Crest Trail between the parking lot and the Tram terminal
Both natives and people visiting Albuquerque hike this easy trail
for its spectacular views. If you hike this trail, you will be
rewarded by views of Albuquerque, Mt. Taylor, the Jemez mountains,
the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the San Pedro mountains, the Manzano
mountains, and Ladron peak, just to name a few. In the summer you
can enjoy the wildflowers along the trail. At any time of year you
can experience the history of the CCC by visiting the Kiwanis cabin.
You can hike from the Crest parking lot to the terminal and restaurant
at the top of the tram. Or, ride the tram up and hike it the other
way. The trail is well signed, and in spite of the collection of
trails all over the crest, it is hard to get lost. In fact, this
collection of trails makes it possible for you to do different parts in
each direction for much of the hike.
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Hike data:
Maps:
- Online 1:100,000 from topozone.com
- Online 1:24,000 from topozone.com
- Online from terraserver-usa.com
- USGS Topo Quad 1:24,000 Sandia Crest
- USGS Topo Quad 1:100,000 Albuquerque
- USGS Topo Quad 1:250,000 Albuquerque
- Cibola National Forest map
- Hikers and Climbers Guide to the Sandias, in Hikers & Climbers Guide to the Sandias, 3rd ed, Mike Hill, 1993.
- Sandia Mountain Wilderness, Cibola National Forest, USFS, USDA, 1991. This topo map is an excellent one to carry when hiking the Sandias.
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Getting to the trailhead:
To get to the parking lot (GPS: CREST):
Take I-40 to the North 14 exit (exit 175). Go north 5.75 miles from
when you pass under I-40 until you
get to a triangle of asphalt with a road heading west. There are signs
on both sides of the road indicating that this is the road to the
crest. Take it the 14 winding miles where you will arrive at the
parking lot at the very top. There is a lot of guardrail damage along
the road, so watch your speed around the curves. The parking lot
is a fee area; it cost us $3.00.
You can also take
the tram up to the tram terminal. To get to the tram, head
north about nine miles on Tramway from I-40 (exit 167) or East on
Tramway from I-25 (exit XXX). The turnoff to the tram is at a
three-way stop. The tram people have a nice map showing how
to get there.
The hike:
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Starting from the parking lot, head south from the parking lot.
Or, to take the upper part of the trail, head south along the edge
of the crest to the right of the pit toilets. You might take the
nature trail. It parallels the main trail, and rejoins it later,
so you can take either it or the regular trail. No matter which
trail you are taking, you start by heading south.
Along the cliff it may be very windy. The wind is frequent and
strong; notice the flagging of the trees.
The trail near the parking lot is rocky. Shortly after you climb
the rock stairs (CR1), you enter the
forest and there are lots of down trees. They have been cut where
they fell across the trail. In the forest, the trail is usually
smooth.
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To return from the tram terminal, head north on Crest Trail 130
(N 35.19617 W 106.43413). There is a nature trail up here which
parallels the main trail and will rejoin it later. You are walking
amongst aspen and fir, with bluebells and strawberries on the ground.
Open areas have a variety of wildflowers. At times, you have good
views west. Even in the summertime, there may be snow in sheltered
areas, depending on how much snow fell in the winter.
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After about half an hour of hiking, you will arrive at a junction
of the trail to the Kiwanis cabin, 1/4 mile away (GPS: CR2). Turn left.
The Kiwanis cabin (GPS: KCABIN) is 0.5
mi (800m) from the parking lot and 1.5mi (2.4km) from the tram
terminal. It was built by the CCC in 1936. What you see there
today is the third try; the first two were destroyed by fire and
wind. In 1993-1995 the cabin was restored. There is only one route
to the cabin from the other trails. If you hiked here in the past,
you may have taken one of several. They have been closed to protect
wildlife.
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Plants we saw along the trail:
Animals we saw along the trail:
- Albert's squirrel
- Band-winged grasshoppers
- Ladybugs
- Robin
- The little flying bugs that are all over are annoying but do not bite.
Reader comments about this hike:
On Fri Apr 25 12:39:29 2003 MC from Miami FL said:
The trail to the Stone House had incredible views. The altitude had
an effect of winding me every few minutes. Parts were snowed and iced
over 4/24/03 with pretty sheer drops. I had to carefully crawl across
some of them using handholds in the ice! I wouldn't recommend this
trail to beginners unless one is physically inclined though perhaps
other times of the year are safer. The whole experience was excellent.
On Tue May 6 18:52:46 2003 The Webmaster responded:
The sheer drops are there but are not a problem when they are not iced up.
The altitude is over 10000ft MSL which is a long way up for people
used to sea level.
On Wed Aug 4 14:59:58 2004 M G Blaise from Houston TX said:
I was able to enjoy part of this trail as it was concrete. My daughter is in a wheelchair and I cannot push it on dirt or rocks. The view up there is spectacular.
On Mon Aug 23 19:31:05 2004 Rudolf Barkoczi from Albuquerque NM said:
Its very nice. No comment! The trail describe is perfect you can trust.
On Sat Jul 15 18:10:05 2006 Andrew Rapp from Albuquerque, NM said:
I hiked the trail today. It was impressive. I just moved here
from Delaware. You can definitely feel the elevation when you are
used to sea level. I drove to the top and hiked to the tram. The
tram was cool to see. I was surprised to see so many people on the
trail. Give the hike a try, it's worth it.
On Mon May 17 14:00:01 2010 Catherine from Somewhere said:
I've been wanting to do this hike for awhile - and I'm gonna have to wait a little longer. I went up yesterday, but parts of the trail were still under snow and since I'd not been there before, I wasn't sure where the trail actually was! It's a beautiful view from the top, and its relatively flat. I'll be trying again this summer.
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