Entry No. 24 — the Durango file — filed under: art-immersive
Tour of Carvings at Vallecito Lake
After the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire took 73,000 acres and firefighter Alan Wyatt, Pagosa Springs carver Chad Haspels took a chainsaw to the dead. Fourteen sculptures — 18 feet tall, 2,600 pounds apiece, cut from 200-year-old fire-killed ponderosas — now ring the lake roads, every one crowned with carved flames. The Wyatt memorial is the one that stops people: his face, worked from a photograph into a still-rooted trunk the fire's own thermal vortex snapped, helmet clutched to his heart.
The move: Pull up the carving map, drive the lake loop hunting all fourteen flame-topped sculptures, and end at the lakeshore Wyatt memorial beside the community center.
📍 Before you go The fourteen carvings are scattered along the roads ringing Vallecito Lake's northern and western shores, about 40 minutes northeast of Durango via Florida Road (CR 240 to CR 501) — all viewable from roadside pull-offs, no real walking required. Several hide in plain sight at trailer parks, stores, and lodges, so grab the map from carvingsatvallecito.org or the Tour of Carvings brochure at the Durango Area Tourism Office before you go. The Alan Wyatt memorial stands on the lakeshore next to the Vallecito Community Center. Pair the loop with a lakeside picnic or a Vallecito Creek trailhead walk at the north end.
- 📍 Vallecito
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: Loop of County Rd 501/500 around Vallecito Lake; start near Vallecito Community Center, 17252 County Rd 501, Bayfield, CO 81122
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3
last checked: 2026-06-11