I joined Jay in Santa Fe for a quick day hike in the Dale Ball Trails.
The Drive In
Head east on Hyde Park Road, turn left on Sierra Del Norte. We parked alongside the road a half mile from Hyde Park Road.
The Hike
Dale Ball Trails Hike.Jay.2021-08-25
The hike is on well used trails, smooth with occasional rocky sections. From the trailhead the trail ascends gradually for nearly a mile, from 7,555 ft to 7,830 ft. It proceeds through a juniper forest with a few piñon pines scattered among the junipers. Along the way there are signs at intersections of trails, quite helpful since there are many trails in these Dale Ball Trails.
From the top of the ridge, the trail descends back down to about 7,580 feet, where it crosses Sierra Del Norte road. Following a few yards from the road, it again ascends, this time to about 7,700 feet, then descends back to the parking, again the slopes are gradual. This makes a great short hike, close to Santa Fe, with some good views across the city.
Statistics
Total Distance: 2.23 miles
Elevation: start 7,565 ft, maximum 7,830 ft, minimum 7,565 ft
Gross gain: 315 ft. Aggregate ascending 508 ft, descending 507 ft
Maximum slope: 26% ascending, 25% descending, 7.8% average
Duration: 1:17
| GPS Track Files for Download | |
189 Downloads |
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37 Downloads |
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If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
Related Posts
Nature Conservancy-Dale Ball Trails Hike – 02/26/2021
Dale Ball Loop North Trail Hike – 05/23/2019
Other trails around Santa Fe
References and Resources
Santa Fe Conservation Trusts: Dale Ball Trail System
City of Santa Fe: Dale Ball Trails Map (pdf)
AllTrails: Dale Ball Trails North
Broken Spoke Santa Fe: Dale Ball Trails & Foothill Trails