This hike gives you a very different view of the lava flows that make up El Malpais than most hikes---you are 500 ft above them and looking down. You also get a great view of La Ventana Arch. Hike this hike for the views. You will not be sorry.
Narrows Rim Trail
This hike gives you a very different view of the lava flows that make up El Malpais than most hikes---you are 500 ft above them and looking down. You also get a great view of La Ventana Arch. Hike this hike for the views. You will not be sorry. | |
Hike data:
| Controlling agency: | Bureau of Land Management; Rio Puerco Field Office; hike web site | ||||||||
| Location in the state: | West-central; Cebolla Wilderness | ||||||||
| Trailhead waypoint(s): | NARROWSTH | ||||||||
| Elevation: |
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| Elevation gain/loss: | 1368 ft; 417 m | ||||||||
| Length: | 8.39 mi; 13.50 km. The mileposts and all of the published information we have read claim shorter lengths for this trail. Our value is the GPS track length, which matches better how long the trail seemed. | ||||||||
| How long it took us (HH:MM): | 04:29. | ||||||||
| Cleanliness: | 9/10. Most of the few pieces of litter we found were near the picnic area at the trailhead. | ||||||||
| Trail usage: | 0.00 people/hour. We saw footprints and dog pawprints. | ||||||||
| Trail Condition: | The trail is on sand or rocks. It is easy to follow. | ||||||||
| Fee: | $0.00. | ||||||||
| When we hiked it: | 2005-02-06. | ||||||||
| Trailhead facilities: | Trash cans, toilets, picnic area. | ||||||||
| Special features of the hike: | Scenery, geology. | ||||||||
| When to hike: | All year. This is an excellent winter hike, if snow is not a problem. In summer, it will be great for watching thunderstorms build, but dangerous to be on in a thunderstorm. |
Maps:
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Getting to the trailhead:
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Take I-40 to exit 89 to take NM 117 south from the interstate. After several miles, you come to the BLM El Malpais visitor center. After stopping at the visitor center if needed, continue south on 117. Pass the trailheads for the Acoma-Zuni trail, and La Ventana Arch. At 12.3 miles from the visitor center, turn left into the South Narrows picnic area. Park in the first part of the lot, near the entrance. The trailhead is here, near the entrance. |
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The hike:
 | The trail starts out by climbing these step-like rocks. This is probably the steepest climb of the hike. You will be gently climbing for most of the hike. We saw a rabbit near the trailhead. We also saw deer tracks in the area. |
The trail is often sandy, and marked by cairns. Even without the cairns, it has been walked enough to be clear and easy to follow. As you hike the trail, notice the texture and colors of the rocks. |  |
 | This area is known as ``The Narrows'', because of the narrow area
between the lava (where travel is difficult) and the cliffs. Imagine
what people hundreds of years ago thought as they traveled this area.
The trail will follow the cliff edge (at a safe distance from the edge)
for the whole hike.
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The colors of the rocks along this hike, augmented by the colorful
varieties of lichen are one of the features.
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 | Another main feature of this hike is the views of the lava, which you
get nowhere else in the state.
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The trail is always either sandy or rocky. The forest
is an open one, allowing plenty of views.
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 | When the trail is not sandy, you are walking on sandstone. You also
have views of the Zuni Mountains in the distance.
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Starting with the 2.5 mile marker, you will see several of these
painted rocks, presumably indicating the distance you have come to
this point. However, our GPS track said we had come 3.0 miles
(4.9km) at this point. Similarly, at the 3 mile marker, we had
hiked 3.5 miles (5.7km) according to the GPS.
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 | The views also include volcanos to the west, as well as approaching
storms (we were snowed on later in the hike).
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Two views signal significant accomplishments while on this hike. First,
the ponderosa pines dissappear; only the Piñon and Juniper
remain. Then, you get views of Mount Taylor, like this one. These
signify that you are nearing the end of the trail.
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 | The views of the Zuni Mountains to the west remain quite nice.
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Shortly after your first view of Mount Taylor, you get this great
overview of the La Ventana Arch hike,
from the parking lot to the arch (in the shadows on the right).
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 | The view from the end of the trail of La Ventana Arch is (in our opinion) better than the one you get when you hike to it from below. From here, retrace your steps to return to the trailhead. |
Even dark, cloudy days are good ones for hiking. The lighting can be
dramatic. The storm clouds behind this mountain mahogany had just
finished snowing on us.
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 | The snowstorm also caused the interesting texture on the sand.
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The BLM information for the trail says that you might see bobcats. All
we saw were these paw prints, which they may have made.
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Plants we saw along the trail:
Reader comments about this hike:
On Mon Apr 18 08:45:15 2005 Tom Dorr from Rio Rancho, NM said:Great Hike!
Views all along the trail. The group stopped constantly to take pictures.
We had to come down the rock fall at the bottom of the U in the Ventana Arch canyon at the north end of the trail due to a storm that came up on us during the hike. The rock fall area is steep but doable. We had the foresight to park a vehicle at the La Ventana Arch parking area as we heard afternoon storms were predicted. There is another way down marked with two cairns at the north end of the trail. One of our group went down that way and said the middle section was very steep. Novice hikers should return to the South Narrows trailhead as the way down on the north end of the trail is steep and full of large rocks.
Date Of Hike 4/16/05.
On Tue Oct 31 17:27:04 2006 Anonymous from Albuquerque, NM said:Add your comments about the Narrows Rim Trail hike.
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