Birdhouse Ridge

Total Miles
2.5

Elevation

2,204.66 ft

Duration

0.5 Hours

Technical Rating

6

Moderate

Best Time

Spring, Fall, Winter

Trail Overview

Birdhouse Ridge is an intermediate trail in the Cibola National Forest that gains 650 feet over 2.7 miles as it heads south. It starts at the Tunnel Trailhead off State Highway 337 and continues as a very curvy, narrow, shelfy trail with difficult rock obstacles. There are lots of rocky sections with embedded rocks, slab rock, small blunt ledges, and tight curves between the pinyon pine. The trail has several tight switchbacks in order to get up on top of the mesa, and the trail is a bit shelfy as it climbs up. It has several tricky rock ledge obstacles during the shelfy sections, with chunky, diagonal slabs of rock that are sometimes several-foot-high stair steps, with multiple layers of ledges. A couple of these obstacles are also tricky rock pinches. The rest of the trail is flowy and fun in between the obstacles.

Photos of Birdhouse Ridge

Birdhouse Ridge
Birdhouse Ridge

Difficulty

This is an intermediate single track with several rock ledge obstacles that are challenging due to being several feet high, sometimes on a shelfy narrow section of trail, and with several hairpin switchbacks.

Technical Rating

6

Status Reports

There are no status reports yet for this trail.

Access Description

The Manzanita Mountain Trail System is a very well-maintained multi-use area popular for hiking, horses, mountain biking, and dirt bikes. There are 40+ trails ranging from a mile to 5 miles long of varying difficulties between easy and advanced in a Chihuahuan desert terrain in the Cibola National Forest. There are enough trails for 2-3 days of riding, and it's best in fall and spring when it's not too hot. Be aware of oncoming traffic since there are lots of tight turns and it can be busy. There are several staging areas from the north off of Chamiso Canyon Road, as well as the Tunnel and Pine Flat Trailheads along State Road 337, and from the south at the Oak Flat Trailhead.

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