We were originally headed to Arkansas in a couple weeks to do some backpacking with the dogs, but recent reports have noted LOTS of poison ivy and ticks. Combining that with higher temps and humidity, and we are thinking about pushing that trip to the fall. We are now looking at southern, nm. I know Northern is nicer and has more options, but the drive is longer. Its not completely out of the question, but its been put to the side for now. I'm sure I'll still get several, "I know said southern, but if you go to northern..."

We've been to cloudcroft before, but didn't really do much research or planning. Ruidoso seems to have more trails from the limited research I've done, but looking for suggestions. We were originally looking at backpacking, but we'd be completely open to camping somewhere and just doing longer day hikes. Wife and I are both in very good shape (ie we run ultras, do ironman, etc) and are not strangers to backpacking/hiking. Less crowded established campgrounds are acceptable, but very open to backcountry sites as well. We'll have the dogs, but that should be a problem around the National Forest from what I know.

Any suggestions? Obviously for hikes, we are looking at/for the usual...lakes, waterfalls, scenic views, peak bagging, whatever.

forgot to mention, looking to fill 3 days of hiking.

From southern NM and I always enjoyed the Gila National Forest. Ton's of hiking trails. Pretty good spot for hot springs also.

Qfaced~ag said:

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From southern NM and I always enjoyed the Gila National Forest. Ton's of hiking trails. Pretty good spot for hot springs also.

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unfortunately, that's as long of a drive (or longer) than to northern, nm. Hence why we were targeting the other two areas.

Where are you coming from?

Austin

Lived in Ruidoso for few years and it's a great little town. Check out Monjeau lookout and Bonita Lake. If you end up going into town, stop by Cafe Rio...killer pizzas.

I've heard good things about the Gila. You could just hop on the CDT for a few days.

Edit: Never mind. Just saw your earlier post.

Qfaced~ag said:

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Lived in Ruidoso for few years and it's a great little town. Check out Monjeau lookout and Bonita Lake. If you end up going into town, stop by Cafe Rio...killer pizzas.

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appreciate it.

Since we have little familiarity with the area, we'd might stick to day hikes, which gives us time to explore in the evenings. Also sounds like Ruidoso is pretty dog-friendly?

If you have not been to Guadalupe Mountains I highly recommend it. It is technically in Texas, but the park is literally on the border of New Mexico. I have never been in the summer, but a quick look at the temperatures doesn't look TOO bad. Highs at the base of the mountain are in the 90's with lows in the 60's, but weather on the top of the mountains should be much cooler.

I don't see why not. It's a pretty small town without a lot going on so I would assume dogs wouldn't be a problem.

angryocotillo said:

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If you have not been to Guadalupe Mountains I highly recommend it. It is technically in Texas, but the park is literally on the border of New Mexico. I have never been in the summer, but a quick look at the temperatures doesn't look TOO bad. Highs at the base of the mountain are in the 90's with lows in the 60's, but weather on the top of the mountains should be much cooler.

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There are several good trails on the Texas accessible side. But I really like Dog Canyon, and you have to drive a loop up through New Mexico and then cross the Texas border in to the north side of the National Park to get there, and it is generally pretty non crowded.

You can also do some nice cool underground hiking right north of there in Carlsbad Caverns.

Sitting Bull falls was also a nice spot, but not a very long hike.

As far as the mountains of southern New Mexico, I prefer the mountains of Northern New Mexico.

angryocotillo said:

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If you have not been to Guadalupe Mountains I highly recommend it. It is technically in Texas, but the park is literally on the border of New Mexico. I have never been in the summer, but a quick look at the temperatures doesn't look TOO bad. Highs at the base of the mountain are in the 90's with lows in the 60's, but weather on the top of the mountains should be much cooler.

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yes, I have been and done backpacking there.

