Trail · Southwest NM
Aden Lava Flow Wilderness
Characterized by basalt flows, volcanic craters, and coppice sand dunes.
Hiking, mountain-bike, and equestrian trails across New Mexico — with difficulty, allowed uses, hazards, land manager, and cultural-protocol guidance.
Characterized by basalt flows, volcanic craters, and coppice sand dunes.
Located 20 miles southwest of Las Cruces in the Chihuahuan Desert.
Highly eroded volcanic mountains, mesas, and canyons in southwestern New Mexico.
Three looped mountain bike trails covering over 15 miles near a rumored UFO crash site.
Over 10,000 acres of rugged badlands with dramatic views of Angel Peak, a nearly 7,000-foot sandstone landmark.
An open landscape of rolling desert prairie adjacent to the San Pasqual Wilderness, home to antelope and mule deer.
The namesake Apache Box is a deep narrow canyon carved by Apache Creek with cliffs rising 600 feet.
On the Silver City district adjacent to NM Hwy 15; an arrastra was a primitive ore crusher used in old mining operations.
The lower Atalaya Mountain trailhead near St John's College in Santa Fe.
Starts in a residential area above the lower trailhead near St John's College in Santa Fe.
Parking for the East Fork Trail (FT 137) north of Battleship Rock Picnic Area off NM 4, about five miles north of Jemez Springs.
Along the road to the Santa Fe Ski Area just above Hyde Park; good loop options.
In southwestern New Mexico; Big Hatchet Peak is the highest mountain in the vicinity.
A rolling badlands landscape offering some of the most unusual scenery in the Four Corners Region.
Dominated by a volcanic fault block mountain named Black Mountain.
The Borrego Trail runs north–south between Borrego Mesa and the Aspen Ranch trailhead near the Santa Fe Ski Basin.
A secluded wilderness sheltering hidden water pools, flat-topped mountains and ancient cultural sites.
In southern New Mexico, contiguous with the Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness in Texas.
At the end of Forest Road 263; parking, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding.
A large volcanic plug — a steep-sided symmetrical neck of volcanic rock in northwestern New Mexico.
Sagebrush flats and pinyon-covered sandstone hills; under consideration for addition to the Cebolla Wilderness.
One of the world's great cave systems beneath the Chihuahuan Desert. Hike the steep Natural Entrance Trail or take the elevator to the Big Room Trail; timed-entry reservations are required to enter the cave.
One of the most recent lava flows in the continental United States, dating back about 1,500 years.
Casamero Pueblo was occupied by the Chacoan Anasazi between A.D. 1000 and 1125, an example of a Chacoan outlier.
A small Chacoan Outlier set against the red sandstone cliffs of Tecolote (Owl) Mesa.
Trailhead for the Catwalk National Recreation Trail #207 / Whitewater Trail #207 near Glenwood.
The gentler of Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument's two trails: a 1.2-mile loop along the base of the tent rock formations, passing a small cavate (cave) carved into the volcanic tuff. Same ticketed-entry and Cochiti Tribal Access Pass requirements as the rest of the Monument.
A 61,600-acre wilderness of sandstone mesas, canyons, and grassy valleys.
A group-use picnic shelter at Cedar Creek (up to 40 people), day-use only, reservable via Recreation.gov.
A southeast-trending ridge with scattered peaks and rolling hills in southwestern New Mexico.
A 33-mile backcountry byway in El Malpais National Conservation Area and National Monument.
A line of more than 25 cinder cones within the El Malpais National Conservation Area.
The first forest trailhead on the road up to the Santa Fe Ski Basin.
A higher plateau dominated by piñon and ponderosa pines; elk, coyotes, mule deer, and turkey use the area.
Part of the Greater Potrillo Mountains Complex, about 30 miles southwest of Las Cruces.
Extending 3,100 miles between Mexico and Canada, offering primitive hiking and horseback riding along the Divide.
The landmark of this area is Pelona Mountain, rising to 9,212 feet in west-central New Mexico.
