changed a few weeks ago and I finally got a chance to visit Picture Canyon for the first time. It was worth every minute, I will be back in the future for sure. This was just a scouting trip. I only spent a single afternoon, but my judgement is that to fully appreciate the significant history and natural beauty, going slow and spending a few days would be well worth the effort.
Picture Canyon is in Southeast Colorado on the border of Oklahoma, in the Comanche National Grasslands. The canyons are part of the Cimarron River watershed. Made of sandstone and dotted with numerous springs, it’s easy to see why the Plains Indians spent so much time here. Plenty of water, good hunting and protection from the cold winter wind that pummels the High Plains.
There is a nice picnic area at the end of the main road, with covered tables and a nice clean pit toilet. Each covered area has a nice barbecue / fire pit and camping is allowed. There’s not really much room for setting a tent but a small self contained RV or overland rig would work well in the large parking area. There is no water though so be sure to bring plenty. I was there in the fall, so the weather was fairly mild, in the summer it can be very hot.
For the more adventurous, there are a few 4WD roads that lead to Holt Canyon just to the west of Picture Canyon and dispersed camping is allowed. I drove over to Holt Canyon to scout for a mountain bike trip in the future. Hiking, biking and horses are allowed on the trails, there are three trail loops, the shortest is just over 4 miles and the longest is around 14. The two track roads also look good for mountain biking, though there are quite a few areas of soft sand to deal with.
While the trails and the roads are interesting and provide good access, what struck me was the awesome possibility for some canyon bushwhacking, as there are some interesting side canyons with springs and nice riparian zones that would make for interesting exploration. At the south end of Holt Canyon right on the Oklahoma border there is an interesting old line cabin. Cave Spring is just around the corner and there are several pools with frogs and minnows but there are quite a lot of cattle in the area and the pools are pretty stagnant, so I would be leary of using the water even after filtering.
There are numerous ruins and artifacts scattered throughout both Picture and Holt Canyons, be sure to take only pictures and leave only footprints. Almost all of the petroglyph and pictograph sites that I visited were covered in not so ancient graffiti, scrawlings and engravings, making it difficult to even see some of the ancient art work, kind of sad really.
I didn’t have my camera while on this brief scouting trip, so all of the pictures are with the phone but there are some excellent opportunities for photography here. There are caves, hoodoos, pillars, arches and numerous rock formations. There are a good many decent, solid sandstone, vertical pitches for the rock climbing aficionado as well. In fact I noticed a bolted pitch just behind the middle table in the picnic area.
Here is a link to the parking area routes:
I didn’t see another person the afternoon I was there, though a brief review of the log book at the trailhead had a fair number of entries over the recent month. Picture Canyon is a really cool place, in the middle of nowhere, offering a multitude of possibilities for the outdoor enthusiast; hiking, mountain biking, camping, photography, bird watching, rock climbing and significant history that dates back 12,000 years. Stop by and check it out, just remember to bring plenty of water and take your time, it’s not a place to just hit the pull-out take a selfie to show that you were there and move on, it’s a place to experience at about 3 MPH.
