Nm Trail Guides

Alkali Flat Trail

📍 Heart of the Dunes Area, Alamogordo

Strenuous 📏 5.0 Loop

Alkali Flat Trail navigates the heart of the White Sands dunefield by following orange-painted posts across open sand te…

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Alkali Flat Trail

📍 Heart of the Dunes, Alamogordo

Strenuous 📏 5.0 Loop

Alkali Flat Trail navigates the heart of the White Sands dunefield by following orange-painted posts across open sand te…

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Big Tesuque Trail

📍 Hyde Memorial State Park, NM

Strenuous 📏 4.0 Out-and-Back

The Big Tesuque Trail at Hyde Memorial State Park provides access from the state park into the Santa Fe National Forest,…

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City of Rocks Trail

📍 City of Rocks State Park, NM

Easy 📏 2.0 Loop

The City of Rocks Trail winds through one of New Mexico's most otherworldly geological landscapes, a dense cluster of vo…

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Cottonwood Cove Trail

📍 Bottomless Lakes State Park, NM

Easy 📏 2.5 Loop

The Cottonwood Cove Trail at Bottomless Lakes State Park winds through a beautiful gallery forest of Fremont cottonwood …

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Crater Rim Trail

📍 Capulin, NM

Moderate 📏 1.0 Loop

The Crater Rim Trail circles the top of Capulin Volcano, a nearly perfect cinder cone that last erupted approximately 80…

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Crater Vent Trail

📍 Capulin, NM

Easy 📏 0.2 Out-and-Back

The Crater Vent Trail descends into the bottom of Capulin Volcano, offering visitors the rare and remarkable experience …

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Dam Overlook Trail

📍 Elephant Butte Lake State Park, NM

Easy 📏 1.5 Out-and-Back

The Dam Overlook Trail at Elephant Butte Lake State Park leads to a viewpoint overlooking the historic Elephant Butte Da…

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Desert Garden Loop

📍 City of Rocks State Park, NM

Easy 📏 1.0 Loop

The Desert Garden Loop at City of Rocks State Park winds through a carefully curated botanical garden established within…

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Desert Nature Walk

📍 Visitor Center, Carlsbad

Easy 📏 0.5 Loop

The Desert Nature Walk is a short paved loop near the visitor center that introduces visitors to the Chihuahuan Desert e…

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Dune Life Nature Trail

📍 Dune Life Nature Trail Parking, Alamogordo

Easy 📏 1.0 Loop

Dune Life Nature Trail introduces the surprising ecological richness of White Sands — a landscape that appears completel…

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Dune Life Nature Trail

📍 White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Easy 📏 1.0 Loop

The Dune Life Nature Trail is a self-guided interpretive loop that ventures into White Sands National Park's active dune…

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Interdune Boardwalk

📍 Interdune Boardwalk Parking, Alamogordo

Easy 📏 0.4 Loop

The Interdune Boardwalk traverses the low-lying area between active dune crests where the water table is close enough to…

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Interdune Boardwalk

📍 White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Easy 📏 0.4 Loop

The Interdune Boardwalk is the most accessible trail in White Sands National Park, designed to provide a fully wheelchai…

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Kuaua Pueblo Trail

📍 Coronado Historic Site, NM

Easy 📏 0.5 Loop

The Kuaua Pueblo Trail at Coronado Historic Site provides an intimate walk through the partially reconstructed ruins of …

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Lakes Loop Trail

📍 Bottomless Lakes State Park, NM

Easy 📏 4.0 Loop

The Lakes Loop Trail at Bottomless Lakes State Park connects eight remarkable sinkholes filled with groundwater that dis…

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Lakeshore Trail

📍 Elephant Butte Lake State Park, NM

Easy 📏 5.0 Loop

The Lakeshore Trail at Elephant Butte Lake State Park circles portions of New Mexico's largest reservoir, offering expan…

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Lava Flow Trail

📍 Capulin, NM

Easy 📏 2.0 Loop

The Lava Flow Trail explores the base of Capulin Volcano, traversing the ancient basalt lava flows that poured from the …