In southern New Mexico about 60 miles from Las Cruces.
On County Road B-054 (Bursum Rd.) to access the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail in the Gila.
Rugged canyons and rough hill country covered by juniper, mixed mountain shrubs, and grasses.
Crow Canyon is a historic site about 30 miles southeast of Farmington, New Mexico.
Gently rolling hills and steep mountain slopes dissected by numerous canyons and arroyos.
Knife-edged ridges and peaks rising above the surrounding desert grassland.
About 40 miles southwest of Carlsbad, contiguous with the Guadalupe Escarpment WSA.
The Devil's Reach WSA is a rugged area just west of the Devil's Backbone WSA, primarily grass covered.
Dramatic vertical basalt cliffs near the Río Grande offering multi-pitch traditional and sport climbing.
Access to the Fort Bayard Trail System (Dragonfly #720, Servis Corrals #725, Old Highway 260 #260, Crosscountry Course #722).
Over four miles of easy hiking trails at the foot of the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces.
More than 800 acres for off-road enthusiasts at the Dunes Vehicle Recreation Area south of Farmington.
In western New Mexico, characterized by rolling topography broken by sandstone and basalt mesas and canyons.
On NM 4 midway along the East Fork Trail (FT 137), about a mile east of Jemez Falls Campground.
Chihuahuan Desert grassland and yucca make up the majority of the plant cover in the area.
A natural sandstone amphitheater on the Carson National Forest in Rio Arriba County, known for its echoing acoustics.
The earliest Euro-American trade route in the U.S., linking Mexico City to New Mexico across 1,600 miles.
Established in 1987 to protect the geological, archaeological, and cultural resources of the Zuni-Bandera volcanic field.
Several independent tracts under consideration for Wilderness designation within the El Malpais area.
Deep arroyos, sculpted mesas, canyons, and sandstone outcrops; easily traveled by horseback.
In southern New Mexico about 10 miles southeast of Deming.
Established in 1854, one of the largest and most important frontier forts in the West.
Protects nationally important historic, cultural, scientific, and cave resources.
On the northwest end of Fourth of July Campground (winter gate closure — park outside and walk in).
A true oasis in the desert, 20 miles north of Lordsburg, with year-round fishing and camping.
The Gila River has cut a five-mile-long steep-walled canyon 600 feet deep, creating the Lower Box.
19,000 acres of sandy arroyos, slick rock and rolling terrain with marked trail-bike and mountain-bike routes.
On the upper loop of Forest Road 193, about 5 miles from State Highway 547 (Mount Taylor area).
In southwestern New Mexico about 40 miles from Lordsburg.
In the southwestern part of New Mexico about 30 miles east of Douglas, AZ.
The easternmost Chacoan Outlier, a single-story masonry pueblo on an isolated sandstone mesa.
1,920 acres of OHV trails on bare rock and sandy washes overlooking the Pecos River; single track ideal for mountain biking.
Hiking, backpacking, and fishing access with a vault toilet at Holy Ghost Campground in the Pecos.
The Margarita Martinez Homestead: a four-room sandstone house, corral, and irrigation canal in Tafoya Canyon.
Rising to 9,450 feet above the grassy plains of San Agustin in west-central New Mexico.
About a 12-mile loop rated intermediate with some technical, rocky sections.
A 22-acre area remaining after the adjacent Arizona portion was released from wilderness review in 1990.
Consists primarily of the Ignacio Chavez and Chamisa Wilderness Study Areas; steep canyons challenge backcountry hikers.
The northern portion is arid; the southern portion is a higher plateau dominated by piñon and ponderosa.
Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District trailhead; bring your own water (potable water unavailable).
Among aspens and mixed conifer in the Pecos high country; 8 units for equestrian camping.
21 miles up NM 63; trailhead parking for hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding, with vault toilets and drinking water.
Adjacent to the Jemez Falls Group Area; reached via the Jemez Falls Campground turnoff past the day-use area.
Diverse recreation with many roads and trails traversing dissected canyons and high sandstone bluffs.
