Planning a NM Trip in May 2016

Subd for info. I will be driving through and staying in NM June 1st - 3rd.

 

Sweet! I looked into Goose Lake trail and the forest service's website says it'll be open starting May 16. Greenie Peak, however, has parts of its trail closed until June .

 

Hey guys, We're looking at pretty much the same thing although it'll be right after new years. We're thinking southern/Gila/etc. Any suggestions? I'd like to do some decent 4-wheelin, some semi-primitive camping, and some hiking. I'm having trouble deciding between a truck bed tent, and/or one of those smaller off-road campers. Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

Sorry, I haven't updated since my trip, it's been a hectic year since May. I took a lot of direction from @BigFishAllDay and my trip went from White Sands all the way up to Cabresto Lake and back. Capilla Peak, hot springs in Toas, Jemez, Lincoln NF...it was a great trip.

I didn't do any really primitive stuff. Every campsite was in an established campground and at worst didn't have water/electric hookup. With that said, I highly recommend Capilla Peak. The drive up wasn't bad, but for a news like me it was pretty white knuckle.

Secondly, I'd recommend Cabresto Lake if you're going that far north, though it sounds like you may not.

I didn't encounter a ton of 4-wheeling, unfortunately, but there was ample opportunity to put the tires on dirt. I tried to get up to Goose Lake, but there was still too much snow, so I only made it 2/3 of the way up to the lake. That was a fun drive. If I had a winch and/or traction boards, it might've been doable. I was thinking about driving through San Lorenzo Canyon and part of the Geronimo trail. That looked to be the most 4-wheeling I could find from Google Maps sat imagery.

As for the trailer or bed tent, I think you'd be ok with a small trailer. Even the mountain switchbacks I got on were not bad or very sharp. Bed tent if you don't carry a ton of gear. I over packed. My personal preference is to go compact, so I'm always leaning towards not towing a trailer.

 

Hey thanks for the intel. And thanks for the 'parts list' earlier in the thread, too. Are there any restrictions to driving on any of the many fire roads down there in the mts?

 

The only restrictions I ran into in my research were "closed for winter" restrictions posted by the forestry service. You'll definitely want to check those out since you'll be going in the middle of winter.

 

Yeah, I was looking at some of the trails on AllTrails.com (and the app) and it said 'recommended time' was May through November. Does that mean they're actually 'closed' from November to May, or just not optimum for visiting?

 

Could be both. The Forest Service or BLM (depending on where the trail is) will have the most accurate info.

 

Is your day 4 recommendations 2wd accessible? On 33s so have clearance, RTT camping. Well be coming west from Palo Duro, hitting some 66 destinations, have Tinkertown on the map, so I'm thinking I can pick up the day 4 recommendations above.

 

Yes, but the Gilman tunnels are closed right now due to rock slides; I think I read that they plan to have them open by July or August, but I'm not certain of the dates. Most of the Jemez would be accessible w/ your truck, though, unless it gets really muddy.