Trail Overview

Coyote Mesa Trail is listed on MUVM maps as FR462. Its starts just south of Tijeras in Chamisos Canyon, and crosses the mesa north of Cedro Peak ending near the Zuzax area. This trail offers panoramic views of the Sandias, Monzanos and Cedro Peak with minimal difficulty. At each break in the trees, there are views in every direction. Most of the time the road is very easy, involving a few rocky sections that must be slowed down for, and some easily avoidable ruts. It is easily doable in most crossovers or other SUVs. Due to the combination of rocky surroundings and a dirt road, the trail quickly deteriorates in any kind of moisture. It is easy to get stuck, especially in vehicles without off-road oriented tires. The resulting mud is very slick, and hard to get traction in. The ranger office has also asked drivers in larger vehicles to stay off the road immediately after rain and snow to minimize erosion. On some occasions this is enforced via the gates on either side.

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Difficulty

While there are some ruts, they are easily avoidable. A subaru would have no problems with this trail. It just needs to be heavily caveated with regards to weather. Despite its general ease, you can easily get stuck on this road after a surprise rain storm.

Technical Rating

Hortotown

Jun 14, 2026

Open

Matthew Cox

Feb 15, 2026

Open

Muddy and icy at the beginning of trail, only gets more icy and muddy the further you get in.

luis A

Jan 27, 2026

Open

The trail was very muddy and there were some ice/water puddles along the way that you had to go through which was manageable but I would recommend going with some speed to not get stuck. I only managed to make it about 40% into the trail before I turned around due to a really muddy washout spot that I knew I would get stuck on and didn’t want to risk it. I’m sure once it’s dried it would be doable to get past and finish the trail.

David Williams

Aug 31, 2025

Open

There were a few mud pits that I could ride around but there was a deep mud pits about 1.8 miles in that stopped me.

Nadine Tibbetts

Jun 08, 2025

Open

charlie fiorillo

Mar 27, 2025

Open

saw one dude camping but that was it. i think it was worth it to air down a little because of the rocky stretches, but not essential

Sheldon Johnson

Aug 17, 2024

Open

I went up the west side, that entire half is all rocky. The trail was dry and traversable. I continued along and down 462, that side is all dirt road with dried in ruts, nothing my full size truck couldn't handle. The only other people on the trail were a group of Tacoma's and a bicyclist.

Thomas Lovato

May 27, 2024

Open

Niko Azucenas

May 19, 2024

Open

Always a good relaxing trail! Will encounter sharp(ish) turns, wouldn’t recommend a full size vehicle, although doable. Beautiful mountain scenery!

Patrick Baldwin

Apr 14, 2024

Open

Fun trail. Stock Rubicon handled it no problem. Some areas are heavily rutted and there was a couple of mostly dry mud holes, but I doubt those will last much longer.

Stefan Deal

Apr 12, 2024

Open

Trail was mostly dry with a few small mud holes that you can go around if you want to. Beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Small rock hills can be a bit challenging in a smaller suv like mine but that made it fun.

Juan Contreras

Feb 25, 2024

Open

The trail was a lot of fun some sections with deep ruts you can still cross as long as you straddle the ridges. Some of the rocky areas are easy to navigate.

Elias Davila

Nov 16, 2023

Open

Rich Ceus

Oct 14, 2023

Open

Anthony Myers

Oct 01, 2023

Open