Tijeras is close to home, and the Oak Flats area makes for a nice walkabout (I refer to a walkabout as a “hike” less than a couple of miles and we don’t bring lunch or snacks).
The Drive In
From downtown Albuquerque, take I-40 east to the Tijeras exchange. Proceed south on NM 337 (old South 14) 8.8 miles, turn left onto Oak Flat Road. In 1 mile, turn into the Oak Flats Group Picnic. Gates were open so we drove around to the left and parked at the end of the driveway.
The Hike
Oak Flat Trail Walkabout.Pat.2021-10-11
The trail starts at the north end of the parking area; it is well used by hikers and bicycles. It goes downhill for a bit, then uphill, then downhill some more; the slopes are minimal, the total elevation change only 50 feet. We turned back after .9 miles; with more time we would have made a loop out of the hike.
Statistics
Click on the map for a larger view.
Total Distance: 1.8 miles
Elevation: start 7,685 ft, maximum 7,692 ft, minimum 7,642 ft
Gross gain: 50 ft. Aggregate ascending 248 ft, descending 249 ft
Maximum slope: 14% ascending, 15% descending, 4.5% average
Duration: 1:04
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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
Oak Flats Walkabout – 04/20/2021
Oak Flats-Ponderosa Trails Hike – 05/09/2018
Other hikes near Tijeras
References and Resources
USDA Forest Service: Oak Flat Trailhead & Connector Trail 05637
Oak, Yucca, and Locust Group Picnic Sites
AllTrails: Oak Flat Loop
TrailForks: Oak Flat Connector