Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.
Rio de Las Vacas is a freestone river in New Mexico, listed as Catch and release by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
Rio de Las Vacas is a freestone river in New Mexico.
No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on Rio de Las Vacas or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest Rio de Las Vacas
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Rio de Las Vacas in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
Map of the restroom near Rio de Las Vacas
Skip the map; every place is in the list belowMap of 1 restroom near Rio de Las Vacas, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Rio GuadalupeThe San Juan River between Navajo Dam and the community of Navajo Dam, New Mexico. Photo: Phil Slattery, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio Guadalupe.
New Mexico · about 15 mi
Special-regulation trout waterRio Grande in Colorado · not this reachThe Rio Grande near South Fork, Colorado. Photo: Kevin Stroup, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not this reach.
New Mexico · about 37 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Rio ChamaThe Cimarron River at Springer, New Mexico, looking upstream. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio Chama.
New Mexico · about 49 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Jack's CreekThe Pecos River in Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico. Photo: SonoranDesertNPS from Tucson, Arizona, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Jack's Creek.
New Mexico · about 64 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Rio Santa BarbaraThe Piedra River in Hinsdale County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio Santa Barbara.
New Mexico · about 64 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Canada Tio GrandeThe Los Pinos River in La Plata County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Canada Tio Grande.
New Mexico · about 67 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.
On the Red Chile Water (Native Trout Conservation): catch-and-release for Rio Grande cutthroat and Gila trout, single barbless artificial fly or lure list (New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, read 2026-10-20). All waters with this designation
On the Red Chile Water (Native Trout Conservation): catch-and-release for Rio Grande cutthroat and Gila trout, single barbless artificial fly or lure list (New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, read 2026-10-20). All waters with this designation
Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-04) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
13.3 of 24.9 mi on public land
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
No guide within 40 miles yet.
No shop nearby yet.
The hatch and season chart for this water's region.
1 hatch charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Green drake (June to July)
None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.
No hub within 40 miles
A wade-fishing checklist for big western trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.
9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Rio de Las Vacas.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: a point on the mapped channel of “Rio de las Vacas”, halfway along its length in New Mexico, from the USGS high-resolution hydrography (NHDPlus HR), read 4 Nov 2026. It marks the water, not a particular access or reach. Water type is our own classification.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Rio GuadalupeThe San Juan River between Navajo Dam and the community of Navajo Dam, New Mexico. Photo: Phil Slattery, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio Guadalupe.
New Mexico · about 15 mi
Special-regulation trout waterRio Grande in Colorado · not this reachThe Rio Grande near South Fork, Colorado. Photo: Kevin Stroup, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not this reach.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Rio ChamaThe Cimarron River at Springer, New Mexico, looking upstream. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio Chama.
New Mexico · about 49 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Jack's CreekThe Pecos River in Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico. Photo: SonoranDesertNPS from Tucson, Arizona, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Jack's Creek.
New Mexico · about 64 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Rio Santa BarbaraThe Piedra River in Hinsdale County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio Santa Barbara.
New Mexico · about 64 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Canada Tio GrandeThe Los Pinos River in La Plata County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Canada Tio Grande.
New Mexico · about 67 mi
