AREA DAY TRIPS
Fort Bayard, City of Rocks, Faywood and More
On the eastern edge of Silver City in the town of Santa Clara is the historic Fort Bayard and the surrounding open-to-hiking BLM land. A day trip east from Bear Mountain Lodge is Faywood Hot Springs and the State Park of City of Rocks.
Fort Bayard Historic Site and the "Big Tree"
Established in 1866, Fort Bayard was an important military outpost whose troops, including the famous Buffalo Soldiers, protected the local mining settlements of Pinos Altos and Santa Rita. The last active troops left in 1900, at which time the post became a medical facility. Currently, Fort Bayard is a wildlife refuge known for its resident elk herd. There are some enjoyable short interpretive walks through the old parts of the fort. To tour the fort, turn north from U.S. Highway 180 at the traffic light in Santa Clara onto the Fort Bayard Medical Center access road. From Fort Bayard you can hike to an immense alligator juniper known as the Big Tree. The Big Tree is ranked as the second largest alligator juniper in the country. It is 63 feet high with a trunk diameter of 70 in., circumference of l8 ft., and crown spread of 62 ft. The tree is accessible by hiking a 5.5 mile round trip through piñon and juniper in the foothills of the Pinos Altos Range. To visit the Big Tree, drive past the hospital complex by taking the right fork and follow the signs to the Forest Administrative Site and National Recreational Trails, (4.5 miles up the Ft. Bayard Nursery Road). The parking lot for the trail is 1/10 mile left of the fenced Administrative Site.
Dragonfly Petroglyph Site
Look for the Dragonfly Trailhead sign on U.S. Highway 180 about 1.5 miles west of the Fort Bayard turnoff. Take Arenas Valley Road northward 1 mile to the parking area at the sharp curve. Hike the more traveled trail to the right, and in about 200 yards the trail forks to make the well marked 3.5 mile Dragon-fly loop. There are several nice petroglyphs in the rocks halfway, indicated by an arrow on a wordless sign. Arenas Valley Road is a short loop, so it is possible to continue along it back to Highway 180 as you return to town.
City of Rocks State Park
This park 35 miles from the Lodge has rock formations so unique they are known to exist in only six other places on earth. Billowing volcanic ash from ancient eruptions far greater than Mt. Saint Helens welded itself together by intense heat, then slowly eroded through wind and water into fantastically sculpted shapes. Besides geology, visitors can experience a variety of southwestern plant and animal life native to the Upper Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem. The park's desert botanical garden is home to cow's tongue and bunny ear cacti, yucca, and towering century plants. Deer, antelope, javelina, and jackrabbits are frequently seen in the area, along with over 35 species of birds ranging from Golden Eagles to finches. Take US Highway 180 east and south from Silver City. Travel through Bayard and past Hurley and the mine tail-ings of the Santa Rita pit. Turn left on NM Hwy. 6l and drive four miles northeast to the state park access road. Park hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the entrance fee is $5 per vehicle. Phone: 575-536-2800.
Faywood Hot Springs
Near the City of Rocks on Highway 61, about 2 miles from its intersection with Highway 180, is Faywood Hot Springs, a high desert oasis with many geothermal pools of different temperatures. A century and a half ago the refreshing mineral springs served as a resting place for two different stage lines running between the tiny but important settlements of Mesilla and Pinos Altos. By 1896 a hotel with 60 guest rooms, considered the finest in all New Mexico Territory, stood here, but by 1951 the hotel was gone and things had calmed down considerably. Faywood Hot Springs is open to the public from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Phone: 575-536-9663.