You might have missed the part where I mentioned we will have our two dogs. Dogs + National Parks = sitting in the campground doing nothing. We are looking to tackle something new and bring the dogs along.


and somewhat random due to your username, we just got back from Big Bend yesterday. The ocotillo are all leafed out, and looks awesome right now.

You should look a bit farther north. There are great trails in the national forests in the Sipapu and Angel Fire areas. The great thing is that they will be 20-30 degrees cooler than their southern cousins.

sawemoffshort85 said:

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You should look a bit farther north. There are great trails in the national forests in the Sipapu and Angel Fire areas. The great thing is that they will be 20-30 degrees cooler than their southern cousins.

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/facepalm

Quote:

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I'm sure I'll still get several, "I know said southern, but if you go to northern..."

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I know some killer spots in Montana. Just a little out of the way.

Ulrich said:

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I know some killer spots in Montana. Just a little out of the way.

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Dog Canyon aka Oliver Lee State Park
Three Rivers
There is also a trailhead right by Ski Apache

These were all my favorites growing up as a kid in Boy Scouts.

oops, I did miss that part. I've never been, but I've also heard good things about Sitting Bull Falls.

On a side note that may not be of much importance to you is that Tent Rock National Monument in northern New Mexico is super cool if you ever get to go. I have never seen it talked about on here so I just wanted to throw it out there that is the coolest little day hike I've ever been on.

tmas said:

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Dog Canyon aka Oliver Lee State Park
Three Rivers
There is also a trailhead right by Ski Apache

These were all my favorites growing up as a kid in Boy Scouts.

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those are on my list for research.

Dog Canyon has a nice spot about 3 miles in to camp. If you follow the stream there is a great waterfall and pool area not on the main trail.

Depending on how long you want to hike, the 3 rivers trail connects with the trails by the ski resort.

Lots of elevation changes with these areas.

tmas said:

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Dog Canyon has a nice spot about 3 miles in to camp. If you follow the stream there is a great waterfall and pool area not on the main trail.

Depending on how long you want to hike, the 3 rivers trail connects with the trails by the ski resort.

Lots of elevation changes with these areas.

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sweet. i thought that was the case based on the maps i found.

angryocotillo said:

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On a side note that may not be of much importance to you is that Tent Rock National Monument in northern New Mexico is super cool if you ever get to go. I have never seen it talked about on here so I just wanted to throw it out there that is the coolest little day hike I've ever been on.

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have a friend at work that use to live in ABQ and he has mentioned that place several times.

Northern NM is definitely on our short list, and we have a long list of hikes to do up there, but if we tried to squeeze it into this trip, we would end up spending as much time in car as we do on the trail. Unfortunately, we had planned for a 7ish hour drive to arkansas, and doing the first part of the trip on fri after work, staying in dallas. Shifting to NM and adding 2 hours to the trip in each direction is stretching it a bit, so northern nm is even rougher.

I always thought National Forests were dog friendly but idk could be wrong. I love hiking and camping in National Forests bc you can go wherever u want and when I went to a few in Utah (not saying you need to drive all the way up there) we just drove without a map and followed the signs and found unbelievable hiking and camping spots with absolutely no one around and the stars as bright as I've ever seen them. Have fun!

bmac_aggie18 said:

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I always thought National Forests were dog friendly but idk could be wrong.

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they typically are, but on hikes, you can sometimes wander in and out of parks/national forest land and regulations might be different. I always try to double-check as to avoid any issues.

You could go hike the beautiful Florida (flo-reeda) mountains of Deming.

Yep, he said "southern, not northern".

I live in Lubbock. I can be in Sipapu near the Pecos Wilderness faster than I can get to Guadalupe.

My partners in Walk to Emmaus are in Carlsbad. Jed what is your TexAgs handle again?

Sitting Bull Falls is day use only I think and BLM controlled. He did say it was his favorite place to go when it was more widely usable. I'd check to make sure pets are ok. A friend who used to frequent the area for rock climbing said there are campsites available nearby but not in the actual park.