Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Encino, New Mexico

Windmill Way has a decent variety of terrain along its route. Composed of a combination of soft sand, dirt, and rocks, the trail winds its way to the southwest giving views of the surrounding mountains and a plateau to the north full of wind turbines. There are no obstacles larger than 10 inches alo...
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Red cloud trail works its way across the top of the peaks in Gallinas before descending into a forested area. With many dispersed camping opportunities, this is a great area for some more secluded outdoor activities. Multiple excellent views of the surrounding desert are available, especially while ...
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Sandwash is a trail that is exactly as named, beginning as a dirt hard-pack trail that quickly changes to a sandy wash track. As the trail begins to descend, it narrows to single-vehicle-width and changes from dirt to soft sand with one small rock garden hidden in the sand. The trail is easily trave...
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Wandering Wake is a trail that shows minimal signs of use and is very primitive with no signs of maintenance being performed. The surface changes frequently from dirt to sand with some smaller rocky sections scattered through the length of the trail. While there are no large obstacles along the trai...
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A wide dirt track through the Gallinas district of Cibola National Forest. This route skirts the base of the Gallinas peak and is primarily used as a quick through road from the south side to the north side of the area. There are minimal washouts or other obstacles on this road, and it could easily ...
Learn more about Cougar Mountain Road

Clarion Course is one of the more clear-cut trails in the area and shows more signs of use than many of the others. The trail surface is a combination of dirt, sand, and rocks but does not have any obstacles larger than 10 inches. There are sections with minor rutting and some off-camber turns, howe...
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This trail ascends a mountain surrounded by the desert to the South-East of Mountainair. When approaching the peak, it will be visible long before you start the trail when approaching from the west. The first part of the trail is driving on light gravel roads before you enter the National Forest. Th...
Learn more about Glorieta Peak

Arroyo de los Diegos is a primary dirt two-track that makes a partial loop from its connecting points off Valle Grande. The dirt surface shows some significant signs of rutting and erosion, with some areas of rutting being more than 20" or more in-depth, but still easily passable for most high clear...
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Mostly flat plains with sections of deep erosion causing washouts exceeding 10-12 inches deep. He trail has off-camber areas. Ock faces that are approximately 12 inches tall. Sections of deeply rutted muddy areas with standing water/mud can be 6-10 inches deep--scenic views of the surrounding mounta...
Learn more about Valle Grande

Open mesa plains with a web-like network of dirt roads with the occasional rocky obstacle and/or ledge. The general area is wide-open with scenic views of surrounding mesas. If you navigate deep enough into this area a couple nice rocky canyons can be found. Watch out for cattle as this is a commonl...
Learn more about El Cerrito Area of Santa Fe National Forest

The trail is mostly dirt that runs through cattle pastures. The trail has ruts that can be 6-12 inches deep and can be off-camber. After rainfall, there are chances for multiple muddy sections and standing water. There are some rocky sections with rocks not exceeding over 6 inches. This trail provid...
Learn more about Cattle Run Pass

This route leads to the premier area to see the Big Tooth Maple in the Manzano Mountains. It is the largest stand of maples in New Mexico. The road is easy but narrow in spots. Camping is available from April through November for tents and tent trailers. There is also a parking area for some short h...
Learn more about Fourth of July Campground

Cerro Encinoso Loop begins immediately off CR-34 and is an easy dirt two-track for the first mile before making its steeper 19.4% grade climb up to the Cerro Encinoso plateau and continuing on to Hogback Hill. The climb up is over a rocky and lightly rutted uneven surface that most 4WD vehicles will...
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This is an easy route to the beautiful, well-shaded, and peaceful Red Canyon Campground. The campground is at 7,600 feet in elevation. It can accommodate RVs up to 22 feet. It is easy access to the Manzano Wilderness on the Red and Spruce Canyon trails on foot or horseback. The campground has corr...
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This is a short trail that connects Gamble Oak to Easy Pickin. It's pretty wide like an ATV trail for the entire 0.6 miles, meandering through an oak and pine forest, with small rocks embedded in the dirt. Unlike many of the surrounding trails, this one has no big rock ledges or obstacles, making it...
Learn more about Caida del Pino

This is an easy single track on the south end of the Manzanita Mountain Trail System. It starts on the east side as a wide and smooth dirt trail similar to the southern beginning of Mahogany. It's wide like an ATV trail with one section of embedded chunky rock, but they're small and flat rocks so it...
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Gamble Oak is a 2.2-mile single-track trail that makes a semi-loop with Poker Chip and Mahogany. The north end starts off with Poker Chip and starts out super easy in a gamble oak forest. It crosses several intersections, all of which all well marked, so the trail is easy to follow. It starts to hav...
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Mahogany starts on the north end from a large dirt staging area off of Juan Tomas Road with plenty of places to park, across from the entrance to the Bear Scat trail. Going south, it starts as a super-fast, smooth, and flowy trail. It's very easy, and sometimes as wide as a road, with light curves. ...
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Pine Flat Connector starts on the north end at a large trailhead with pull-through parking spaces for trailers. It starts out as a very wide dirt road, then narrows up into a single track and drops down to the intersection with Deadman on a smooth dirt trail. From here, you can continue to climb up ...
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106 Road is a dirt bike trail in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System near Albuquerque, New Mexico. It runs south to north and is a quick way to connect the southern trails to ones farther north. The southern half of the trail is a mix of old road and single track. There are rocky spots with tons of ...
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Windmill Way has a decent variety of terrain along its route. Composed of a combination of soft sand, dirt, and rocks, the trail winds its way to the southwest giving views of the surrounding mountains and a plateau to the north full of wind turbines. There are no obstacles larger than 10 inches alo...
Learn more about Windmill Way

Red cloud trail works its way across the top of the peaks in Gallinas before descending into a forested area. With many dispersed camping opportunities, this is a great area for some more secluded outdoor activities. Multiple excellent views of the surrounding desert are available, especially while ...
Learn more about Red Cloud Trail

Sandwash is a trail that is exactly as named, beginning as a dirt hard-pack trail that quickly changes to a sandy wash track. As the trail begins to descend, it narrows to single-vehicle-width and changes from dirt to soft sand with one small rock garden hidden in the sand. The trail is easily trave...
Learn more about Sandwash

Wandering Wake is a trail that shows minimal signs of use and is very primitive with no signs of maintenance being performed. The surface changes frequently from dirt to sand with some smaller rocky sections scattered through the length of the trail. While there are no large obstacles along the trai...
Learn more about Wandering Wake

Windmill Way has a decent variety of terrain along its route. Composed of a combination of soft sand, dirt, and rocks, the trail winds its way to the southwest giving views of the surrounding mountains and a plateau to the north full of wind turbines. There are no obstacles larger than 10 inches alo...
Learn more about Windmill Way

Red cloud trail works its way across the top of the peaks in Gallinas before descending into a forested area. With many dispersed camping opportunities, this is a great area for some more secluded outdoor activities. Multiple excellent views of the surrounding desert are available, especially while ...
Learn more about Red Cloud Trail

Sandwash is a trail that is exactly as named, beginning as a dirt hard-pack trail that quickly changes to a sandy wash track. As the trail begins to descend, it narrows to single-vehicle-width and changes from dirt to soft sand with one small rock garden hidden in the sand. The trail is easily trave...
Learn more about Sandwash

Wandering Wake is a trail that shows minimal signs of use and is very primitive with no signs of maintenance being performed. The surface changes frequently from dirt to sand with some smaller rocky sections scattered through the length of the trail. While there are no large obstacles along the trai...
Learn more about Wandering Wake