2025 Crane Fest Special Tours
The 2025 Monte Vista Crane Festival is soaring to new heights with an expanded lineup of special tours designed to give visitors an up-close and unforgettable experience with the majestic Sandhill Cranes and the breathtaking landscapes of Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Each tour combines education, conservation, and the natural beauty of the region, making it the perfect opportunity to connect with nature and learn about the incredible migration of these iconic birds and this unique region they inhabit during their journey. Explore the full list of tours below and secure your spot early—space is limited, and these unique experiences are sure to fill up fast!
Tour of Bee's Preserve in Monte Vista with Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust
Join the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RiGHT) for an exclusive tour of Bee's Preserve in Monte Vista. Gain unique insights into the world of private land conservation and its vital role in preserving open lands, water resources, and wildlife habitat. Explore the rich landscapes of this protected property, often home to a variety of wildlife, including sandhill cranes. Discover how private land conservation helps safeguard the valley's natural beauty and resources for future generations.
About RiGHT
The Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust was founded as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization in 1999 to help secure water for the future. We are the only local land trust that serves the entire San Luis Valley. As the community’s land trust, RiGHT is committed to working with private landowners, public agencies, and other conservation organizations to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife habitat of the area and to promote a sustainable agricultural way of life. Our goals are to protect and support working ranches and farms, water resources, wildlife habitat, scenic landscapes, and inspire a culture of conservation in the San Luis Valley.
BLM Blanca Wetlands: Tour the Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area located southwest of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
We will tour the Blanca Wetlands Wildlife Habitat Area located southwest of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The wetlands are about a 45 minute to one hour drive from Monte Vista and managed by the San Luis Valley BLM Field Office. The wetlands cover almost 10,000 acres and contain about two hundred shallow basins holding wet meadows, salt flats, marshes and freshwater ponds. About 1,200 acres are watered each year, while other parts are deliberately allowed to dry up.
The wetlands are one of the most important areas for birds in Colorado because they provide habitat for migrating waterfowl, water birds and shorebirds. It hosts thirteen threatened, endangered and sensitive species. Shorebirds such as gulls, sandpipers and waterbirds such as pelicans and snowy egret occur here during summer, as well as 158 other species. The snowy plover and white-faced ibis have been documented as nesting here. Although sandhill cranes may be spotted at Blanca Wetlands during the tour, they are considered uncommon and observing more than a few here is a rarity. The wetlands also important for conserving some unique local amphibians such as Great Plains toads and plains spadefoot toad, western chorus frog, leopard frog and tiger salamander.
During the Crane Festival Tour the most common species encountered will likely include various species of waterfowl, winter raptors such as rough-legged and red-tailed hawks, and resident songbirds. Keep your eyes out for wintering bald eagles, resident golden eagles, an early killdeer or red-winged blackbirds, and perhaps a prairie falcon on the wing. We may also see mule deer or elk, coyotes, or other small mammals. Look for their tracks while hiking.
Blanca Wetlands is closed to the public from Feb 15 to July 15 to protect nesting waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wildlife, so this is a special access tour. The tour hosts will guide you to the accessible ponds for wildlife viewing. We will spend approximately two hours at the wetlands with return travel to the Ski Hi Complex around 2:00 p.m. Restrooms will be available on site. Be sure to bring water, hiking boots, a lunch or snacks, and personal items such as binoculars and camera. Dress for late winter/early spring conditions. For more information please see the website at: https://www.blm.gov/visit/blanca-wetlands.
MVNWR Spring Creek Archeological Site Tour
We will visit the Spring Creek Site, located on the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge (weather permitting), which is usually closed to the public. You will be transported back to a time when the San Luis Valley was lush – a time when Pleistocene megafauna, such as wooly mammoths, camelids, ancient bison, and horses, roamed the valley. Dating back over 12,000 years ago to more recent times, this site provides significant insight into the lives of the various peoples who relied on the valley for subsistence and how they adapted to changing climates.
