Story and video by Matthew Nesbitt

An amazing view looks west from the Bar Canyon Trail. (Photo by M. Nesbitt )

There is a lot to do in the great outdoors for NMSU students, and another great day hike lies just 12 miles from the campus. The Soledad Canyon Day-Use area is a really close place to get out and go hiking, biking or horseback riding.

The area has a scenic trail loop called the Bar Canyon Trail, and it is fairly easy and very well marked so everyone can do it. The trail does have some elevation change in it, but at a total of four miles round trip, it’s pretty painless.

The map kiosk at the Soledad Canyon day-use area provides information about trails. (Photo by M. Nesbitt)

Scenery galore

Along the trail you’ll come across the ruins of an old house constructed of rock. Time has taken its toll on the building, but the walls are still standing, and it is a popular place for a picture.

When you continue along the trail you walk through a very narrow canyon, with some dense vegetation. The walls of the little canyon are quite sheer and rocky, the trail winds tightly around trees and rock outcroppings. At the end of the canyon you are greeted by a small natural waterfall that runs during the wetter months.

The views from this trail are amazing; the trail is mostly enclosed by the surrounding mountains, towards the west you can get a good look at Tortugas Mountain and the Mesilla Valley. Soledad Canyon is a day-use area only; it is open to visitors every day from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.  There is no camping, hunting or campfires allowed at the area, and you must keep your pets on a leash.

Sierra Vista Trail

Just a couple hundred yards down the road from the Soledad Canyon Day-use area, is the Sierra Vista Trail. The Sierra Vista Trail has been popular for years with local hikers and mountain bikers – and is infamously long. If you wanted to, you could follow the trail south all the way into Texas and the Franklin Mountain State Park.

BLM Park Ranger Anna Echter speaks to volunteers at the opening of the new norther extension to the Sierra Vista Trail. (Photo by M. Nesbitt)

New to the Sierra Vista trail is the 2.5 mile northern extension which goes from the old trailhead at Soledad Canyon Road, north to Dripping Springs Road. The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for the new section of trail and the trail is designed strictly for non-motorized use.

The trail was built by Boy Scout Troop 68, the Backcountry Horsemen, and local Geocachers along with other volunteers. A trail opening event was sponsored by the BLM in November. Even blowing winds and cold temperatures couldn’t keep attendees and volunteers from making it out to the grand opening. BLM Park Ranger Anna Echter addressed the crowd, and then everyone pitched in and helped out with some trash removal. After the clean-up was done, most of the volunteers rewarded themselves with a hike down the new trail.

“The trail connecting Soledad Canyon road and Dripping springs road is a brilliant idea. What makes it good for bikes is that it is rideable in both directions,” said Pablo Lopez of Outdoor Adventures Bike Shop.

The new trail is of moderate difficulty, and it travels up and down over ridges and through washes. Some parts of the trail were a little sandy for mountain bikes, but as the ground hardens up and the trail gets worked in, conditions should improve.

Getting there:  From NMSU campus take University Avenue/Dripping Springs Road east for about 4.5 miles, then turn south on the Soledad Canyon Road. That road will turn east in a mile; follow it all the way to the end.