The Rio Grande Trail is a proposed

long distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...

along the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. The river extends over 1,800 total miles, some of which pass through the heart of New Mexico. It is the state's primary drainage feature and most valuable natural and cultural resource.June 2006, New Mexico State Parks, Concept Paper: The Rio Grande Trail
/ref> The river and its

bosque A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for ' woodlands'. Setting In the predominantly ari ...

provide a wide variety of recreation, including hunting and fishing, birdwatching, river rafting, hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The river also flows through or beside numerous spectacular and geologically interesting

landform A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...

s, the result of extensive

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...

and

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

of the valley within the

Rio Grande Rift The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton on the east. The rift extends from central Colorado in the north to the state of Chihuahu ...

. Although some trail advocates would like to see the trail extended the full distance through New Mexico, from the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

border to the

United States–Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, the portion proposed for initial development extends , from Bernalillo south to Las Cruces.

History

Governor

Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was also the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary ...

and New Mexico State Parks proposed the establishment of this trail. In 2006 the New Mexico Legislature provided funding to begin planning and development of the project. In April 2015, the Rio Grande Trail bill was signed by Gov.

Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...

, which creates a commission composed of state and local governments, activists, and local pueblos and tribes. The core of the proposed trail is the existing Paseo del Bosque Trail in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

, a product of long-standing collaboration among numerous interest groups and agencies including the

Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) was formed in 1925 to manage the irrigation systems and control floods in the Albuquerque Basin. It is responsible for the stretch of river from the Cochiti Dam in Sandoval County in the north, t ...

, which also maintains

ditchbank A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...

trails in Corrales and other communities in the area. In October, 2016 Las Cruces designated part of its existing recreational trail system as part of the Rio Grande Trail. http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/las-cruces/2016/10/20/la-llorona-becomes-latest-segment-rio-grande-trail/92482970/

Proposed trail corridor

In many locations the basic infrastructure already exists in the form of either designated trails or informal trails. Informal trails exist on

s of local

acequia An acequia () or séquia () is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest particula ...

s and irrigation districts, on abandoned

rights-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

of old railroads, and on some publicly owned land. Most notable of these are the Paseo del Bosque Trail, and the abandoned right-of-way of the

Chili Line The Chili Line, officially known as the Santa Fe Branch, was a narrow-gauge branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW). It ran from Antonito, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) began c ...

of the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

(San Luis Valley Route). Spur trails also exist, both designated trails and informal trails as above plus tributary arroyos. The Paseo del Bosque Trail is the nucleus of the proposed trail. The Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG), the regional planning group for Albuquerque and its surrounds, decided to extend the trail north to Bernalillo and south to Belen, about in all. In 2005, New Mexico State Parks committed $3 million to MRCOG to develop this plan. In 2006, New Mexico State Parks determined its next priority to be the segment from Belen south to Las Cruces. This was determined in part due to the potential for synergy with established state parks and ongoing trail development projects. For planning purposes, the trail corridor from Bernalillo south to Las Cruces was divided into six sections: MRCOG Bosque, Sevilleta Corridor, BLM Socorro Bosque, Camino Real Corridor, Elephant Butte Corridor, and Southern State Parks Corridor. A map of the trail corridor segments and trail progress has been made available by the New Mexico State Parks Division. In 2007, under the federal Recreational Trails Program, New Mexico State Parks awarded $474,698 to Elephant Butte Lake State Park for a 10.5 mi section designated as West Lakeshore Trail. Meanwhile, as community trail development activities grew north of Bernalillo, especially in and north of the Santa Fe area, NMSP awarded $80,000 to the

Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 feet (4000 m) at the summ ...

for a developed trailhead near Santa Fe on the

Caja del Rio Caja del Rio (Spanish: " box of the river") is a dissected plateau, of volcanic origin, which covers approximately 84,000 acres of land in northern Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. The region is also known as the Caja, Caja del Rio Pl ...

.New Mexico State Parks (2007) ''News Release: Nine Trails Projects across New Mexico to Receive Funding'' North of Bernalillo to

NM 502 New Mexico State Road 502 (NM 502) is a state highway in New Mexico, United States of America. It is notable as the main access route to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserv ...