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Mirror Lake Trail

📍 Bottomless Lakes State Park, NM

Easy 📏 1.5 Out-and-Back

The Mirror Lake Trail at Bottomless Lakes State Park leads to the most accessible and visitor-friendly of the park's rem…

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Natural Entrance Route

📍 Natural Entrance, Carlsbad

Moderate 📏 1.25 Out-and-Back

The Natural Entrance Route descends 750 feet on a paved path through the historic opening of Carlsbad Caverns -- the sam…

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NM - Gila Wilderness Section

📍 Gila Wilderness, New Mexico

Strenuous 📏 15.0 Out-and-Back

The Gila Wilderness Section of the Continental Divide Trail passes through the first designated wilderness area in the U…

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NM - Sandia Mountains Section

📍 Sandia Mountains, New Mexico

Strenuous 📏 12.0 Out-and-Back

The Sandia Mountains Section of the Continental Divide Trail climbs dramatically above Albuquerque to Sandia Crest at 10…

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Old Guano Road Trail

📍 Natural Entrance Area, Carlsbad

Easy 📏 3.4 Out-and-Back

Old Guano Road Trail follows the historic route of a cable tramway system built in 1903 to extract bat guano from Carlsb…

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Playa Trail

📍 Heart of the Dunes, Alamogordo

Easy 📏 2.5 Loop

Playa Trail loops through the interdune areas at the heart of the White Sands dunefield, passing through the more stabil…

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Ponderosa Ridge Trail

📍 Hyde Memorial State Park, NM

Moderate 📏 2.5 Loop

The Ponderosa Ridge Trail at Hyde Memorial State Park traverses the transitional zone between the pinon-juniper woodland…

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Rattlesnake Springs Trail

📍 Rattlesnake Springs, Carlsbad

Easy 📏 2.0 Loop

Rattlesnake Springs is one of the most important birding sites in New Mexico, a National Natural Landmark and historic w…

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Rio Grande Trail

📍 Coronado Historic Site, NM

Easy 📏 2.0 Out-and-Back

The Rio Grande Trail at Coronado Historic Site follows the cottonwood bosque along the west bank of the Rio Grande, imme…

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Rocky Canyon Trail

📍 Elephant Butte Lake State Park, NM

Moderate 📏 3.0 Out-and-Back

The Rocky Canyon Trail at Elephant Butte Lake State Park ascends into the volcanic canyon terrain above the reservoir, o…

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Sandia Mountain Vista

📍 Coronado Historic Site, NM

Easy 📏 1.5 Loop

The Sandia Mountain Vista loop at Coronado Historic Site circles the perimeter of the pueblo ruin area to take maximum a…

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Slaughter Canyon Cave Hike

📍 Slaughter Canyon Trailhead, Carlsbad

Strenuous 📏 5.2 Out-and-Back

Slaughter Canyon Cave sits in a remote section of Carlsbad Caverns National Park accessible only via a ranger-led tour t…

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Sunset Stroll Trail

📍 White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Easy 📏 1.0 Out-and-Back

The Sunset Stroll is White Sands National Park's most atmospheric evening experience, a ranger-led program that departs …

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Tesuque Creek Trail

📍 Hyde Memorial State Park, NM

Moderate 📏 3.0 Out-and-Back

The Tesuque Creek Trail at Hyde Memorial State Park follows the riparian canyon below the Santa Fe ski area, tracing the…

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Trail of Giants

📍 City of Rocks State Park, NM

Moderate 📏 3.0 Loop

The Trail of Giants at City of Rocks State Park circuits through the outer perimeter of the volcanic formation field, vi…

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Dunes Drive Cycling

📍 Visitor Center, Alamogordo

Easy 📏 16.0 Out-and-Back

Dunes Drive is the 8-mile paved road from the White Sands visitor center to the Heart of the Dunes area, and cycling it …

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Guadalupe Ridge Road Cycling

📍 Park Entrance Road, Carlsbad

Strenuous 📏 14.0 Out-and-Back

The park entrance road from the Highway 62/180 junction to the Carlsbad Caverns visitor center climbs 1,200 feet in 7 mi…

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