Heading home from a long weekend in Chama, we took a more interesting route than the usual ‘get there soon” via US 284 and I 25. Rather, take NM 96 from Abiquiu around to Cuba and US 555 to Bernalillo and on to Albuquerque. And we took a short detour to have lunch at the Abiquiu Inn, a -very nice- place.

The Drive In

From Chama, south on US 284 to the turn right at Abiquiu Lake onto NM 96. We visited the Riana Campground not far from the turn, to explore the short trail from the campground. Then back on NM 96 westbound, with a stop for a short hike in the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). That is, we drove from the Campground 21.6 miles to where the CDT crosses NM 96. With no space to park along the highway, we continued another .8 mile where we turned left onto a two-track, backtracking that .8 mile to a place to park. The CDT crossed the two-track just a bit further along, marked by a rock cairn.

The Hike(s)

Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).

Abiquiu Lake: Our stop at Abiquiu Lake was to fulfill a curiosity and stretch our legs after a great lunch at the Abiquiu Inn. We first checked out the Riana Campground (a very nice one, on the lake, with sites suitable for large RVs), but it access is limited to people camping there. So we backtracked a half mile on NM 96 to the turnoff for the boat ramp and picnic area. After checking out the picnic area, we went back around to the boat ramp, parking in the far end of the parking area.

The trail starts by descending down to a pedestrian bridge crossing to the other side. After a few hundred yards, the trail was was almost exclusively on bedrock. With mostly skeletons of long-dead trees, we enjoyed excellent views of the lake. For the most part the trail was easy to follow, ‘tho in one stretch paw-prints painted on the rock kept is on the ‘designated’ trail. Rounding a pseudo-point, we saw a bridge across the next ravine leading to a picnic area and beyond the campground. We had other plans for the day, so we returned to the Tacoma and headed west on NM 96.

Continental Divide Trail: We look for any opportunity to hike even a mile on the Continental Divide Trail. GAIA GPS is our guide to the track of the CDT; seeing that it crosses NM 96 between Coyote and Capulin, it is a good place to hike a bit on the trail. After parking the Tacoma on the two-track, as far as we were comfortable going, we saw ahead a cairn marking the CDT (just where GAIA indicated it would be). We had chosen to go north (we’ll go south another time), so it was a short distanced on the trail, then crossing NM 96 to the northbound trailhead 100 yards to the right (east) and a signpost at the edge of the road’s right-of-way. 

This short section of the CDT is a lovely trail – clean surface, little elevation change (crosses a couple of arroyos), with 60% shade from juniper and piñon trees .. not much else to say. Except .. it is enticing to consider going out 2 miles or so, and 1,000 feet elevation to or the top of Mesa Corral to the north.

Highlight

Just to be hiking where people I admire have hiked before me.

Statistics

Total Distance: 2.34  miles
Elevation: start 7,559 ft, maximum 7,663 ft,  minimum 7,412 ft
Gross gain: 104 ft.  Aggregate ascending 272 ft, descending 271 ft
Maximum slope: 19% ascending, 23% descending, 4.1% average
Duration: 1:30, Average Speed: 1.6 mph. Shade: 70%

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.

References and Resources

New Mexico Nomad: Continental Divide Trail
Continental Divide Trail Coalition: A Magical Journey through New Mexico on the CDT
The Trek: many posts of through CDT through hikers; here is one:
— CDT Days 1-22: New Mexico – Grants to Chama, about half way down
— The Trek: CDT Part 5: Cuba to Chama, Where Cacti Turns to Show
                         Why Am I Choosing to Hike 6,000 Miles?

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Last Updated on October 18, 2025 by George Young