Crest Trail between the parking lot and the Tram terminal

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.

On Thu Oct 28 21:37:12 2010 Stan from Lenoir City, TN said:
WOW! What a view! Being used to about 600 ft above sea level, oxygen was sure in short supply above 10,400! But it was worth the hike and I highly recommend taking the time to go if you have a chance.

On Fri May 4 08:16:42 2012 Jeff from Tyler, TX said:
Hiked this area Monday April 30, 2012. We parked at the Crest Parking lot and took the trial to Kiwana's Cabin. Still snow in the shady areas of the forest. In the snow we lost the main trail from Kiwanas to the tram and ended up taking another trail that hit the ranger road to the tram. This turned out to be a great hike. After hitting the High Finance restaurant we hiked back taking the lower trail that goes down on the west side of the crest trail. We dropped elevation for a while and then had a moderate climb up to the Crest and came up right there at the gift shop. A very different route each way which is what we were going for. Incredible views.

Date:	1998-06-21
Time it took us:	2:40.
Usage (people/hour):	12.00. Rocks in the trail are worn smooth from all the traffic.
Cleanliness:	9.

Waypoint	Type	Description
CR1	Trail point	Rock stairs on the Crest-Tram trail
CR2	Trail junction	Crest-Tram trail and trail to Kiwanis Cabin
CREST	Trailhead	Crest trailhead (and scenic point)
KCABIN	Trail point	Kiwanis Cabin on Sandia Crest

Map name	Cartographer	Year	Scale	Topo map?	Online access	Notes
Albuquerque New Mexico	USGS	1983	1:100000	Y	from sar.lanl.gov (free)
Cibola National Forest, Sandia Ranger District	US Forest Service	2006	1:63360	N	From the National Forest Store (purchase)	Sandia Ranger District portion
Cibola National Forest, Sandia Ranger District	US Forest Service	2006	1:24000	Y	From the National Forest Store (purchase)	Sandia Crest enlargement portion
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.
Wildernesses of New Mexico	US Forest Service	1981	1:1000000	N	No online copies.	Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways.

	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.
To return from the tram terminal, head north on Crest Trail 130. 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.
	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.