New Mexico Road Trip - Cloudcroft’s Sunspot Observatory and Trestle Trail (Day 5)

The Mexican Canyon Trestle at the Trestle Recreation Area is a beautiful wooden railroad trestle.

UPDATED: 2/5/2023

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Day 5: Sunspot Observatory and Trestle Recreation Area

We spent the fifth day of our trip exploring spots very near to our accommodation in Cloudcroft, nestled in the Lincoln National Forest. In fact, one of our destinations was even walkable from our B&B! You would think that our elevation in Cloudcroft - about 8,600 feet - was plenty high enough but no, we headed further up into the mountains, a far cry from the prior day’s visit to the low elevation of the desert! (Read the prior day's post here about our visits to White Sands National Park and Three Rivers Petroglyphs.)

Many of the telescopes at the site are several decades old. While some are no longer used, most are still functional.

sunspot observatory - the journey from cloudcroft

It was only once we were settled in Cloudcroft that we became aware of Sunspot Observatory, a - no surprise here - solar observatory. We decided to go check it out.

A 15-mile Sunspot Scenic Byway runs from Cloudcroft to Sunspot. The route was in fact scenic with high altitude forests of pine and aspen and occasional glimpses to the Tularosa basin 5,000 feet below. The road meandered, taking us along for the twists and turns. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. The ‘big’ town of Cloudcroft (population 700) retreated further into the rear view mirror. After about half an hour, the road ascended up a large climb as we entered Sunspot (population between 12-78 depending on the source). This insular community sits at an elevation of about 9,200 feet, a quarter of a mile shy of two miles high!

As we mentioned in our prior post about Cloudcroft, which is a bit lower, it is important to be aware of potential altitude sickness at this elevation. Here, as in Cloudcroft, most of our group felt a bit winded when hiking.

One of the older telescopes at the site.

sunspot observatory - what to see and do

The Dunn Solar Telescope at the Sunspot Observatory near Cloudcroft.

At the end of our winding mountain road journey, it was a bit of a shock to the system to see buildings again. Even so, we found ourselves at the Sunspot Visitor’s Center. If your experience is anything like ours, you may very well not see any other visitors during your time.

The visitor’s center is a bit dated, which is neither a criticism nor a complaint. After all, Sunspot’s history dates to the years right after World War II and is first and foremost a facility for scientific study. After World War II, there was an interest in better understanding the role of the sun’s flares and radio interference. Early work began on this site in the late 1940s and by 1952, the Big Dome had been constructed. Additional work continued as the site grew and expanded and reached its zenith in the 1970s and 1980s. In more recent years, newer facilities have emerged in other locations and drawn astronomers away, and the population of Sunspot has dwindled. New Mexico State University has arranged to use the facilities as the military and others have pulled resources away, so the site might just find itself with a second chance at life.

After we learned about the site and its contribution to research, we left the visitor’s center to explore on our own. Visitors can take a half mile self-guided walking tour around the grounds, and we were provided a brochure that identified key spots along the route.

The shaft of an enormous telescope sits inside the main observatory. I don’t think this would fit in my backyard.

In fifth grade, my class took a week-long field trip to a nature camp situated in California’s San Bernardino Mountains. (At the time, I lived in Southern California.) The camp was dotted with cabins where we stayed and the environment was all pine needles and crisp air. Other than the students in a group together for outdoor class, there was no one else around. Visiting Sunspot reminded me so much of that. It felt like we were exploring a living and working campus that was also nearly a ghost town.

We passed domes and the oddly-shaped Dunn Solar Telescope on our stroll and were able to access some of the buildings to see their complex inner-workings. In one, we briefly watched astronomers at work and learned a bit about their experiences. With most of the buildings dating to the 1950s or 1960s, this was also a walk back through time when technology was large, clunky, and operated with large switches and swaths of metal. To us, this was an interesting experience both in learning about the science of the facility but also in exploring the campus and the telescopes. Sunspot has its own aesthetic.

trestle recreation area

After our return trip on the Sunspot Scenic Byway, we had a so-so lunch at a local Cloudcroft cafe where they charged us for water. To be clear, this was not a case where we inadvertently got fancy bottled water a la major European cities, this was regular old tap water served in little plastic cups. They felt people often left free water untouched and so by charging for it, they reasoned, people were more likely to be thoughtful as to whether they really needed the water. Yes, we get that there was a drought in the area, but seriously!

Sated, though perhaps thirsty, we wandered down the street to the Trestle Recreation Area, unsure of what we would find there.

Near the parking lot are some trail maps, bathrooms, and an overlook of Tularosa Basin, stretched out far below this mountain town. There is one main trail here, which is sometimes referred to as the Mexican Canyon Trestle Trail or the Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail. That trail connects to a longer 8-mile trail called Switchback Trail as well.

Looking out over the Trestle Recreation Area near Cloudcroft as fluffy clouds pass overhead.

hiking mexican canyon trestle trail in cloudcroft

A fallen tree lay next to the path. I love the texture in this photo.

This trail is a one-mile long out-and-back trail (for a total distance of 2 miles) with an elevation change of 524 feet. The trail is almost entirely downhill for the first mile with the return almost entirely uphill. You may also find yourselves breathing a tad more heavily given the high elevation of the region.

From 1899 to 1948, the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway climbed from the Tularosa Basin to deposit and collect travelers from Cloudcroft, following the route of today’s trail. The railway climbed over 2,000 feet in just 7.5 miles and incorporated 27 or more trestles to deal with the topography. Given the challenging conditions, there were some instances of runaway trains and fatalities, but fortunately none that impacted passenger cars.

As the hike veers downhill, hikers will spot remains of an “S” trestle, but the real treat comes at the end of the mile-long route: Extended out over the abyss of Mexican Canyon is the remaining portion of the Mexican Canyon trestle, perched about eye-level at a height six stories tall and extending a length of 323 feet. One look at it had me convinced that I would not have wanted to ride that train in its heyday! On the other hand, future people may very well feel that way about humans driving cars themselves so it’s all about perspective. Regardless, the trestle is a very cool and unique spot on a hike. There is an overlook with some information that hikers can read while they rest and catch their breath in anticipation of the mile-long climb back up to the parking lot.

return to casa de suenos and stargazing

The lights from towns in the Tularosa Basin make for an interesting contrast against the dark night sky and twinkling stars.

Having worked up plenty of an appetite in the fresh air, we discovered that we all had a hankering for the Mexican restaurant, Casa de Suenos, we had discovered the prior day in Tularosa. Sure, that would require a 35 minute drive down out of the mountains, but food cravings aren’t exactly rational! Our dinners there were just as good as our lunches the prior day, so it was well worth the trek.

By the time we got on the road to return to our final night in Cloudcroft, it was dark. The stars had come out and were visible in the vast sky stretching across the Tularosa Basin. We found a pull-out spot on the road just before Cloudcroft and were able to spend some time stargazing and taking photos of the night sky. I have said this before, but nothing beats the night sky over the desert!

The following day would send us forth from Cloudcroft into a much more populated part of the state for the final two days of our trip that had several amazing sites and hikes in store for us. And also aggressive mosquitoes. But that’s a story for the next post.

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