Getting back in the habit of weekly hikes, lately choosing to remain not far from home.
The Drive In
From Albuquerque eastbound on I-40 exit at Tijeras onto NM 337 southbound (folks who have been in these parts for many years know it as South 14). From Roots Farm Cafe (1/3 mile from the stoplights), proceed uphill for 8.5 miles, then turn left (east) onto Oak Flat Road. A mile on turn left into the Oak Flat Group Campground/Recreation Area complex,then turn to the left to follow the road around to the parking area and the Trailhead.
The Hike
Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).
With the help of GAIA, we ventured out onto trails beyond our previous hikes.
- From the parking lot, the hike began going down the steep, rocky entrance to the Oak Flat Connector trail.
- We continued for 1/8 mile then turned left onto the Sofa King trail.
- At 3/4 mile point we turned right onto the Deadman trail.
- At 1.18 mile, we turned left onto Oak Flat Connector.
- At 1.4 mile, we turned right onto the Pine Loop trail.
- At 2.0 mile, we turned right again, onto Cambel Oak trail.
- At 2.5, right onto Caida Del Piño, continuing into and across the Oak Flat Recreation Area and to parking.
From this experience, we discovered that there are many intersecting trails that make for devising different loops, going south from Oak Flat all the way to Pine Flats. The trails are well defined and generally easy (a few rocky sections) and some easy changes in elevation.
Highlight
To discover the wide variety of trails that one can hike on, and lay out many different loop hikes. We’ll do more hiking in Oak Flat.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.52 miles
Elevation: start 7,683 ft, maximum 7,694 ft, minimum 7,444 ft
Gross gain: 250 ft. Aggregate ascending 638 ft, descending 636 ft
Maximum slope: 20% ascending, 10% descending, 6.0% average
Duration: 2:37, Average Speed: 1.3 mph, Shade: 80%
| GPS Track Files for Download | |
5 Downloads |
|
|---|---|
4 Downloads |
|
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
Hikes from the Oak Flat Recreation Area
Views to date: 0 views.
Last Updated on October 15, 2025 by George Young