Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Vaughn, New Mexico

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…
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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…
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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…
Learn more about El Cerrito Area of Santa Fe National Forest

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…
Learn more about Glorieta Peak

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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Learn more about Valle Grande

The trail is well maintained with a few portions that contain small rock gardens. Towards the end of the trail, there are a number of old, abandoned structures. One appears to have been an old…
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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…
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The trail is a pass through trail that gives access to other trails in the Capitan Mountains. It consists of rocky terrain that has multiple rock gardens that have rocks up to 12 inches in…
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This primarily dirt two-track partially loops through the northwest section of the Glorieta Mesa area. It features some deeper ruts and off-camber sections and has the potential to become very slick mud after rain or…
Learn more about West Mesa Loop

This is a county road with beautiful scenery that runs along a creek and passes through small villages. It leads up to the National Forrest and a mountain peak with amazing views. On this trail,…
Learn more about County Road A19A to Hermits Peak

North Glorieta Pass can be run from its east entrance at the top of Rowe Hill off of CR34 or from its west entrance located off of CR51. The primarily dirt two track is just…
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The beginning of the trail starts off with driving on flat grass and mild rocky terrain. It quickly becomes a narrow path that cuts through heavy foliage that can be difficult to navigate with a…
Learn more about Rowe Peak Pass

When I tell people I'm in New Mexico, they automatically think about the desert, but the Santa Fe National forest encompasses 1.6 million acres of mountains, valley's and mesa's. This trail ranges from an elevation…
Learn more about Pecos Barillas 83

Capitan Gap is a locally well-known and well-traversed out-and-back trail with wide open views, steep grades, and many dispersed camp sites. While the burn scar is still very visible, the trail features an abundance of…
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West Mountain is located just to the west of the Capitan Mountains and north of the town of Capitan, NM, and is a narrow, mostly single-vehicle wide, out-and-back trail with several spurs available to explore.…
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Indian Divide is located northwest of Capitan, NM, and is nestled between the larger mountains in this area. The trail gives a great combination of surface types from dirt to larger rocky obstacles, light rutting,…
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Trail starts off of a grated gravel road but quickly becomes rocky and sandy terrain. Multiple areas where rocks are up to 12 inches in height with loose rock gardens. There are heavy rutted areas…
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This area is mostly flat and desolate. However, this trail will bring you scenic views of the Pecos River and put you back into the old west. This trail will take you down into a…
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Salazar Canyon East begins just east of Baca campground inside a private land boundary before returning to USFS. The surface is a combination of rock and dirt with some small rock gardens, low-lying areas that…
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Bull Creek is one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on. Driving past the Santa Fe National Forest off Interstate 40, I knew that taking the time to explore this area was going…
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Baca Traverse sits in the foothills of the Capitan Mountains and starts out with some minor off-camber rutted areas that are a combination of rocks and dirt. The initial ascent opens up to a more…
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This is an easy trail across some open meadows on NM State Land. Unfortunately, despite maps of the trail showing National Forest access, the trail currently dead ends at a gate preventing access to FSR…
Learn more about Molino Meadows

This area is mostly flat and full of ranches. But this trail provides some scenic sights of Cibolo Creek and its eroded banks and, as an added bonus, you drive right past the grave of…
Learn more about Billy the Kid Loop

Calf Crossing starts and ends at gated private property lines, and intersects off Baca Traverse. This trail has the potential to be very muddy, with signs of rutting and washes, as well as multiple small…
Learn more about Calf Crossing