The Cruces Basin can be a tough place to get to. Not that it's far from anywhere (approximately 2.5 hours from Santa Fe), but the roads to the trailheads are washboard, muddy and downright rocky and abusive to any small truck or SUV.But many people do visit this area with station wagons and other sorts of on-road vehicles.
More power to them - I have had tire issues 2 out of the 3 times I visited this spot and one time my electrical system shut down from the severe jolting from the trailhead spur road.
Well enough stories and warnings. If you do visit this area you will be rewarded with stunning views, beautiful streams and plenty of wildlife (cows too). The area is mostly 9000' plus in elevation and the aspen groves are thick.
Dispersed camping is available all along FR 87 as you head towards the wilderness boundary. There are many established sites with fire rings. Be prepared to find cow patties everywhere in the camping areas and cows, of course. There are bears - we've seen one rambling accross the meadows this last spring - so you may want to string up your food.
Hiking
The trailhead parking rests at the end of the road on the last flat area before the terrain falls away into the Beaver Creek watershed. Follow the trail down along Osha Creek to the bottom of the watershed.
Once down into the watershed of Beaver Creek you are on your own as far as trails go. There is a well worn path on the north side of Beaver Creek and presumably is a trail to Toltec Mesa, but I have only hiked bits of it.
You'll will notice an old vehicle path down the knoll at the entrance into the watershed as you hike up Beaver Creek. It is a blessing that this area has Wilderness status, as vehicle traffic would have destroyed it in no time.
If you are experienced in trailblazing and orienteering, then you'll love exploring this area. The rock formations (which appear to be metamorphic rock) are fun to climb on and provide many places to sit and view the watershed. If you happen to remain on any of the ridges for the afternoon, you will hear the whistle of the Cumbres-Toltec train as it travels through the Los Pinos river canyon on the north side of the wilderness.
Fishing
The streams are small but cut deep into the grassy meadows. Brookies are present, but best to use flies or catch grasshoppers in the meadows. Beaver Creek (at left) is a beautiful stream with lots of pools.
Getting There
Coming from Tres Piedras on Hwy 285 you will travel about 10 miles north pass the junction with Hwy 64 (the Taos Gorge Bridge road) to San Antonio Mountain (the highest free standing mountain in the lower 48) and take FR 87 to the west around the mountain to FR 572 (about 22 miles). FR 87 is one of the most scenic forest roads anywhere, as it goes through a large area of BLM rangeland with Pronghorn antelope and spectacular vistas of San Antonio Mountain. Take FR 572 about 2 miles to the Osha Canyon trailhead - if you make it to the cattle guard (about 300 yards), then you'll probably make it to the trailhead!
This is not the easiest access point - you can choose to just to park anywhere along FR 87 and just start hiking (as it follows the boundary), but because this puts you right into the heart of a great area I usually make the extra drive to this trailhead.
Related Areas
I heard on KSFR that the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and the Bureau of Land Management are developing a National Conservation Bill for north-central New Mexico. The proposal, encompassing more that 303,000 acres of Taos and Rio Arriba Counties, also includes two new Wilderness areas totally about 24,000 acres: Ute Mountain and Rio San Antonio Gorge. This includes land around San Antonio Mountain and lands accross the highway over to the gorge. Visit the New Mexico Wild site and help get this area protected!
Files
This blog contains my recent hike (about 8 miles round trip) down through the watershed to one the highest points in the area and back. It is a trail blaze and I took only infrequent waypoints, it is a reference only. Enjoy!
National Geographic TOPO! Region
Waypoints and Route for Cruces Basin Hike
Size: 5kb File: crucesbasin2007728.tpo
Google Earth KML
Waypoints (Markers) for Cruces Basin Hike
Size: 3kb File: crucesbasin_osha.kml
(View online in Google Maps)
GPS Waypoint File (GPX\XML)
GPS Waypoint for Cruces Basin Hike
DATUM: WGS84
Coordinate System: UTM Zone 13N
Size: 3kb File: crucesbasin_osha.gpx
