Viewpoint Loop Trail

The South Pasture Loop trail, while part of the Pecos NHP, isn't in the main park. Currently, this trail is only open on the weekends and the road gate closes at 1pm. The trail itself closes at 3pm, and takes about 2-3 hours unless you plan on hiking for speed. No pets allowed. 0.7 miles down the south on highway NM-63 from the main park, you will turn left at, as the Park Ranger described it,...

Pecos National Historical Park offers up the "grand slam" for hiking, which is a bit of a misnomer because they only have 3 trails and a grand slam indicates you would have completed 4 of something. In order to achieve the "grand slam" you need to hike all 3 trails in one day, completing approximately 7.5 miles of hiking. The trails are the Ancient Sites Trail, the Glorieta Battlefield Trail, ...

The park is easy to get to from Santa Fe. It's about 30 miles SE on the I-25 highway that leads you through Pecos. Once at the park, the 1.25 mile loop trail begins and ends at the visitor center. Don't forget to stop in there. It's surprisingly nice with some terrific history of the area dating back to the Conquistadores as well as the Civil War. Don't expect a great workout from the Ancestr...

This trail is a little tricky to get to, so be sure to stop at the Pecos NHP Visitor Center first for directions. You will also need to retrieve a gate code from the ranger. I would recommend picking up a guide inside the Visitor Center so you know what you're looking at on the trail (important). To get to the trail, turn right as you're leaving the park. 7.5 miles down the road is the Old Den...

The Galisteo Basin Preserve south of Santa Fe, New Mexico is community conservation area of some 10,000 acres with 28 miles of publicly accessible trails for hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians.The Happy Valley Overlook is a great, quick way to get an epic view of a large portion of Galisteo and is only a short half mile hike from the Thumb Trailhead, just off Highway 285 14 miles south of...

The Dale Ball Trail system, covers a wide swath of terrain between Santa Fe County, the City of Santa Fe, the National Forest, and The Nature Conservancy with a 22 mile network of trails in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Located a short distance from downtown Santa Fe, it is the quickest way to get from the city into the mountains. It offers great opportunities for beginners a...