Santa Barbara

Hike Name: Santa Barbara Location: north NM Length: 16.5 Submitted by: Mark Rose Date Submitted: 0/0/00 Rating:	more New Mexico trail reviews New Mexico national parks New Mexico state parks
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Description
The Santa Barbara trail is one of only a few trails that allows access to the Pecos Wilderness from the North. Located in the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests, the Pecos Wilderness was designated in 1933, contains 223,333 acres and lies at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
If you want a challenging 4-6 day trip that leads you to a 12,841 ft. and 13,102 ft. mountain top, this is an excellent choice. Mount Chimayosos (Chim-E-A-SOS) and Truchas Peak, respectively, are two imposing peaks that can be seen from several miles away. Neither have a well maintained trail to the summit so the last part is pretty intense. I took 16 high school guys and girls from my Youth Group on a 5 day trip to Mount Chimayosos and they got all they wanted. From the trailhead, the elevation change to Chimayosos is 3,973 ft. and to Truchas is 4,234 ft. There is also the possibility of making a loop. Total mileage: to Truchas Peaks 12-14 miles; to Chimayosos 9-10 miles; loop down the West Fork around Chimayosos and back up the Middle Fork 15.5-16.5 miles.
The trail has two starting points in the Santa Barbara Campground. They both end up as the same trail after about 0.2 mile. One starts at the back of the campground and one starts at the front of the campground and winds around the perimeter. Once on the trail it splits into three different forks - the East, Middle and West. It is a moderate to difficult trail depending on which fork you take. I went in late Spring and again in the middle of the summer and water was plentiful. The terrain includes rocky peaks, aspens, dark forests, grassy meadows and lakes. Also, be aware that this area gets a lot of snow in the winter and early Spring. My trip in the late Spring last year was cut short due to the fact that the snow was over our heads and we couldn’t get through.
The first 0.5 mile of the trail is a good warm-up due to being fairly flat and level. There is a wooden bridge after about 0.7 miles that crosses over the Rio Santa Barbara and starts winding up a mountainside. At 2 miles the Middle Fork breaks off and heads east with the East Fork breaking off 1.2 miles later. If you want to make it to Chimayosos or Truchas stay on the West Fork.
Depending on what time of day you start, you might want to camp in a enormous meadow 3 miles from the trailhead. We drove from Oklahoma and arrived in the late afternoon so we reached the meadow in about 2.5 hours and it was time to make camp due to fading sunlight. If you have more time, another 4 miles down the trail has some great spots to camp with beautiful views of Mount Chimayosos.
This is where it starts getting tough! The next 2.5 miles gain close to 3,000 ft. Several switchbacks take you from the green forests to above treeline where rock and little scrubs is all you see. Once on top of Mount Chimayosos, you can look south and see the three peaks that make up the Truchas Peaks(North, Middle and Truchas) and on a clear day see Pecos Baldy.
If you want to continue the other 3 strenous miles to the Truchas Peaks, the trail has signs designating the way and it’s very obvious which way to go. In fact the whole trail system is well marked with worn paths and signs.
If you’re interested in making the loop, continue on the trail over Chimayosos(The actual trail goes around the side of the mountain but strong-hearted folks go over the mountain and pick the trail up on the other side). After another 3 miles the trail hooks back up to the bottom side of the Middle Fork trail. If you head North along the Middle Fork for 4.5 miles it connects back into the West fork completing the loop. Then the final 2 miles back to the campground.
If you’re wanting maps for this area, there is a Pecos Wilderness Forest Map. If you want Topo Maps you need Jicarita Peak, Pecos Falls and Truchas Peak.

Directions to Hike
Take State Highway 76 through the towns of Chimayo and Truchas to Highway 75 and then to Highway 73 OR take State Highway 75 north of Espanola and travel through Dixon to Penasco. From Penasco continue along State Highway 73/Forest Road 116 to Santa Barbara Campground. The last few miles from Penasco are over semi-well maintained dirt road. If you’re hungry when you go through Penasco, stop at a great Pizza place called Bear Claw Pizza.

Contact Information
Camino Real Ranger District
P.O. Box 348
Penasco, N.M. 87533
(505)587-2255

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