Rio Grande Trail

The Rio Grande Trail is a proposed long distance trail along the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The river extends over 1,800 total miles, some 700 miles of which pass though the heart of New Mexico. It is the state's primary drainage feature and most valuable natural and cultural resource. [http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/riograndeconcept.htm June 2006, New Mexico State Parks, Concept Paper: The Rio Grande Trail] ] The river and its bosque provide a wide variety of recreation, including hunting and fishing, birdwatching, river rafting, hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The river also flows through or beside numerous spectacular and geologically interesting landforms, the result of extensive volcanism and erosion within the Rio Grande Rift. Although some trail advocates would like to see the trail extended the full distance through New Mexico, from the Colorado border to the United States–Mexico border, [ [http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/documents/CharterDraft4-changesmade.doc RIO GRANDE TRAIL COORDINATING COUNCIL CHARTER, Revised: December 4, 2007] ] the portion proposed for initial development extends 300 miles, from Bernalillo south to Las Cruces.

History

Governor Bill Richardson and New Mexico State Parks proposed the establishment of this trail. In 2006 the New Mexico Legislature provided funding to begin planning and development of the project.

The core of the proposed trail is the existing Paseo del Bosque Trail in Albuquerque, a product of long-standing collaboration among numerous interest groups and agencies including the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD). MRGCD also maintains ditchbank trails in Corrales and other communities in the area.

Proposed trail corridor

In many locations the basic infrastructure already exists in the form of either designated trails or informal trails. Informal trails exist on ditchbanks of local acequias and irrigation districts, on abandoned right-of-ways of old railroads, and on some publicly owned land. Most notable of these are the 16 mile Paseo del Bosque Trail, and the abandoned right-of-way of the Chili Line [Raven, Gregory (1999) [http://www.faradic.net/~gsraven/telegraph_tales/drgw/chililine/chili.html The Chili Line Expedition] , accessed 2008.06.17] of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (San Luis Valley Route). Spur trails also exist, both designated trails and informal trails as above plus tributary arroyos.

The Paseo del Bosque Trail is the nucleus of the proposed trail. The Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG), the regional planning group for Albuquerque and its surrounds, decided to extend the trail north to Bernalillo and south to Belen, about 40 miles in all. In 2005, New Mexico State Parks committed $3 million to MRCOG to develop this plan. In 2006, New Mexico State Parks determined its next priority to be the segment from Belen south to Las Cruces. This was determined in part due to the potential for synergy with established state parks and ongoing trail development projects. For planning purposes, the 300 mile trail corridor from Bernalillo south to Las Cruces was divided into six sections: MRCOG Bosque, Sevilleta Corridor, BLM Socorro Bosque, Camino Real Corridor, Elephant Butte Corridor, and Southern State Parks Corridor. In 2007, under the federal Recreational Trails Program, New Mexico State Parks awarded $474,698 to Elephant Butte Lake State Park for a West Lakeshore Trail. Meanwhile, as community trail development activities grew north of Bernalillo, especially in and north of the Santa Fe area, NMSP awarded $80,000 to the Santa Fe National Forest for a developed trailhead near Santa Fe on the Caja del Rio.New Mexico State Parks (2007) "News Release: Nine Trails Projects across New Mexico to Receive Funding"]

North of Bernalillo to NM 502 (connecting Pojoaque and Los Alamos), the Rio Grande passes through several pueblos and White Rock Canyon. This presents several kinds of obstacles to trail development. In particular, the lake behind Cochiti Dam backs into White Rock Canyon.

List of features

Features of the proposed trail corridor are listed in order from north to south. Bridges across the Rio Grande (listed separately) are candidate locations for trailheads.

;Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
*Earthships
*Rio Grande Gorge
*Orilla Verde Recreation Area
*Embudo Station
*Lyden, New Mexico
*Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo)
*Española, New Mexico
*Old Spanish Trail (trade route);Santa Fe County, New Mexico
*Santa Clara Pueblo
*San Ildefonso Pueblo
*Pajarito Plateau
*White Rock Canyon
*Bandelier National Monument
*Caja del Rio;Sandoval County, New Mexico
*Santo Domingo Pueblo
*Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
*Cochiti Lake
*Cochiti Pueblo;Bernalillo County, New Mexico
*San Felipe Pueblo
*Bernalillo
*Rio Rancho Bosque
*Paseo del Bosque Trail
*Albuquerque
*Isleta Pueblo
*Los Lunas
*Belen
*Bosque
*Bernardo
*Escondida;Socorro County
*Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
*San Lorenzo Canyon Recreation Area [ [http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/socorro/san_lorenzo_canyon.html BLM.gov: San Lorenzo Canyon Recreation Area] , accessed 2008-07-14]
*San Antonio
*Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
*Socorro
*Elephant Butte Lake
*Truth or Consequences
*Caballo Lake;Sierra County
*Derry and Arrey
*Salem
*Hatch
*Rincon;Doña Ana County
*Radium Springs, New Mexico
*Fort Selden
*Jornada del Muerto
*Doña Ana, New Mexico
*Las Cruces, New Mexico
*Organ Mountains
*Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park
*Mesilla, New Mexico
*Mesquite, New Mexico
*Vado, New Mexico and La Mesa, New Mexico
*Berino, New Mexico
*Anthony, New Mexico
*Sunland Park, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas
*Potrillo volcanic field
*United States–Mexico border

ee also

*El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
*Santa Fe River Trail
*Santa Fe Trail
*Grand Enchantment Trail

External links

* [http://www.anasazitrailsinc.com/Current-Trail-Projects.html New Mexico State Parks Rio Grande Trail Corridor Study]
* [http://www.mrcog-nm.gov/content/view/96/157/ Mid-Region Council of Governments of New Mexico: Rio Grande Trail: Extension Project: Belen to Bernalillo]

References