Cañoncito Trail #150

Dogs Unknown

Features Wildflowers · Wildlife

Cañoncito Trail #150's original trailhead cannot be accessed by the public because Cole Springs Road has been restricted to private use by the owner.

Amenity fees are required to park at Cienega Picnic Ground or Sulphur Canyon Picnic Ground; $3 per vehicle ($10 for 15+ capacity vehicles).

Loose rocks are plentiful along certain parts of the trail.

To access Cañoncito Trail, you use Cienega Picnic Ground after May 15 when it re-opens for the season. If you are running before it opens, you can park at the adjacent Sulphur Canyon Picnic Ground ($3 amenity fee required per vehicle; $10 for 15+ passenger vehicles). From there, you can run past the locked gate along the road to Cienega Picnic Ground and take Cienega Horse Bypass #266 to Faulty Trail #195, heading south until it intersects Cañoncito Trail.

Cañoncito Trail is a lightly-traveled trail, in part because of the extra miles one must run in order to access it. Expect numerous fallen trees and a somewhat indistinct trail in the first few miles. Steep and rocky the first mile, the trail transitions to softer soil and becomes more obvious as it ascends to its juncture with South Crest Trail #130. Despite its ruggedness and inconvenient accessibility, the trail does offer a pleasant solitary run through the Sandia Mountain Wilderness.

Cañoncito Trail ends at its junction with the South Crest Trail #130. You can retrace your steps down Cañoncito Trail and back along Faulty Trail and Cienega Horse Bypass. However, if you want to take a more interesting route back, continue north on the Crest Trail for about 1.2 miles until to the upper trailhead of Cienega Trail #148 and use this trail to make a loop back to your car.

Depending on where you parked, you can either travel via Cienega in its entirety back to the trailhead at Cienega Picnic Ground, or if you parked at Sulphur Canyon, after about the fourth mile coming down Cienega, take the Cienega Horse Bypass back to the road and head past the locked gate to where you parked at Sulphur Canyon Picnic Ground.

You'll be running amongst ponderosa pine, spruce fir, oak, and aspen. Wildflowers are plentiful in spring. You may encounter birds such as Stellar's Jays and mammals such as squirrels and chipmunks. If you are really lucky, you'll see some mule deer.