Continental Divide Trail: New Mexico Section 29 Out-and-Back

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

Features Commonly Bikepacked

This trail is great! The Tres Piedras Ranger District built some amazing singletrack and now it's your turn to reap the rewards.

This is a pretty hefty out-and-back unless you have a couple of rad off-road trucks and some even radder bros. Conditions past RD 450 where the Hopewell Gold Featured Ride begins looping back to the north are on young and raw trail. Navigation will be more difficult and conditions rougher. Eventually, at mile 16.6, riders will come to the end of the currently completed singletrack and start the long journey back.

There are definitely some very technical sections, best ridden north to south (one such can be found near the 8.0-mile point) and walked south to north. I was walking up one such section today and saw Paul Walker and Christopher Walken, but fear not, Winona Ryder was just up the way!

There are a ton of CDT marker signs for the first 12.5 miles or so, but from there you rarely have to touch a forest road and the trail is obvious. There's a log bridge crossing at one point about 10 miles in (note the CDT marker on a downed log pointing you through the tiny hike-a-bike section to the log) so you don't even have to get your feet wet! If at any point you feel like you're off trail, just cruise on a little bit and the beautifully designed CDT markers will probably reappear.

A lot of this trail is not buffed out. Expect to be riding over bumpiness and practice cyclocross-ing over downed logs (especially as you get deeper in). Also, you'll probably not see another person, so be prepared to fend for yourself. This is a cattle grazing area so beware of splashing poops and don't bring your dog if they can't resist the urge to herd these giant beasts with tiny brains.