Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Los Chaves, New Mexico

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...
Learn more about Red Canyon Campground

This spur route heads south from Riley County Road 12. It leads to gorgeous views of the Ladron Mountains and open areas for hiking and exploring. There are some old uranium prospects and mines in the area as well. Driving off the designated roads is prohibited. Road conditions vary due to erosion ...
Learn more about Ladron View

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

This is a spur trail off Riley CR 12. It winds around some small hills and ends at a picturesque windmill, watering tank, and building ruins. The majestic Ladron mountains create the backdrop. Locals target shoot in this area so listen for shooting before venturing onto this trail.
Learn more about Windmill

This is a wide-open sky drive that starts on the northwest side of the Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge. It winds around the striking Ladron (Thieves) Mountain. There are a few scattered ranches but most of the area is owned by the federal Bureau of Land Management that borders the Wildlife Refuge. The Lad...
Learn more about Riley CR 12

This route travels through the southern tip of the Manzano Mountains and connects the village of Manzano on State Highway 131 with State Highway 60. It travels along a right-of-way through private property on both ends before entering the Cibola Forest. The trail can be dusty and has a few low water...
Learn more about FS 422 Priest Canyon

530 Road is an old dirt road that is closed to motor vehicles other than motorcycles. It's super easy the whole way, being a smooth dirt road with only a couple of spots where there is flat embedded rock slab. The east end starts at the Mars Court Trailhead with space for horse trailers and several ...
Learn more about 530 Road

This spur route travels southeast from Riley CR 12 toward Ladron Mountain. The road continues into the Ladron Wilderness Study Area and can serve as the starting point for a hike into the rugged wilderness. There are no designated hiking trails in this area and cell phone activity can be limited.
Learn more about Ladron Wilderness Access

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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Drop In is a fast and easy single track in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System by Albuquerque, New Mexico. This trail starts and ends off of 106 Road, which is also easy. It has fast sections on smooth dirt, and a few sections with some chunky rock, but has no big ledges or obstacles. It goes throug...
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Cajun Pine is an easy trail in the Cibola National Forest near Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the most part, it's easy, with a few spots of embedded rock slabs, loose rocks, and small ledges. The south end is pretty full of loose chunky rocks and tight curves through the pine trees. It intersects with...
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West Boundary is an easy single track in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System that goes north to south along the west boundary of this OHV area in the Cibola National Forest. The land on the west side of this trail belongs to the US Air Force, and there are signs every 50 feet stating not to enter be...
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This trail is a shortcut to the Ladron Wilderness Study Area and parking for hiking into the Ladron Wilderness. There are many stories and legends of treasure hidden in this area. The name Ladron translates into Thieves Mountain. According to lore, thieves would rob the wagon trains, travelers, and ...
Learn more about Ladron Wilderness Shortcut

Otero Canyon is a really fun and easy trail in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System by Albuquerque, New Mexico. This one is scenic, fast, and flowy, with a few rocky sections. It starts from the north at the Otero Trailhead, which is a big pull-off on Highway 337 with space for lots of vehicles. You ...
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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...
Learn more about Easy Pickin

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 ...
Learn more about Pine Flat Connector

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

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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Middle is one of the easier single tracks in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System, without any big rock ledges. It just has sections of loose rock and embedded slab but no big obstacles. It still has some technical features like very tight turns through the pinyon pine trees and lots of curves. This ...
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This is a short 1.1-mile-long trail starting at the Coyote Trailhead, which has several spots for parking. It starts through a pinch point at a gated dirt road. It parallels the dirt road on a flowy dirt single track with a couple of rock slab sections. Other than a few obstacles, most of the trail ...
Learn more about Coyote-Chamisoso Link

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...
Learn more about Red Canyon Campground

This spur route heads south from Riley County Road 12. It leads to gorgeous views of the Ladron Mountains and open areas for hiking and exploring. There are some old uranium prospects and mines in the area as well. Driving off the designated roads is prohibited. Road conditions vary due to erosion ...
Learn more about Ladron View

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

This is a spur trail off Riley CR 12. It winds around some small hills and ends at a picturesque windmill, watering tank, and building ruins. The majestic Ladron mountains create the backdrop. Locals target shoot in this area so listen for shooting before venturing onto this trail.
Learn more about Windmill

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...
Learn more about Red Canyon Campground

This spur route heads south from Riley County Road 12. It leads to gorgeous views of the Ladron Mountains and open areas for hiking and exploring. There are some old uranium prospects and mines in the area as well. Driving off the designated roads is prohibited. Road conditions vary due to erosion ...
Learn more about Ladron View

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

This is a spur trail off Riley CR 12. It winds around some small hills and ends at a picturesque windmill, watering tank, and building ruins. The majestic Ladron mountains create the backdrop. Locals target shoot in this area so listen for shooting before venturing onto this trail.
Learn more about Windmill