(connecting

Pojoaque Pojoaque (; Tewa: Pʼohsųwæ̨geh Ówîngeh/P'osuwaege Owingeh ’òhsũ̀wæ̃̀gè ʔówîŋgè, Po’su wae geh, which translates to “water gathering place”, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. ...

and Los Alamos), the Rio Grande passes through several

pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

s and White Rock Canyon. This presents several kinds of obstacles to trail development. In particular, the lake behind

Cochiti Dam The Cochiti Dam is an earthen fill dam located on the Rio Grande in Sandoval County, New Mexico, approximately north of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. By volume of material, it is the 23rd largest dam in the world at 62,849,000 yd3 ...

backs into White Rock Canyon.

List of features

Features of the proposed trail corridor are listed in order from north to south. Bridges across the Rio Grande ( listed separately) are candidate locations for trailheads. ;

Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line. Rio Arriba County comprises the Española, N ...

Earthship An Earthship is a style of architecture developed in the late 20th century to early 21st century by architect Michael Reynolds. Earthships are designed to behave as passive solar earth shelters made of both natural and upcycled materials suc ...

s *

Rio Grande Gorge The Rio Grande Gorge is a geological feature in northern New Mexico where the watercourse of the Rio Grande follows a tectonic chasm. Beginning near the Colorado border, the approximately gorge runs from northwest to southwest of Taos, New Mexic ...

* Orilla Verde Recreation Area * Embudo Station * Lyden, New Mexico *

Ohkay Owingeh Ohkay Owingeh ( Tewa: Ohkwee Ówîngeh ), known by its Spanish name as San Juan de los Caballeros from 1589 to 2005, is a pueblo and census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Ohkay Owingeh is also a federally recognized tribe ...

(formerly San Juan Pueblo) *

Española, New Mexico Española is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Founded as a railroad village some distance from the old Indian town of San Juan de l ...

Old Spanish Trail (trade route) The Old Spanish Trail ( es, Viejo Sendero Español) is a historical trade route that connected the northern New Mexico settlements of (or near) Santa Fe, New Mexico with those of Los Angeles, California and southern California. Approximately lon ...

;

Santa Fe County, New Mexico Santa Fe County ( es, Condado de Santa Fe; meaning ''Holy faith'' in Spanish) is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo C ...

Santa Clara Pueblo Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh ɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè ″Singing Water Village″, also known as ″Village of Wild Roses″ is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a federa ...

San Ildefonso Pueblo San Ildefonso Pueblo (Tewa: Pʼohwhogeh Ówîngeh ’òhxʷógè ʔówîŋgè"where the water cuts through" ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, and a federally recognized tribe, established c. 13 ...

Pajarito Plateau The Pajarito Plateau is a volcanic plateau in north central New Mexico, United States. The plateau, part of the Jemez Mountains, is bounded on the west by the Sierra de los Valles, the range forming the east rim of the Valles Caldera, and on the e ...

White Rock Canyon White Rock is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Los Alamos County, New Mexico. It is one of two major population centers in the county; the other is Los Alamos (the county seat). The population was 5,725 at the 201 ...

Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Most ...

; Sandoval County, New Mexico *

Santo Domingo Pueblo Kewa Pueblo ( Eastern Keres , Keres: ''Díiwʾi'', Navajo: ''Tó Hájiiloh'') is a federally-recognized tribe of Native American Pueblo people in northern New Mexico, in Sandoval County southwest of Santa Fe. The pueblo is recorded as the Santo ...

* Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument * Cochiti Lake *

Cochiti Pueblo Cochiti (; Eastern Keresan: Kotyit ʰocʰi̥tʰ– "Forgotten", Navajo: ''Tǫ́ʼgaaʼ'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. A historic pueblo of the Cochiti people, it is part of the Albuquerque Met ...

;

Bernalillo County, New Mexico Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo Co ...

San Felipe Pueblo San Felipe Pueblo ( Eastern Keres: Katishtya, Navajo ''Tsédááʼkin'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States, and is located 10 miles (16 km) north of Bernalillo. As of the 2000 census, the CDP p ...

