Rio Grande Trail

Total Miles
18.1

Elevation

1,533.13 ft

Duration

3.5 Hours

Technical Rating

3

Easy

Best Time

Fall

Trail Overview

This trail picks up right off of the Paloma Gap trail and veers off and follows the river. The overall trail is very scenic but exercise caution. When rain is present the levels of the washouts and the river rise rapidly so make sure to check the weather prior to taking the trail. The trail overall is maintained but there are spots on the trail that have narrow sections and are off-camber. Use caution when going into washouts. Due to the nature of the desert, the trail can become more difficult depending on how the rain has moved the rocks or boulders. Plant growth becomes abundant after raining season so do expect to encounter trail pinstriping.

Photos of Rio Grande Trail

Rio Grande Trail
Rio Grande Trail

Difficulty

The trail is cleared by the Las Cruces 4WD club for local events in the fall. Prior to that, the trail is not trimmed. Crossing the washouts can have up to 18-inch boulders. Multiple places on the trail are narrow but overall you can find a place to allow either vehicles or UTVs to pass. There are multiple steep climbs and declines where 4WD is suggested. Watch out for the trail sides washing out and falling into ruts.

Technical Rating

3

Status Reports

There are no status reports yet for this trail.

Access Description

To get to the beginning of this trail you can choose to run it as if you are going on Paloma Gap and veer to the right or run it backwards and come out closer to Truth or Consequences by Elephant Butte.

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