Cebolla Mesa to the Rio Grande
This hike is a short but steep scenic drop from the mesa down into the Rio Grande Gorge. As you descend, you go through several biomes; the trees change from piñon and juniper to blue spruce and Doug fir. You start with desert plants and end with plants that live along rivers. Add to this the great views and sounds of the river and you have a pleasant hike. This hike connects to the nearby BLM Wild Rivers area. |  |
Hike data:
| Controlling agency: | Carson National Forest; Questa Ranger District; hike web site | ||||||||
| Location in the state: | North-central; Rio Grande Gorge | ||||||||
| Trailhead waypoint(s): | CEBOLLACG CEBRGX1 | ||||||||
| Elevation: |
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| Elevation gain/loss: | 836 ft; 255 m. Elevation change from GPS. The Forest service says 1000ft elevation change. | ||||||||
| Length: | 3.04 mi; 4.89 km. The length is from GPS and is round-trip with some exploring at the river. A sign at the top says 1.25 mi to the river. According to the GPS, we had hiked 1.25 mi (2.05km) when we first arrived at the river. A sign at the river says 1 mi to the top. | ||||||||
| How long it took us (HH:MM): | 02:38. Moving time 1:32 | ||||||||
| Cleanliness: | 9/10 | ||||||||
| Trail usage: | 0.76 people/hour. We saw one couple while hiking. During boating season (spring), the usage may be higher. | ||||||||
| Trail Condition: | The trail is dirt/gravel/rock, and is eroded in places. The trail is steep at times. | ||||||||
| Fee: | $0.00. | ||||||||
| When we hiked it: | 2006-09-01. | ||||||||
| Trailhead facilities: | Toilets, picnic area. The trailhead is the Cebolla Mesa campground. | ||||||||
| Special features of the hike: | Wildflowers, wildlife, scenery, exercise, geology. | ||||||||
| When to hike: | May--Oct. The season is from the Forest Service web site. There is no gate, so the season is probably dictated more by weather. | ||||||||
| General comments: | This trail connects to trails and camprounds in the BLM Wild Rivers area. |
Maps:
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Getting to the trailhead:
From Taos, head north on NM 522 (this highway starts out as US 64, but on the north edge of Taos, 64 goes left and 522 continues north). Between mile markers 15 and 16 you will see a sign about Forest Road 9 and Cebolla Mesa. Take Forest road 9 west (left) about 4 miles to the Cebolla Mesa campground. At the campground, the road splits. Take the left branch to the trailhead. There is no sign along the road to indicate you have arrived at the campground. See the Cebolla Mesa campground web site for a photo of the campground entrance. When we visited, the road had ruts indicating that it becomes slick and muddy when wet. |  |
The hike:
 | Just behind the trailhead, a sign indicates this is trail 102. About 20
paces down the trail, you encounter your first switchback. Be careful
here, as another trail goes straight. It leads to a view point and a
much steeper, old version of the trail. After you have made the
switchback, this is the view you see.
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You immediately get great views into the gorge. As you descend, they
slowly change, always different, always interesting.
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 | The trail is steep at times, so watch your step. Small gravel can be
like ball bearings. Diana uses hiking poles on trails like this.
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When we hiked, this large rock and a big tree had fallen across the
trail. With care, you can cross on the remaining part of the trail.
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 | As you descend, the views of the gorge change. If you look at the
larger version of this picture, lust a little to the left of the center
of the picture are two hills of basalt. The trail goes just to the
right of these hills.
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The trail has a lot of elevation change, and as a result, it has many
switchbacks, such as the one you can see most of here.
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 | Keep your eyes open for wildlife, such as this basalt-colored lizard.
We heard several different birds, but did not identify them. The Rio
Grande is an important migratory path, and as a result you are likely to
see many different types.
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In this photo, you can see the vault toilet for the BLM Wild Rivers
campground. It is across the Red River from you, and where this trail
description will end.
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 | A bit more hiking, and you come to a T in the trail (GPS: CEBRGX1). If you go left, you get to this
small beach along the river (whether or not it will be there when you
arrive depends on the river level). We stopped and had lunch here.
From the junction, the main trail goes right.
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This trail goes to the confluence of the Red River and Rio Grande. Here
you can see the Red River. Its unusual color comes from the Molycorp
Mine.
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 | If you cross this bridge, you will be in the BLM Wild Rivers campground.
The BLM Wild Rivers area has a network of 22 miles of trails, some of
which will be showing up on ExploreNM as we have time to collect the
data and get it up.
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Plants we saw along the trail:
Animals we saw along the trail:
Reader comments about this hike:
On Sat Sep 8 17:44:22 2007 Amy Koon from Snellville, GA said:Add your comments about the Cebolla Mesa to the Rio Grande hike.
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