Enchanted Forrest Trail Conditions

[C Cow]

Any word on the trails out west? Thinking of coming out on New Years Day.

Thanks!

Moo

[TomP]

Any word on the trails out west?...

Don't want to hijack C Cow's thread, but thought maybe a trail conditions theme could be expanded upon. I posted pretty much this same question in the

VISITORS READ HERE FIRST: Local riding advice

sticky, but I don't know if it'll get enough viewership up there...

I'm in CO with a 5 day weekend coming. Considering a trip down, but I'm thinking more about I-25 corridor rather than I-40 west.

How far south do I need to go?

I know I'll be heading as far as ABQ, Santa Fe will be a lunch stopover but wouldn't expect to ride there this time of year.

Probably will hit White Mesa, also considering Socorro. I have never ridden there but some friends did last year and said it was good. Into some longer rides, 30 or more miles, three or more hours.

Looking at this map it appears that the Magdalina Mountains have lots of Socorro's goods:



How high are the Magdalina Mtns, and have they got enough snow to be troublesome? I don't mind riding a little shallow shade snow, but ice and mud are deal-breakers.

Also, warmth would be a plus. But I'm not sure I want to drive all the way down to Las Cruces just for an extra 10 or 15 degrees.

Appreciate any advice you might have for me.

[MTBNate]

When is your 5 day riding break happening? I ask because winter weather is always a variable, although the odds of snow in Socorro being a problem are pretty remote. Riding weather in ABQ is great - at the moment.

[TomP]

When is your 5 day riding break happening? I ask because winter weather is always a variable, although the odds of snow in Socorro being a problem are pretty remote. Riding weather in ABQ is great - at the moment.

I'm off this coming Friday through New Years Day (Tuesday). I might drive down Friday and hope to arrive in time for an afternoon ride. Probably head home Monday.

NOAA shows a possible weather disturbance for us up here between tonight and tomorrow night, they show it as a 10% chance for ABQ for tomorrow night. Looks like the same story for Socorro.

I've heard about the Foothills Trail System for years, and I understand it goes pretty high up onto Sandia Peak. Is that all still open and dry, or is there a point up on the peak where I'll hit snow?

It does look good down in Socorro. Looks like some of the longer rides start and finish right in town.

Thanks for any beta you can pass along!

[MTBNate]

ABQ Foothills Trail System (5,600-6,800') is well below Sandia Crest (10,600') and you can't ride from the Foothills Trails to the Crest (blocked by wilderness area).

Given your timing, you should be able to ride just about anywhere you want from ABQ south - if we don't get hit with more than 2-3" of snow (slim chance probably).

You can easily ride a 30 mile loop in the Foothills - easily with a total of 3,000' of climbing in that distance.

[TomP]

ABQ Foothills Trail System (5,600-6,800') is well below Sandia Crest (10,600') and you can't ride from the Foothills Trails to the Crest (blocked by wilderness area).

Given your timing, you should be able to ride just about anywhere you want from ABQ south - if we don't get hit with more than 2-3" of snow (slim chance probably).

You can easily ride a 30 mile loop in the Foothills - easily with a total f 3,000' of climbing in that distance.

Cool, thanks for the info. I'll just watch what happens with this little weather blip we're supposed to be seeing.

Now let's turn this thread back over to C Cow's request for Enchanted Forest beta.

[vanhellion]

Looking at this map it appears that the Magdalina Mountains have lots of Socorro's goods:

Careful with that map. (In general) some of the trails are now closed, moved, or otherwise not where the guide book says they should be. The Magdalenas have tons of trails, but most of them are hiking trails; and some have been used by bikers, rather than the other way around. You can find pretty decent trails, and other trails you will walk more than you ride (both up and down).

South Baldy tops out at around 10,800 feet where the observatory sits. North Baldy is around 9,800 I think. Definitely some snow in the upper elevations, but I haven't been out there to see how much or if it is rideable.

There's some decent riding in the Quebradas area (where numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, and 14 are located), but AFAIK the actual routes listed are all kinda garbage if you're looking for good singletrack mountain biking.

[ratmfreak99]

Same situation as the thread started but driving down in a week. how are trails in sante fe? and ABQ.
after this last storm. thanks

[patrickd72]

To the OP, there is probably snow in McGaffey right now, not sure how much but methinks the trails are not rideable until April/May, depending on how much snow falls. That is usually how it goes out that way.

[MTBNate]

Same situation as the thread started but driving down in a week. how are trails in sante fe? and ABQ.
after this last storm. thanks

ABQ is bone dry and shorts weather (during the day as long as the wind isn't blowing).

[Jemezc]

Same situation as the thread started but driving down in a week. how are trails in sante fe? and ABQ.
after this last storm. thanks

SF is mostly snowpacked with some clear stretches and 2-6" of crusty snow on lesser used trails. La Tierra, Galisteo Preserve are the best options.

