The Rio Bravo Picnic Area is a fully accessible quarter-mile loop trail winds under a canopy of cottonwoods, passing by the quiet flow of the Rio Grande. Visitors can picnic at one of three sites or fish for rainbow trout from the fully accessible fishing pier. The Paseo del Bosque trail may also be accessed from the parking area.

To access the Rio Bravo Riverside Picnic Area take Rio Bravo Boulevard west from Broadway. Before the bridge, turn right onto Poco Loco Road and follow it directly west into the parking area.

Established by the State Legislature in 1983, Rio Grande Valley State Park is managed cooperatively by the Albuquerque Open Space Division and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. The 4,300-acre park extends from tje Sandia Pueblo in the north through Albuquerque and south to Isleta Pueblo and is located on both the east and west sides of the Rio Grande.

The Rio Grande Bosque (Spanish for “forest”) offers a unique environment in arid Albuquerque. Large cottonwood trees, coyote willow, and New Mexico olive create a cool, shady forest and provide habitat for beaver, numerous bird species, turtles, and snakes.