The Rio Costilla

Person holding a rainbow trout over a river with an outdoor background.

The Rio Costilla is a small tributary to the Rio Grande that has some of the best small mountain stream access. Mostly a meadow stream, the Rio Costilla is about as picturesque of a fishery as you can get. With many willing trout, and alot of our native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout, its hard not to enjoy a day on the Costilla. We can only fish the RCCLA stretch April-June, and then we can start to adventure up into the Valle Vidal(The Valley of Life) when it opens July 1st. If you were to look up the term “God’s Country”, you’d probably get a photo of the Valle Vidal in return. It’s truly a special place.

A scenic view of a mountain valley with a small stream flowing through grassy meadows, surrounded by forested hills and topped by a partly cloudy blue sky.

Check out the current flows for The Rio Costilla on the USGS website, links below.

Rio Costilla - Below Costilla Dam

Person in a hat fishing in a river in a grassy valley surrounded by forested mountains under a partly cloudy sky.