Southern New Mexico Touring: Dog Canyon Trail at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

Last week I talked about Camping and Touring at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Today I want to go into more detail about the Dog Canyon Trail at Oliver Lee.

The trail is 5.5 miles long, one way. It should be possible to arrange for a pickup at the forest road at the far end. The trail starts at over 4000 feet elevation and rises over 2000 feet (some sites claim over 3000 feet). Plus, there's some up and down along the way – first you hike up to a plateau, then down to the bottom of the canyon, and then back up again. And of course if you do it as a round-trip, you have to do everything in reverse.

The trail is well maintained. Initially it's single file through a series of steep switchbacks, rising about 1400 feet in the first couple of miles. The trail opens up a bit on the plateau for side-by-side walking through bushes and grasses, then narrows again as you go down into the valley. A shady spot under the trees makes for a good lunch stop – bits of orange peel and pistachio shells show that we were not the first to think this. The remains of a small cabin sit nearby. A seasonal stream runs through the canyon; in early April it had a little sluggish water.

From there, the path heads up, up, up again, rising 1000 feet in 8/10 of a mile. The narrow path has a fairly steep drop to one side. I never felt unsafe, but I would not recommend this for restless children or anyone who has difficulty with stability.

This section is called "The Eyebrow ” for some reason, though we thought a more dramatic name, such as the devil’s horn, would be more appropriate. I couldn't find the source of the name, but apparently this was the scene of an 1878 skirmish between the US Calvary and Apaches. When the soldiers were halfway up, the Apaches bombarded them with rocks and gunfire from above. Viewing the current scenery, it's no surprise that the Calvary backed off. (More history here.)

The hike is strenuous enough that it's recommended for spring and fall, as summer would be unpleasantly hot. Take plenty of water and use sunscreen – you'll be in the sun most of the time.

We "only" did about 9 miles of the 11 mile round-trip. With the elevation change, that was plenty. It took us seven hours, including lunch and rest stops. We also paused frequently to (ahem) admire the views. Bring a camera, because not only will you want to capture the scenery, but it makes a great excuse to pause for a minute and catch your breath.

The Dog Canyon Trail was quite a workout, but it was well worth it for the spectacular views. You hike through Chihuahuan Desert vegetation, with lots of yucca, agave, and creosote bushes. Rarely is there anything to block your long distance view down the canyon to the Tularosa Valley, with White Sands and mountains in the distance.

Don't neglect the close-up scenery either. When we hiked it, we saw little yellow flowers scattered beside the path, and yucca in bloom. We saw very little wildlife – one lizard, a hawk, a few random little birds, and ants. That no doubt changes by season and time of day, and you're advised to watch out for rattlesnakes.

In places the rocks hold fossilized marine mammals. They are not hard to spot if you pause and take a close look at the boulders near the path. My geologist husband was fascinated by the overall geology, which you can learn more about here from the New Mexico Beer of Geology. 

If we hike this again (and we probably will), we will likely either skip The Eyebrow section, or arrange for a pickup at the far end if possible. Otherwise the round-trip is a bit too strenuous to be really fun – part of the way back felt like a slog. Of course, your mileage may vary with your fitness level!

A map and some info from Explore NM.

All Trails has user reviews and a topo map.

Detailed trail information and a map.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. 

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock’s newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Southern New Mexico Camping and Touring: Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

White Sands in the distance,
at the base of the mountains to the right.

Alamogordo, New Mexico, is probably best known for White Sands, which is definitely worth a visit. But that's not the only natural beauty in the area. Last fall, when my husband and I brought a friend from Australia to tour White Sands, we also stopped briefly at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. There we hiked the first mile of the Dog Canyon Trail in a light drizzle. We liked it enough that my husband and I planned a two-night stop on our recent camping vacation.

Agave, at left, have spines along the leaves.Yucca, right, have leaves edged with "hairs."

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is set at the base of the dramatic Sacramento Mountains. The slopes and plateaus are largely covered with Chihuahuan Desert vegetation. That means lots of yucca and agave, along with creosote bushes and various grasses. The park and campground have incredible views, with rugged bluffs on one side and the flat plains of the Tularosa Valley on the other. White Sands shines like snow in the distance.

The visitor center has a museum with information on the history and landscape. Oliver Lee was a nineteenth-century rancher. His ranch house is preserved/rebuilt, but it's not always open and we didn't visit it. We did see the remains of an adobe and brick shelter built by "Frenchy" Rochas who homesteaded in the area. You can still see the remains of cement flumes he and Lee built for irrigation, and long stone walls Frenchy built to corral his livestock. American Indians were also active in the area over the centuries.

A short Riparian Nature Trail leads along a cool, shady stream, where we saw yellow columbine flowers and a hummingbird. The park also has a lovely little desert garden with a wide variety of labeled cacti and other native plants.