* Bernalillo * Rio Rancho Bosque * Paseo del Bosque Trail *

Isleta Pueblo Pueblo of Isleta ( tix, Shiewhibak , kjq, Dîiw'a'ane ; nv, Naatoohó ) is an unincorporated community and Tanoan pueblo in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, originally established in the . The Southern Tiwa name of the pue ...

Los Lunas Los Lunas is a village in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population is 14,835 inside the village limits due to the new housing developments at El Cerro de Los Lunas (Huning Ranch). It is the county ...

* Belen *

Bosque A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for ' woodlands'. Setting In the predominantly ari ...

* Bernardo * Escondida ; Socorro County *

Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge The Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of New Mexico managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located in the Chihuahuan Desert, 20 miles north of Socorro, N ...

*San Lorenzo Canyon Recreation AreaBLM.gov: San Lorenzo Canyon Recreation Area
accessed 2008-07-14 *

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge ( ) is located in southern New Mexico. It was founded in 1939 and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is a favorite spot to watch the migration of the sandhill cranes in t ...

* Socorro *

Trinity (nuclear test) Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert abo ...

; Sierra County *

Elephant Butte Lake Elephant Butte Reservoir is a reservoir on the southern part of the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico, north of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Truth or Consequences. The reservoir is the 84th largest man-made lake in the United State ...

Truth or Consequences ''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–1957) and later on television by Edwards (1950–1954), Jack Bailey (1954–1956), Bob Barker (1956–1975), Steve Dunne (1957–1958), ...

* Caballo Lake *

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

and Arrey * Salem ; Doña Ana County * Hatch * Rincon *

Radium Springs, New Mexico Radium Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,699 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Radium Springs is at the upstre ...

Fort Selden Fort Selden was a United States Army post, occupying the area in what is now Radium Springs, New Mexico. The site was long a campground along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. It was the site of a Confederate Army camp in 1861. The U. S. Ar ...

Jornada del Muerto The name Jornada del Muerto translates from Spanish as "Single Day's Journey of the Dead Man" or even "Route of the Dead Man, though the modern literal translation is closer to "The Working Day of the Dead". It was the name given by the Spanish ...

Doña Ana, New Mexico Doña Ana is a census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,211 at the 2010 census. History Doña Ana is named for Doña Ana Robledo, who died there in 1680 while fleeing the Pueblo Revolt. ...

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...

* Organ Mountains *

Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, preserving a riverside forest (a bosque) along the Rio Grande. The park is located near Las Cruces, New Mexico, Las Cruces and just west of Mesilla, New Mexico, Mesil ...

Mesilla, New Mexico Mesilla (also known as La Mesilla and Old Mesilla) is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,196 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area. During the Civil War, Mesill ...

Mesquite, New Mexico Mesquite is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,112 at the 2010 census, up from 948 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan St ...

Vado, New Mexico Vado is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 3,194 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code for Vado is 88072, its area code is 575, and it is part of the Las C ...

and

La Mesa, New Mexico La Mesa is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Doña Ana County Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and ...

Berino, New Mexico Berino is a census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. Berino is located along Interstate 10, south of Las Cruces. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,441. The village of Berino is populated to 98% by Hisp ...

Anthony, New Mexico Anthony is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 9,360 at the 2010 census. It is located on the New Mexico–Texas state line in the Upper Mesilla Valley (immediately north of Anthony, Texas), and on Interstate ...

Sunland Park, New Mexico Sunland Park is a city in southern Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, on the borders of Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua, with Ciudad Juárez adjoining it on the south and El Paso, Texas on the east. The community of Santa Te ...

and

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

Potrillo volcanic field The Potrillo volcanic field is a Monogenetic volcanic field, monogenetic volcanic field located on the Rio Grande Rift in southern New Mexico, United States and northern Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Mexico. The volcanic field lies southwest of ...

External links

New Mexico State Parks Rio Grande Trail Corridor StudyMid-Region Council of Governments of New Mexico: Rio Grande Trail: Extension Project: Belen to Bernalillo

References

{{coord missing, New Mexico Hiking trails in New Mexico Rail trails in New Mexico

History

Proposed trail corridor

List of features

See also

External links

References