Get outdoors with this guide to 60 of the best hikes within an hour or so from Albuquerque, leading you to scenic overlooks, wildlife hot spots, and historical settings.

Overview Map

Map Legend

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Preface

60 Hikes by Category

Introduction

GREATER ALBUQUERQUE

• Ball Ranch


• Canyon Estates-Faulty Trails


• Carlito Springs


• Corrales Acequias and Bosque Preserve


• Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument


• La Luz Trail to the Crest and Tram


• Petroglyph National Monument: Piedras Marcadas


• Petroglyph National Monument: The Volcanoes


• Piedra Lisa Trailhead Options


• Pino Trail


• Rio Grande Nature Center-Bosque/Ditch Walk


• Three Gun-Embudo Trails: Up-and-Over-the-Sandias Adventure


• Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge

EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS

• Armijo Trail-Cienega Spring


• Del Agua Overlook


• Fourth of July Canyon-Cerro Blanco


• Golden Open Space


• Mars Court Trailhead-David Canyon


• Red Canyon


• Sabino Canyon and Juan Tomas Open Spaces


• San Pedro Mountains Mining Area


• Tree Spring-Crest Trail

GREATER SANTA FE

NORTHWEST OF ALBUQUERQUE

• Cabezon Peak


• Continental Divide Trail (CDT): Deadman Peaks


• Guadalupe Outlier


• Holiday Mesa


• La Lena WSA: Empedrado Ridge-CDT


• McCauley Hot Springs


• Ojito Wilderness: Hoodoo Trail


• Ojito Wilderness: Seismosaurus Trail


• Paliza Canyon Goblin Colony


• San Ysidro Trials Area


• Stable Mesa


• Valles Caldera National Preserve


• White Ridge Bike Trails Area

SOUTH AND WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE

• Abo Pass Area


• Canada del Ojo


• El Cerro Tome


• El Malpais National Monument: Sandstone Bluffs


• Herrera Mesa


• Hidden Mountain


• Monte Largo Canyon


• Mount Taylor: Gooseberry Spring


• San Lorenzo Canyon


• Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge


• Sierra Ladrones


• Trigo Canyon


• Water Canyon Wildlife Area

Appendix A: Public Lands

Appendix B: Everything Else You Need to Know About New Mexico

Index

About the Authors

David Ryan left his conventional job in the business world at the age of 49 to rearrange his life into a mixture of income-producing and personal activities. Since making that change, he has found time to walk the 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail from end to end, walk the Camino de Santiago from France to Santiago de Compostela in the west of Spain, become involved in archaeology, earn a black belt in aikido, and pursue several other outdoor and walking activities. For the past 18 years he has explored the New Mexico backcountry, looking for previously unknown archaeology sites as a volunteer for the Bureau of Land Management. He is the author of Long Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail for the Older Adventurer, The Gentle Art of Wandering, The Bisbee Stairs, and a blog on walking and wandering at gentleartofwandering.com. David lives in Albuquerque with his wife, Claudia, and his three dogs, Paddy, Petey, and Sparky. To contact David Ryan or receive hike updates, please visit 60hikesabq.com.

Stephen Ausherman has worked as a public-health assistant in Iraq, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania; a teacher in Korea and China; and a journalist in India and the United States. He was a writer-in-residence at Buffalo National River in Arkansas, Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, and Bernheim Forest in Kentucky, and an artist-in-residence for Cornucopia Art Center in Minnesota, Blue Sky Project in Illinois, and Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. Born in China and raised in North Carolina, Stephen took an unscheduled detour to Albuquerque in 1996. He has lived there ever since.