Pinyon

Total Miles
2.4

Elevation

2,202.09 ft

Duration

0.5 Hours

Technical Rating

3

Easy

Best Time

Spring, Fall, Winter

Trail Overview

Pinyon is one of the easier trails in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System near Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is mostly a fast and flowy dirt trail, with sections of banked corners and easy light curves. It has two rockier climbs/descents that are a bit steeper with loose rock and very small ledges, but there is a clear easy line through it. The Pinyon trail parallels Gear Grinder, which is much more difficult, so it's a good alternative choice to Gear Grinder if not wanting the extra challenge. Gear Grinder and Pinyon meet up at the same place on the north end, so it would be easy for a group to split up based on difficulty level here if need be. It also goes through a 4-way intersection with Bear Scat, but both trails are well marked and the trail is easy to follow.

Photos of Pinyon

Pinyon
Pinyon

Difficulty

This is an easy trail with light curves, banked corners, and only a couple rockier climbs that are both easy.

Technical Rating

3

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's enough trails for 2-3 days of riding, and is 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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