Ruby Mountain Recreation Site•Arkansas River Headwaters

00:00     Title
00:15     Highway 50 Recreation Sites
09:35     Ruby Mountain Recreation Site
13:20     Browns Canyon National Monument
14:50     Fin

Highway 50 has the notorious reputation of being "America's Loneliest Road" because modern tourists abandoned this old travel route shortly after the high speed Interstate Highway 70 was built. Destinations along Highway 50 now tend to be overlooked by the mainstream crowd, which actually is blessing as far as finding some breathing room is concerned. When going west, Highway 50 parallels the Arkansas River all the way to the town of Salida in the Rockies, which is where a large tract of the Arkansas River Headwaters Recreation Area can be found. By following the river road north of Salida toward the headwaters, even more recreation opportunities abound, which include the Mount Antero Wilderness, Ruby Mountain and Browns Canyon National Monument. 

For those who seek a world of adventure, the Ruby Mountain section of the Arkansas River Recreation Area most definitely is the place to be. The landscape features towering 14,000 foot tall mountain peaks, high desert pine forest covered foothills and roaring white water rapids that harbor freshwater trout. As can be imagined, activities in this end of the Arkansas River Headwaters consist of kayaking, white water rafting and nature viewing along the many hiking trails that run through the mountain canyons. Fly fishing by far is the mainstay activity and there are outdoor outfitters nearby.

The Ruby Mountain Recreation Site signage is easy to spot along the paved road and there are about a half dozen riverside rafting businesses and fishing accesses to be found on the way there. The Ruby Mountain Recreation Site is most famous for the riverside campground that goes by the same name. This developed campground offers fire rings, chargrills, picnic tables and tent pads next to the river, so for fishermen and rafters, it does not get any more convenient than this! Another fun activity is garnet hunting on Ruby Mountain, which is something that children thoroughly enjoy. 

The photo album for this article was captured in the month of July about 6 months before the Covid Pandemic began, so it actually was the peak tourism season. As can be seen, this end of the Arkansas River Headwaters Recreation Area is not overcrowded. There actually were several open riverside campsites in the Ruby Mountain Recreation Site, which is like a dream come true!