South Baldy is the highest point of the

Magdalena Mountains The Magdalena Mountains are a regionally high, mountain range in Socorro County, in west-central New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The highest point in the range is South Baldy, at 10,783 ft (3,287 m), which is also the tallest ...

in central

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 ...

, in the United States. It is in the Magdalena Ranger District of the

Cibola National Forest The Cibola National Forest (pronounced SEE-bo-lah) is a 1,633,783 acre (6,611.7 km2) United States National Forest in New Mexico, USA. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. The name w ...

, about 9 mi (15 km) south of Magdalena and 18 mi (30 km) west-southwest of Socorro. It lies just north of the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research of the

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech and formerly New Mexico School of Mines) is a public university in Socorro, New Mexico. It offers over 30 bachelor of science degrees in technology, the sciences, engineering, man ...

, and site of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer. South Baldy can be accessed easily from the dirt road leading to Langmuir. Alternately, it can be accessed by trail from below. From a campground in Water Canyon (accessed from the northeast side of the range), a trail follows Forest Road 406 and then Trail 10 up Copper Canyon to the main crest of the range, where it joins Trail 8, the North Baldy Trail, which follows the crest. A short hike south on this trail and a little off-trail ascent leads to the summit of South Baldy. The peak is the site of an annual mountain bike ascent race up the Langmuir Road as part of th
Tour of Socorro
While not of exceptional height for New Mexico mountains, South Baldy is surrounded by low terrain, and hence is a highly visible landmark and the sixth most

topographically prominent In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest conto ...

peak in the state. South Baldy East

References

External links

* Mountains of New Mexico Landforms of Socorro County, New Mexico Mountains of Socorro County, New Mexico {{NewMexico-geo-stub