You can also find many fossils in the rocks, since this area was inland sea millions of years ago. We saw lots of fossil crinoids (marine animals sometimes called sea lilies) and clam/oyster-like mollusks.

Marine Fossils

The campground offers sites for RVs with water and electric, and tent sites that each have a picnic table, shelter, and nearby water pump. Avoid the tent sites that do not have shelters; as both sun and wind can be harsh. One "Comfort Station" had flush toilets, sinks, and showers, though the water was fairly cold.

If you are in the area and have an extra couple of hours, it's worth stopping by the park. If you have more time and strong legs, this is a great place to spend a day or more hiking. (Next week, I'll post about the strenuous but fabulous Dog Canyon Trail.) Spring and fall are likely to be the best seasons in terms of the weather. We had heavy winds one night that caused a lot of loud flapping from the tent, so definitely nail your stakes in well – and that was hard to do even with a 4-pound sledgehammer because the ground was so hard. Of course, you could simply stay at a hotel in Alamogordo, 12 miles away, where you'll also find some decent restaurants.

 

More info on the park from American Southwest.

Some details on the campground and vegetation from Explore NM.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock’s newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Carlsbad Caverns: A Caving Adventure in Southern New Mexico

I spotted this bit of wall that
looks like a face in profile.

My husband and I recently took a vacation – the first one we've done with only the two of us, not involving visiting family or friends, in the 7+ years we've been together. We camped for most of the trip, which required some investment in gear up front, but hopefully we'll continue to make use of that gear. For the next few weeks, I'm going to share some photos and notes on our adventure.

First up: Carlsbad Caverns

This National Park is definitely worth a visit. Right now the elevators are out, though they are supposed to be working again soon. That means you start a visit with a hike down the trail at the Natural Entrance. That might not sound bad, but the path is 1.25 miles long, and it's steep! (In one place on the webpage it calls it a 750-foot trail, but I think that must be the change in elevation.)

The Hall of the White Giant tour
required some special equipment
and a willingness to get muddy.

It's also interesting, with cool formations along the way. Those who can't make the whole trek could still see some neat stuff by going in part of the way, but if you don't get around well, you're better off waiting until the elevators are repaired. Oh, and no strollers are allowed! (Baby strollers, I mean, not people walking leisurely.) This could be pretty important if you have young kids along. We definitely heard some complaining of the "carry me" variety.

We made the trip down 1 1/2 times, because we started with a special tour of the Hall of the White Giant. That involved going halfway down the Natural Entrance walkway, and then turning off at a spot in the wall where there is absolutely no sign of a tunnel.

Eight of us, plus two rangers, did the tour, which lasts roughly 4 hours. It's considered the most strenuous tour, and involved some crawling and wriggling. We also went up a narrow ladder with metal rungs, and used ropes to get up and down a couple of steeper slopes. It should be doable for anyone of decent fitness, as long as you're not too large. Most of our group was in the small-to-average size range, including two young teenagers, and everyone did great.

The rock is smooth and slick, so a
knotted rope helps with this short climb.

The tour didn't actually show us anything more exciting than you'd see in the self-guided Big Room tour. In fact, the White Giant was a fairly modest pillar. It's really about the adventure of getting in and out. You get a slight sense of what cavers go through when exploring caves that haven't been totally adapted for tourists. My upcoming novel, The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, has some caving scenes, so this was especially helpful to me. They also have everyone turn off their headlamps for a minute, so you feel the quiet and silence of a natural cave. The park offers several other special tours as well. The guides were great.

After that tour, we went back to the surface level for lunch at the restaurant. There is a restaurant down in the cave, but we wanted to trade out some clothing and pick up a few things from our car (no backpacks were allowed on the tour). We had a decent lunch and enjoyed the short walk in the sunshine before heading back down to the Big Room, where we wandered for a couple of hours. The formations are spectacular. We also discovered one advantage to being there when the elevators are out of order: the cave wasn't crowded, and the back part of the figure 8 loop was practically empty! At times we had no one in sight in front or behind us on the winding path.

I didn't take any pictures in the Big Room, because I figured better pictures exist on the web, from professionals with topnotch equipment and more time. These pictures are from the Hall of the White Giant tour.

The park offers backcountry camping, and there's an RV Park with tent camping sites in White’s City, but we chose to stay at Brantley State Park. It was a well-run park, with restrooms and showers, and water and electricity at many sites. Unfortunately, it was an hour drive to the Caverns. Your entrance fee gives you access for three days, so had we been staying closer, we might have done our special tour and the regular tour on two different days. On the bright side, we had lovely evenings with nice sunsets over the lake – although it was cold enough on the first night that we stopped in Carlsbad the next day to buy extra blankets!

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock's newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.