South Fork Rio Bonito, White Mtn Wld

Hike Name: South Fork Rio Bonito, White Mtn Wld Location: south NM Length: 12 Submitted by: Steve Cypher Date Submitted: 0/0/00 Rating:	more New Mexico trail reviews New Mexico national parks New Mexico state parks
For more trail descriptions and topo maps, try a Free Trial Offer from Trails.com

Description
This is a great springtime hike. It's free of snow by the first of May with the exception of the 11,300 peak on the way to Ski Apache. Start at the South Fork Campground. The forest service campground is closed from October-late May but there's a privately owned campground just outside the gate. Park your car at the trailhead at the end of the road or near the closed gate to the forest service campground. The weekend campers here are rowdy but I've been told that parked cars are left alone. The hike up South Fork Canyon is beautiful. The creek must be crossed 11 times, I think, but isn't so big that you have to get more than your toes wet. It's 6 miles to the top of the ridge if you stay on the South Fork Trail. The best camping spots are in the bottom half of the canyon, but there are some more up higher. About 3/4 of a mile past the paved road the Bluefront Trail takes off to the right and the Peacock trail goes uphill to the left. These are good for hiking a loop. The first mile up the Bluefront Trail is choked with blown down trees from a storm in early 1999. A little less than a mile from the end of the South Fork Trail (and a little less than 1000' from the top) you run into the ridge top meadow where the views become good enough to make the steep climb worthwhile. The view from the ridge is classic New Mexico; overlooking the White Sands and the Malpais lava flows. The treeless ridges make this one of my favorite hikes. The wind can be tremendous. The South Fork Trail ends at the Crest Trail, and the Bluefront Trail also ends at this intersection. There is a good spring just over the hilltop to the northwest on the Crest Trail. The obvious loop from here is back down the Bluefront Trail, but you can also go left on the Crest Trail towards Ski Apache, where there's a great view, no water but Ice Spring, and access to Sierra Blanca, the southernmost "real mountain" in the continental U.S. Complete this longer loop by dropping back down to the South Fork on the Peacock Trail or taking Rademaker Canyon back to the privately owned campground.

Directions to Hike
From state highway 37 north of Ruidoso, take forest road 107 to Bonito Lake. The South Fork Campground is just past the lake, across the creek on the left.

Contact Information
Lincoln National Forest, Smokey Bear Ranger District - (505) 257-4095. The best map is the White Mountain Wilderness map from the Forest Service.

submit a new trail review

---

About Our Reviews

Many people ask us to recommend a place to go hiking. Instead of us deciding what places are best, we let the backpacking community help out. The reviews on budget-travels-tips.com have been submitted by our viewers. Some reviews are positive and some are negative. If you don't agree with a review, feel free to submit your own trail review.