Borrego/Bear Wallow Trail

View of the trail
This hike is a pleasant short-ish loop with some vertical relief (about 800 ft elevation change) in an aspen-fir forest. Because of the aspen, this hike would be especially nice in the fall. You could extend the length of this hike by taking one of several other trails which intersect this trail.

Hike data:

Controlling agency: Santa Fe National Forest; Española Ranger District
Official URL:Forest Service web page for this hike
Region: North-central; Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Near Santa Fe
Elevation:
start: 8838ft; 2694m end: 8838ft; 2694m
min: 8057ft; 2456m max: 8838ft; 2694m
elevation gain/loss: 780ft; 238m.
Because the loop the elevation is lost and then gained again.
Length: 3.97mi; 6.39km. Total loop length.
Trail:
surface: dirt
condition: Excellent
ease of following: No value
obstacles: No value
Fee: $0.00.
Season: April 01 to November 30. The trail can be hiked whenever snow is not a problem.
Dogs: Yes. on leash.
Bikes: Yes.
Handicapped accessible: No.
Trailhead facilities: trash can(s).
Hike attractions: stream, wildflowers.

When we hiked it:

Date: 2001-10-13
Time it took us: 3:00.
Usage (people/hour): 0.00. No usage data recorded. We saw several other hikers.
Cleanliness: 0. No cleanliness data recorded.

Waypoints:

Waypoint Type Description
150254Trail junctionSanta Fe National Forest tails 150 and 254
150TCTrail junctionUnsigned trail intersection
150THTrailheadSanta Fe National Forest trail 150 trailhead
150Y1Trail junctionJunction near 150TH
254182Trail junctionSanta Fe National Forest trails 254 and 182

Maps:

Geohack online map list

Paper maps:

Map name Cartographer Year Scale Topo map? Online access Notes
Guide to Indian Country of Arizona Colorado New Mexico Utah Automobile Club of Southern California 1998 1:0 N Arizona Strip Interpretive Association (purchase) Good overview road map for northwest NM. No scale is given on the map. The corner coordinates are approximate.
McClure Reservoir USGS 1976 1:24000 Y from sar.lanl.gov (free)
Pecos Wilderness, Santa Fe and Carson National Forests US Forest Service 2004 1:54000 Y From the National Forest Store (purchase)
Santa Fe BLM 1996 1:100000 Y Public Lands Information Center (purchase)
Santa Fe USGS 1954 1:250000 Y from sar.lanl.gov (free)
Santa Fe National Forest US Forest Service 2004 1:126720 N From the National Forest Store (purchase) East half
Wildernesses of New Mexico US Forest Service 1981 1:1000000 N No online copies. Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways.

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Getting to the trailhead:

From the Santa Fe plaza, head north on Washington Ave. Just past the pink Scottish Rite Temple (pictured here), turn right on Artist road; the sign says that Hyde State Park and the Santa Fe Ski Basin are this way.
Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe
Sue, Diana, and Steve starting down the trail
Roughly (this is an estimate from memory) eight miles up this road, just after you leave Hyde Memorial park, there is a parking area on your left. This is the trailhead parking area. The trailhead is shown here in the photo, and it is at the edge of the parking area.

About the hike:

Diana, Sue, and Steve approach 150Y1
Not long after you start, you arrive at a fork in the trail (GPS: 150Y1). You can see Diana, Sue, and Steve approaching the Y in the photo to the left. At this fork, go right. You will be returning on the left fork. The trail has been all downhill to this point. Now, you begin climbing slightly. However, the climbing is only for a short period of time, and then you are slowly descending again.
About 45 minutes after you leave the trailhead, you reach another intersection (GPS: 150TC). Turn left, heading for the Tesuque Creek.
Tesuque Creek
Steve, Sue, and Diana approach the junction of trails 150 and 254
After you cross Tesuque Creek on a log, and continue for another few minutes. You will then reach yet another trail junction, this time meeting trail 254 (GPS: 150254). You can see the junction in the photo to the left. Go left.
Another half an hour, and you come to the junction with trail 182 (GPS: 254182). This is the lowest point of the hike. Cross the Tesuque Creek again, go right, and head uphill. After about 50 minutes, you will be back at the first Y in the trail, and only a few minutes from the trailhead.
Steve on the trail

Plants we saw along the trail:

Reader comments about this hike:

On Fri Jul 14 19:08:32 2006 Dan from Houston, TX said:
This is a great trail---nicely shaded and much more moist that the other desert trails in the area. Just pay close attention to where you are going. The first time I did this trail, I missed the fork at the beginning and ended up miles in the wrong direction. But otherwise, highly recommended!

Add your comments about the Borrego/Bear Wallow Trail hike.



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