Trip leader: Price Heiner, Forest Archaeologist with the Rio Grande National Forest
Special Tour: Home Lake State Wildlife Area Guided Birding Tour
Home Lake Guided Birding Tour: Join local ornithologist and author John Rawinski for a guided birding tour around Home Lake, a local hot spot for waterfowl, shorebirds and bald eagles.
John will share his extensive knowledge of local birds and where to find them. This tour is suitable for beginner to advanced birders and will involve walking for less than a mile, on level ground.
Meet at the Monte Vista Middle School Parking lot opposite Home Lake at 10:30 a.m., bring binoculars and dress for the weather! Spotting scopes, provided by Friends of the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuges, may be available for closer viewing on the lake.
Home Lake is a 64 acre State Wildlife Area (SWA) managed by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. A hunting/fishing license or SWA pass is not required to access this property.
Home Lake is located approximately 1 ½ miles east of the Ski Hi Complex on Sherman Avenue. We will meet our tour host on-site and spend 1 ½ hours birding the lake and immediate vicinity. Be sure to bring water, hiking boots, a lunch or snacks, and personal items such as binoculars and camera. Dress in layers for late winter/early spring conditions.
Additional information and maps regarding Home Lake SWA can be found at the following links:
Trinchera Ranch Conservation Tour and Lunch
Join staff of the Trinchera Ranch for a half-day tour and lunch and learn about the Ranch’s conservation work including adaptive forestry, rangeland, riparian, stream, wildlife and fisheries management and be inspired to be part of the change. Staff will do a conservation overview at the lodge and participants will enjoy a chef prepared lunch and then spend about 2 hours exploring the conservation work. The tour of conservation work will be in 4WD Trinchera Ranch vehicles and depend on weather and road conditions. Wear sturdy walking shoes, dress for late winter/early spring conditions and bring water and binoculars.
About Trinchera Ranch
With more than 172,000 acres in Southern Colorado’s rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Trinchera Ranch stewards large, undeveloped landscapes for wildlife habitat and the enjoyment of future generations. Our managers specialize in forestry and ecology as we seek new ways to manage lands affected by a variety of everchanging ecological conditions. We employ a variety of best management practices that help us adaptively work to offset disturbance and promote long-term sustainable landscapes. We work to manage each ecological steppe that is present on the Ranch to ensure quality outcomes for the wildlife they support.
Trinchera partners with local, regional, and national conservation groups and researchers to offer educational opportunities to students of all ages. From educational tours of the ranch, to providing enriching field experiences for interns, we seek to inspire and train the next generation of scientists to protect western landscapes. Our Conservation goals support a conservation ethos, that provides access to a living classroom, where conservations of all levels feel inspired.
Elephant Rocks Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC)
The Elephant Rocks Area is managed by the San Luis Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The area is 378 acres in size and contains unique geologic formations of remnant of Fish Canyon tuff formed at least 28.8 million years after the Summer Coon Volcano erupted in the La Garita Mountains. The Elephant Rocks area is currently a local recreational favorite that allows for hiking, mountain biking, and climbing opportunities. You can easily climb and sit upon an “elephant’s back” and view the splendor of the east side of the San Luis Valley and much of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range.
The Elephant Rocks area is part of the San Luis Valley portion of the Colorado Birding Trail network (the Sandhill Crane Trail). It contains examples of local pinyon-juniper (P-J) and arid shrubland habitat. A wide diversity of wildlife species are present during the summer breeding period. During our visit when the crane festival is occurring, species such as bushtit and pinyon jays may be present as well as red-tailed hawks, golden eagles and prairie falcons. Mule deer, coyote, pronghorn, and some small mammal species may be also seen.
We will meet our BLM tour hosts for departure from the Ski Hi Building Complex at 10:00 and travel by bus for about 45 minutes to the Elephant Rocks area. We will spend around 2 hours exploring the area. Portable restrooms will be available on site. Be sure to bring water, hiking boots, a lunch or snacks, and personal items such as binoculars and camera. Dress for late winter/early spring conditions. For more information please see the website at:
https://www.blm.gov/visit/penitente-canyon or https://www.delnortetrails.org/elephant-rocks-area/.
