As with many US Fish and Wildlife Service properties, very little of Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge is open to the public. Public access is limited to the Juniper Trail (a separate location-specific hotspot), County Road C-016 to that trailhead and beyond to the Loma Parda ruins, as well as the entrance road to refuge headquarters. There is no visitor center. Other than the trail, therefore, the hotspot is pretty much roadside birding, which would include birds to the north while you skirt the refuge on NM-161. In addition to giving the words “wildlife refuge” meaning, the access limitation is for public safety, because bison roam freely on the refuge, and to protect historic sites. eBird species-frequency data for this hotspot includes birds often not seen by visitors, because almost all of this data was collected by staff, researchers, and special event attendees in the otherwise off-limits "education area" along the Mora River, once the ranch of Governor Octaviano Larrazolo.

You can get a taste of that area by, in dry weather, continuing down C-016 past the Juniper Trailhead, through the juniper woodland, to the bridge across the river. There is just enough room to park off-road on the south side of the river (before you cross the bridge), get out, and if you pay blood toll to mosquitoes, walk out to the bridge to look up and down the Mora. Hiking upstream or downstream is not permitted. Likewise, once you cross the bridge, the land on the side of the road is either private property or no-access refuge land. The road continues north to a Y, where you can turn around. At this point, you’re about a mile and a half from NM-161, or somewhat over a mile from the Juniper Trailhead.

If the gate is open (check the refuge website for days and times), it is possible to enter the refuge from NM-161 at the large blue refuge sign near mile marker 16 View Map, one and a half miles southeast of county road C-016, and drive north on the gravel road leading toward the headquarters building. In approximately three-quarters of a mile, just past the corrals into which bison are occasionally herded, you reach a Y. The right fork takes you the remaining 0.3 miles to the headquarters building. You are highly unlikely to see any species on this road that you would not see on the road between NM-161 and the Juniper Trailhead; the habitat is similar to a short-grass prairie, though the junipers come a bit closer to the road. The main reason to take this road is that the headquarters is backed by ponderosa pine, which can be worth examining. There are no public restrooms here, and the only interpretive signage is near the entrance off NM-161.

Two cautionary notes.

• USFWS advises you to stay 100 yards away from bison.
• Do not expect mobile phone service to be available on the refuge, though you can usually get a connection at the Juniper Trailhead parking area. 

Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area, established in 2012, is located in the transition zone between the Great Plains and the Southern Rocky Mountains. The refuge is 4,224 acres and has shortgrass prairie, riparian wetlands, piñon/juniper, oak, and coniferous forests. Five miles of the Mora River meanders through the refuge. The variety of habitats supports a wide range of animal and plant life. Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge partners with many organizations and facilitates research, outreach, interpretation, and environmental education.

A 2-mile round-trip hiking trail (overlooking the Mora River) can be accessed from County Road 016 (Loma Parda County Road). Wildlife observation and photography are conducted along the Juniper Trail, Loma Parda County Road, and NM-161. Public access is limited to the Juniper Trail, county road, state highway, and special events on the refuge.