Almost entirely lava flows characterized by lava tubes, sink holes, and pressure ridges.
Entry by reservation only, Thursdays through Mondays between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Kayser / Cottonwood Trailhead in the Manzano Mountains.
A maar volcanic crater designated a National Natural Landmark in 1975.
Hundreds of petroglyphs from pre-contact and Spanish colonial eras along a mesa above the Santa Fe River.
An archeological rock shelter at the foot of the Organ Mountains outside Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Deep arroyos, sculpted mesas, canyons, and sandstone outcrops; easily traveled by horseback.
A preserved silver-mining ghost town founded in 1878.
On NM 4 about 3/4 mile south of Las Conchas Picnic Area; eastern terminus of the East Fork Trail (FT 137).
At 5,676 feet, Little Black Peak is the primary source of the surrounding Carrizozo lava flow.
Just outside Silver City, a pleasant picnic and trail day-use area for groups and families.
A three-acre freshwater pond stocked with fish by NM Game and Fish, providing habitat for wildlife.
Stark landscape transitions from Chihuahuan Desert shrubs to sheer limestone cliffs.
The Manzano WSA is under consideration for addition to the Manzano Wilderness managed by the Cibola National Forest.
On the edge of the Great Plains at the northern end of a belt of sand dunes stabilized by shinnery oak.
Over 606,000 acres of withdrawn public lands on the west side of Otero Mesa, jointly managed by BLM and the U.S. Army.
About 40 miles southwest of Carlsbad, contiguous with the Guadalupe Escarpment WSA.
Shinnery oak dune country east of Roswell offering open OHV riding.
Rolling grasslands broken by isolated sandstone and basalt mesas, with the Red Hill Cinder Cone.
Western lower end of Mineral Creek Trail #201 in the Gila.
In southern New Mexico approximately 30 miles southwest of Las Cruces.
In southern New Mexico about 30 miles southwest of Carlsbad.
Two loops covering about 5 miles of rolling terrain with views of colorful eroded badlands.
A winter nordic ski trailhead and summer hiking loop near the Santa Fe Ski Basin.
A desert landscape of steep-sided mesas, rocky terraces, box canyons, deep meandering arroyos, and austere badlands.
Adjacent to, and under consideration for addition to, the Ojito Wilderness.
Links Santa Fe and Los Angeles across six states and 2,700 miles.
Located in south-central New Mexico on the eastern edge of Las Cruces.
Protects prehistoric, historic, geologic, and biologic resources across four areas near Las Cruces.
Within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument; campgrounds offer river access in the Rio Grande Gorge.
At the end of Forest Road 305 off NM 63, about 22 miles north of Pecos; drinking water, vault toilet. Hiking, backpacking, horseback riding.
6,000 acres with access to the Pecos River and the surrounding Red Bluff Reservoir.
In southwestern New Mexico, contiguous with the Peloncillo Wilderness in Arizona.
On the eastern edge of Las Cruces; the Peña Blanca rock shelters are the site of the earliest known cultivated corn in the U.S.
A one-mile loop trail just outside the village of San Ysidro in northwest New Mexico.
Known for dramatic, colorful topography featuring lava, colorful mesas, and sandstone cliffs.
A 4,959-foot volcanic mountain northwest of Las Cruces with mountain biking, hiking, and equestrian trails.
The large basalt outcropping known as Point of Rocks is among the landmarks that travelers depended on to keep their bearings as they made their way through the desert.
A large prehistoric village (the Greenness Pueblo) dated to the 13th through 16th centuries AD.
In southern New Mexico approximately 30 miles southwest of Las Cruces in the Chihuahuan Desert.
Preserves one of the world's most significant Early Permian megatracksites in the Robledo Mountains.
In central New Mexico, approximately 10 miles east of Socorro.
An unpaved county road traversing about 24 miles of rugged, colorful landscapes east of Socorro.
Red Canyon / Spruce Spring Trailhead in the Manzano Mountains.
