Lower Arroyo de Los Pinos

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5/5 (4 reviews)
Escondida, New Mexico (Socorro County)
Last Updated: 11/16/2021

Trail Information

Highlights

Near Socorro, NM and located off of the incredibly scenic Quebradas Backcountry Byway, this segment of Arroyo de Los Pinos is great for employing your driving skills while seeing much more of the area than you could from the Byway above. As you arrive, the color of the rock and earth are impossible to miss due to the presence of hematite, the same mineral that gives the planet Mars its red hue. The first segment of the trail from the Quebradas road to the arroyo floor takes you through a 400-foot elevation change, providing beautiful panoramic vistas of the region and its surrounding mountain ranges. Moving through the arroyo, bands of red and yellow sandstone, red and purple shale, and white to gray limestone are all exposed. There are many trails along the Quebradas Backcountry Byway, which divides the 6,000-acre Gordy’s Hill Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area from west to east, providing offroad driving challenges for all experience levels and offroad vehicle capabilities.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

5/5 (4)
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Official Crew
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13150
Open
Visited: 11/16/2021

Heavy rains in 2021 have really changed the area trails. Some points are now harder and some are easier. Lots of vegetation in the arroyo floors and more exposed boulders than usual in many places. Fabulous, sunny weather in the 70's with no wind on this trip. Conditions in late fall really are ideal for the Quebradas area.
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Official Crew
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13150
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 07/07/2019

Trail was as expected for July, vegetation was getting thick in spots. It's a nice run out and back to tie to the other trails on the map.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 01/04/2019

Extremely nice Trail went with snow on the ground and as the sun was setting. Was able to go through the trail and back with no issues although I did have a light bar on the roof of my Chevy S10 Blazer to light the way. At night if you are not careful you will miss the trail to exit from the runoff and you will stay in the runoff until you hit the do not trespass sign I made that mistake but if you download the map you should have no issues. If I was to rate this Trail if I was to rate this Trail I would give it a 4.5 only because snow is on the ground and it was nighttime.
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Official Crew
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13150
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 08/12/2018

Every time I do this run it is like being on a new trail. The arroyos in this area are anything but static as Mother Nature moves rock, sand, and vegetation, changing the landscape with every storm and every season. On this trip we went down with a small group and had an excellent day
Trail Review: Lower Arroyo de Los Pinos - Scott Mitchell
Trail Review: Lower Arroyo de Los Pinos - Scott Mitchell
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