MVNWR Spring Creek Archeological Site Tour
Trip leader: Jen Kolsie, Archaeologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
We will visit the Spring Creek Site, located on the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge (weather permitting). This site is usually closed to the public and contains hundreds of cultural artifacts going back more than 10,000 years. Artifacts that span from the Paleoindians (the first well-documented humans in North America), all the way to a historic homestead on the site have been discovered. Bones of extinct Pleistocene Megafauna (the Ice Age giants) such as Mammoths, Camels, Horses, and Bison have also been found. Before heading into the field a short lecture on the site will be give in a small conference room at Ski Hi.
J.W. Mumma Native Aquatic Species Research Facility Tour
Join facility manager Ricardo (Rick) Romero and staff for a two-hour tour of the J.W. Mumma Native Aquatic Species Research Facility (NASRF) located just to the southeast of Alamosa. Learn from facility staff about the unique work being conducted on over a dozen native aquatic species, many of which are state or federally listed of special conservation concern. Staff will lead an interactive tour of the indoor facility where research is being conducted on aquatic species and many are being propagated for conservation purposes. Afterwards, participants are invited to spend some personal time hiking around the adjacent Playa Blanca State Wildlife Area where sandhill cranes and other watchable wildlife may be found. Participants should wear sturdy walking shoes, dress for late winter/early spring conditions and bring water and binoculars.
NASRF
The NASRF is a one of a kind facility that goes to extents that very few in North America do. It was built in the year 2000 to facilitate the conservation of rare native aquatic species through captive propagation, genetic conservation, scientific research and public education and awareness. Funding for the facility came from Great Outdoors Colorado, the Department of Natural Resources' Water Conservation Board, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
The NASRF conducts work on 12 native species which includes one amphibian that is state endangered – the boreal toad and the federally endangered bony tail chub, the bony tail chub is a native fish to the Colorado River and Yampa River. NASRF is working closely with the Upper Colorado River Endangered Recovery Program with the USFW service. The NASRF has protected 16 fish species and stocked over 2.1 million fish in Colorado waters. NASRF has also played a critical role in efforts to restore boreal toads to Colorado ecosystems. Over 133,546 tadpoles, toadlets, and adult toads raised by the NASRF have been translocated to help reestablish boreal toads in their historical habitat, with survival to breeding age documented in a few locations. Biologists are hopeful that future translocations will establish additional breeding sites throughout the state. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also provides funding and other support to university researchers who are studying promising approaches to helping toads and other amphibians resist chytrid fungus.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife also provides funding and other support to university researchers who are studying promising approaches to helping toads and other amphibians resist chytrid fungus.
For more information see the NASRF website at: https://cpw.state.co.us/hatchery/john-w-mumma-native-aquatic-species-restoration
Behind the scenes tour of Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge
Join the Alamosa Refuge Manager to go behind the scenes to experience the secret places on the Refuge. Spring can bring the Valley’s wintering Bald Eagles to feast on the fish within the Refuge. Spring migration is also in full swing for many species of waterfowl. You’ll learn about what we do to provide important habitat throughout the year. We might also find porcupines, deer, elk, lots of raptor and coyotes!
Trip Leader: Alamosa and Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge Manager Suzanne Beauchaine
History, Fishies, and Elk? – Tour the Baca National Wildlife Refuge!
Join the Baca Refuge Manager to learn about the Refuge which was recently listed on the NPS’s National Register of Historic Places as a Rural Historic Landscape. Before the Refuge was established the area was a part of the Baca Land Grant No. 4. You’ll also learn about the efforts to protect and restore Rio Grande Sucker and Chub populations. Weather permitting, jump in our vehicles for a tour to explore the Refuge learn about what we do and maybe catch a glimpse of an elk herd.
Trip Leader: Baca National Wildlife Refuge Manager Ty Benally
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