Designated Wild and Scenic for its lower 4 miles before joining the Río Grande within the national monument.
A wide, 5-mile, all-weather, beginner-level loop within Wild Rivers Recreation Area.
An easy-to-moderate 2.5-mile loop running up the river to the Petroglyph Rock.
Flows through a multi-colored sandstone canyon whose walls rise to 1,500 feet above the river.
Gently rolling sagebrush plains and a 900-foot deep canyon of colorful siltstone and sandstone.
Rugged plains at an average elevation of 7,000 feet, dotted by volcanic cones and cut by steep canyons with rivers.
Within the Río Grande del Norte National Monument, 74 miles of river pass through the 800-foot deep gorge.
In the south-central portion of New Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert.
A remote area of high, narrow mesas surrounded by cliff-lined canyons in northeastern New Mexico.
A flat plain at about 8,400 feet contains a gorge about 100 feet deep carved by the Rio San Antonio.
Jointly managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the BLM as a primitive recreation area of sandstone cliffs and hoodoos.
A destination where trials riders, mountain bikers, and outdoor enthusiasts enjoy technical recreation.
Just east of Albuquerque, the most-visited mountains in New Mexico — hiking, biking, horseback riding, and winter sports across all seasons.
Santa Cruz Lake at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Chimayo offers boating, fishing, hiking and camping.
A rugged, highly scenic desert mountain range in west-central New Mexico.
In the south-central portion of New Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert.
In west-central New Mexico, rising precipitously out of the Rio Grande Valley.
A 29-mile National Recreation Trail along the western flank of the Organ Mountains and eastern Franklin Mountains.
About 3,900 acres managed for semi-primitive recreation near the San Juan River Quality Waters.
The signature hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: 1.5 miles out and back through a narrow slot canyon between cone-shaped tent rock formations, climbing to a mesa-top viewpoint. The slot narrows to shoulder width — it is a drainage, and it floods from storms far upstream.
Trailhead at Snow Lake for Snow Lake Trail #142 in the Gila.
A 120-acre environmental education area in the Rio Grande Bosque.
At the juncture of Bar Canyon and Soledad Canyon in the western foothills of the Organ Mountains.
A short hike from the parking area, about five miles north of the Jemez Ranger District office; no signage, parking for seven vehicles.
In central New Mexico, approximately 15 miles east of Socorro.
Just east of the entrance to McGaffey Campground in the Zuni Mountains.
Single-track loops and two-track trails totaling about 16 miles above the Rio Grande Gorge.
A scenic, rugged box canyon very popular for technical rock climbing and bouldering.
Outstanding examples of prehistoric Jornada Mogollon rock art on a basaltic ridge above the Three Rivers Valley.
A small, hump-backed mountain rising above the East Mesa to an elevation of 4,928 feet.
Historic cabin along the Walk In The Past Interpretive Trail #616.
A vast volcanic caldera of grassy valles and large elk herds in the Jemez Mountains. Hiking and backcountry vehicle access are managed through timed-entry reservations.
In central New Mexico approximately five miles east of Socorro.
Accessed from Forest Road 453 in the Mount Taylor area.
A landscape of volcanic lava flows, mostly flat, encompassing three main ecotypes.
A 12-mile system designed primarily for mountain biking along gypsum ridgelines; hikers welcome and one segment open to equestrians.
The world's largest gypsum dunefield — 275 square miles of glistening white sand in the Tularosa Basin. Hike the Alkali Flat or Dune Life Nature trails; the park periodically closes for White Sands Missile Range operations.
A 13-mile closed-loop road providing access to BLM's Wild Rivers Recreation Area within the national monument.
20 miles north of Pecos on NM 63, then 1.5 miles on FR 121. Fishing, hiking, backpacking. No camping, no water, no horse trailers.
Access for Winsor Ridge Trail #271 and the trail to Panchuela; 20 miles north of Pecos on NM 63. Hiking, backpacking, horseback riding.
A popular access point into the Pecos Wilderness, at the Santa Fe Ski Basin parking lot.