[C S]

How high are the Magdalina Mtns, and have they got enough snow to be troublesome? I don't mind riding a little shallow shade snow, but ice and mud are deal-breakers.

Also, warmth would be a plus. But I'm not sure I want to drive all the way down to Las Cruces just for an extra 10 or 15 degrees.

Appreciate any advice you might have for me.

You're not going to find any 30 mile rides in the magdalenas unless you include a lot of forest service roads. Most of the trails there are short and steep. The mountain "range" is rather small.

Same story with the single track around socorro. The course used for the cerillos del coyote race is around 9 miles and include a fair bit of dirt road/double track. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty fun but not a big single track ride. I used to do multiple laps to get a good distance in.

Cerrillos Del Coyote

I moved out of socorro about 2 years ago so I can't tell you what the snow conditions are like now. Don't think there have been any storms that have hit that far south so the magdalenas could well be dry.

[TomP]

You're not going to find any 30 mile rides in the magdalenas unless you include a lot of forest service roads. Most of the trails there are short and steep. The mountain "range" is rather small.

Same story with the single track around socorro. The course used for the cerillos del coyote race is around 9 miles and include a fair bit of dirt road/double track. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty fun but not a big single track ride. I used to do multiple laps to get a good distance in.

Cerrillos Del Coyote

I moved out of socorro about 2 years ago so I can't tell you what the snow conditions are like now. Don't think there have been any storms that have hit that far south so the magdalenas could well be dry.

Sounds like it's dry in Socorro at least. From what MTBNate says, ABQ is totally dry and it sounds like Socorro tends to be dryer than ABQ.

I think I get what people are saying about singletrack in the Socorro area. When you read those ride descriptions on socorro.com they pretty much all seem to be doubletrack rides, with the exception of the Cerrillos del Coyote course. Which has some singletrack. And those bits of trail up in the Magdalenas, but it really sounds like those are pretty much hiking trails that some people ride. They don't sound like that much fun.

I don't mind a gravel grinder once in a while, but the 30-mile ride in the Foothills system MTBNate talks about sounds quite a bit better.

Friends are also going down, and their plan is White Mesa on Sunday. Maybe I'll shine on Socorro for this trip.

New question: if you were going to ride three days in the ABQ area, assuming two of them are White Mesa and Foothills, what would the third day be?

[cactuskiss]

New question: if you were going to ride three days in the ABQ area, assuming two of them are White Mesa and Foothills, what would the third day be?

The Foothills have two sections that can be strung together with a short ride on surface streets. If I had ridden both the North and the South Foothills next I would ride Placitas and then I would ride Golden open space (out by Cedar Crest) but if I hadn't ridden both the North and the South Foothills I would prefer to ride both of them before Placitas or Golden.

[MTBNate]

What is Otero like right now? Rideable with a little patchy snow?

[mtbike52]

What is Otero like right now? Rideable with a little patchy snow?

Ground is still mostly covered up here near Raven Rd. I'd say 75%. In the afternoon the 25% is pretty soft. If you hit it early you would do OK. Snow is only a couple inches deep.Problem is the temps doesn't get out of the 30s. So not much melting going on.

[MTBNate]

The Foothills have two sections that can be strung together with a short ride on surface streets. If I had ridden both the North and the South Foothills next I would ride Placitas and then I would ride Golden open space (out by Cedar Crest) but if I hadn't ridden both the North and the South Foothills I would prefer to ride both of them before Placitas or Golden.

Yeah, there is a bit of pavement to connect the N to the S Foothills, but not much. I did this ride a couple months ago, but I started with the S and looped North and back.

[MTBNate]

You can spend quite a bit of time in the ABQ Foothills - just string together a bunch of trails and you can easily spend 1-4 hrs riding 'em (even longer if you session (aka "hit that shite") the technical trail features. If you are into that kind of riding, just ask for a Bandalero guide to show you the goods and mention that you have beer/tequila to share.

http://www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreati...othillsmap.pdf

Also, here is where to look for great ABQ breweries:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...19731,0.616608

[bsieb]

Any word on the trails out west? Thinking of coming out on New Years Day.

Thanks!

Moo

A foot of snow up here, the xc sking is excellent!

[MTBNate]

I'm off this coming Friday through New Years Day (Tuesday). I might drive down Friday and hope to arrive in time for an afternoon ride. Probably head home Monday.

NOAA shows a possible weather disturbance for us up here between tonight and tomorrow night, they show it as a 10% chance for ABQ for tomorrow night. Looks like the same story for Socorro.

I've heard about the Foothills Trail System for years, and I understand it goes pretty high up onto Sandia Peak. Is that all still open and dry, or is there a point up on the peak where I'll hit snow?

It does look good down in Socorro. Looks like some of the longer rides start and finish right in town.

Thanks for any beta you can pass along!

How was your trip down? All go as planned? Pix etc?