Mountain Shadows is a two story lodge that has a deck in front of all of the units. There is a grill/smoker on the grounds for your convenience. It is wonderful to sit out on the deck with a cup of coffee and take in all of the surrounding beauty.

The lodge is not managed. We own and operate the lodge ourselves. Your satisfaction and enjoyment mean a lot to us. We do all of our own cleaning and take a great deal of pride in our rooms.

In the summer the flower beds around the lodge are full of native wildflowers such as showey daisy, rock columbine, wild rose, blue bell, aster, phlox, indian blanket, fern and others. Of course there are the evergreens that grace the lodge and are home to some of the many wild birds like the stellar blue jay, mountain chickadee, finch, robin, evening and blackheaded grosbeak, nutcracker (camp robber) and others. The broadtail and rufous hummingbirds come to Red River around April 28th of each year. Normally we have around 50 hummingbirds here at the lodge and go through 10 pounds of sugar each week just to feed them. They are beautiful and a lot of fun to watch.

Red River and the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains has many rivers, creeks and high mountain lakes. These pristine waters are home to German brown trout, rainbow trout, brook and cutthroat trout. There are pike in some nearby waters.

The lodge is only one block from the Goose Lake turn off. Goose is a high mountain lake located just south of Red River at an altitude of of over 11,000 feet. It is great for fly fishing or using a spinning rod. It is usually pretty cool up there.

I have been up there when it snowed on us in August. Normally you can't get to the lake until the first part of July because of the snow. Middle Fork lake is just southeast of Red River about eight miles and is approximately the same altitude. There are 21 switchbacks in a two mile stretch to get to this lake. You have to drive one and back one. Of course you need four-wheel drive to get to both of these lakes. Ask about a guide service for these. Within a short drive of Red River is Surree Ponds, Fawn Lakes, Eagle Nest Lake, Cabresto Lake and Cabresto Creek and of course the Rio Grande River.

The Rocky Mountains is host to a wide variety of animals. Some are cute and fun to watch while others are to be observed from a safe distance and always left alone. Some of the native animals are beaver, black bear, swift fox, mountain lion, chipmunk, tassel-eared squirrel, mule deer, elk, coyote, skunk, bobcat, porcupine, marmot, ermine (weasel), cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, raccoon, dormouse, muskrat and shrew.

Quite often a black bear will come down the road to the parking lot and try to get into the dumpster looking for food. They are wild animals and are not to be fed or played with. We ask that you not leave ice chests or food out on the deck. Bears have a keen sense of smell and will go where they smell food. That could be just outside your door!

I wouldn't recommend playing with the porcupines, skunk, deer, elk, raccoons, bobcat or mountain lions either. Some of them have such bad attitudes! The raccoons do come up on the deck in the summer after the hummingbird feeders.

We are so fortunate to live here among such beautiful trees and scenery! There are aspen, ponderosa pine, silver and blue spruce, willow, juniper, cedar, cambells oak, engleman spruce, cork bark fir, limber pine, cottonwood and douglas fir. The fall of the year boasts breathtaking colors of yellow, gold, reds and browns. The scrub oak and other shrubberies turn all colors and hues. Gather some pinecones and leaves to take back home with you for a beautiful arrangement.

If you know what you are looking at you can gather some delicious berries for jelly and jam. Growing wild up here are raspberries, blueberries, currents, gooseberries, elderberries, strawberries and chokecherries. You don't want to eat squawberries. They are poisonous. A lot of people come to gather the edible mushrooms such as boletus, giant puffball, shaggy mane and chanterelle. There are several good books on the market that show pictures of these mushrooms.

Don't forget your jacket! Red River is 8,750 feet above sea level. it is cool even in the summer in the evenings, on high jeep trails and in the shade. The average high in the summer is 75 degrees and the average low is 38 degrees. The average high in the winter is 40 degrees and the average low is -12 degrees. We get approximately 155 inches of snow per year making for great downhill and cross country skiing and snowmobiling.

Come on up and enjoy some of Red Rivers' great history. You can see our Little Red School House that was established in 1915. The children still attend this school kindergarten through sixth grade. There are only about 30 students in the entire school. Our teachers teach several grades at once. Since Red River has a colorful history complete with Indians, Outlaws, gamblers, mountain men, miners and trappers you can pick from a variety of activities. You can visit old gold mining sites or pan for gold. A trip to Red Rivers' museum would really be worth your while.

The Jicarilla (pronounced hickaria) Apaches and Ute fought the Pueblo Indians until they were moved in 1876 to the reservation. Trappers were attracted to this area in the early 1800's because of the large population of fur-bearing animals. The prospectors followed in the 1860's.

Gold and silver mines operated in the area until 1925. Molybdenum was discovered in 1901. They first thought this was graphite. In 1916 it was discovered to be an alloy for steel. This huge mine is still in operation. Because of "gold fever" Red Rivers population grew rapidly. Today Red River has approximately 350 full time residents. It now grows from 350 to about 10,000 during holidays and peak vacation season.

We hope that by giving you a little information about the history of Red River, a few of the numerous activities and expressing our love for this area you will give us the opportunity to share your vacation.

Call us at 1-800-416-5187 for reservations at Mountain Shadows Lodge where the past dances with the present and the sky kisses the tree tops.

Hope to see you soon!

Larry & Terry Patterson
Owners/Managers