Oak Flats is 1) close to home in Albuquerque, and 2) we can have breakfast or lunch at Roots Farm Cafe in Tijeras.
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 complex,then turn to the left to follow the road around to the parking area and the Trailhead.
The Hike
Oak Flats Trails Hike.Pat.2025-11-15 … Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line). Click on the image for a full-screen view.
For background, please check out the Oak Flats Trails Walkabout – o8/04/2023
We started with some planning using GAIA GPS, looking for a combination of trails that would give us a loop (or loops) and about 3 miles for this afternoon’s hike. If you are not navigating with GPS, here’s our route:
- From the Oak Flat Trailhead, the Oak Flat Connector to the intersection with Easy Pickin.
- Turn right onto Easy Pickin, continue through the intersection with Gaida De Piño to the Mahogany Trail.
- Left on Mahogany onto Gambel Oak, continue to the intersection with Gaida De Piño.
- Left on Gaida De Piño, continue past its intersection with Easy Pickin, then proceed southwest, following trails within the Oak Flat Picnic Area to parking.
This combination of trails goes through some very nice forest with a variety of views (such density of forest and the Sandia and San Pedro mountains). There is little change in elevation. The trail has some sections where the surface is 2″ to 4″ rocks; a half dozen sections of 20 – 50 yards of larger rocks; the remainder dirt. The trail is used by mountain bikes (we encountered only 4 or 5 on this Friday morning) so there are many sections carved by the bikers.
Check out the link below to GAIA GPS for this hike. And … the Waypoints on the GAIA map each have one or more photos of the intersections and the signs identifying the trails. Enjoy.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.06 miles
Elevation: start 7,685 ft, maximum 7,694 ft, minimum 7,573 ft
Gross gain: 121 ft. Aggregate ascending 367 ft, descending 367 ft
Maximum slope: 15% ascending, 14% descending, 3.8% average
Duration: 1:42, Average Speed: 1.8 mph, Shade: 50%
| GPS Track Files for Download | |
0 Downloads | |
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| Link to GAIA GPS: “Oak Flats Trails Hike” | |
| If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, give it a try. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get good idea of the hike and the terrain. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files. | |
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 in Oak Flat
Hikes in the Vicinity (Tijeras)
References and Resources
AllTrails: Best trails in Oak Flat, Cibola National Forest, NM
Oak Flat Loop
Oak Flat Connector, Deadman, and Pine Loop
Easy Pickins, Oak Flat, Pine Loop, Gamble Oak, and Caida del Piño
ASCHG: Ponderosa Trail At Juan Thomas
Pine Flats-Deadman-Southern Crossing Hike
OnX Offroad: Oak Flat Connector
SingleTracks: Oak Flat
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