Bosque Estatal De Guajataca, Isabela

Need to hike for about 40 minutes. Bring shoes instead of flipflops if you can. The first turn, go right toward #5, otherwise you'll end up in the parking lot again. The stairs are in pretty bad shape but if you get down, you feel well worth it. I only saw a few trash en route, thank you, good mannered hikers.

This was one of the nature reserves on the island I had never visited. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how well kept it is, only compared to El Yunque. What I mean is in terms of the available parking, available information posted around for the visitors, how well kept and labeled the trails are. I was a bit disappointed (4 ⭐️s only) to see the office/visitor center closed, even though it said that day they were supposed to be working. But no surprise here, after witnessing the same situation in other natural areas on the island (see other reviews). In the afternoon we did see a DNER Ranger and I was able to ask a few questions. FYI...After 5pm the area is closed (access is still available) but you will get a parking ticket if they see your car there. We followed the main trails (1, 5, 6) to go to Cueva del Viento. It's worth the trek. I believe. those trails are good for kids 5 yo and older, most of them are flat no requiring too much effort. Coming up from the cave back to the trail can be exhausting. As you can expect, wooden stairs in this type of environment don't last, but this day they could be used with some precautions. We climbed to the observation tower. Again, very nice to see well kept resting areas and informative stations throughout the interpretative trail. Lots of butterflies flying around, lizards all over the place and, although shy, several species of birds.