Adventures in the Sandias
Education Through Observation
(updated Apr 19, 2026)
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. – Psa 90:2
A range of day-hikes for youth and adults from easiest to very strenuous.
https://trailsnh.com/tools/hiking-difficulty.php
Please RSVP – info@nmsciencefoundation.org.
Bring water, hat, snacks, and lunch. Bring poncho in case of rain on the trail. Hikes may be canceled for inclement weather (ten day forecast) or fire restrictions (Sandia Ranger District).
NM mask mandate ended Feb 17, 2022 thus concluding the pandemic that began Mar 13, 2020.
Be sure to RSVP if planning to hike.
Hikes may be rescheduled or canceled.
Sat, Oct 11, 2025 (La Luz Trail)
Theme: Historic La Luz Trail www.laluztrail.com
Departure: Sandia Base Tram
Departure Time: 8am (6 hours to the tram)
Destination: Sandia Peak Tram
Area: Hike thru four different
life
zones
Last
Weekend of Balloon Fiesta
See
the balloons across the valley as we hike up the mountain
Special equipment: oxygen as needed for infrequent hikers
Visit Ten
3 and return on the Sandia
Tram
One way Tram tickets can be purchased online 30 days
in advance
Check punkin
chunkin
https://www.facebook.com/EstanciaRotaryPunkinChunkin/
Sat, Nov 15, 2025
Theme: You make springs gush forth in the wadis; they flow between the hills, supplying water to all the wild animals; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. – Ps 104:10 (CJB)
Departure: Montecello Parking Area (free)
Departure Time: 9am (standard time)
Carnuel exit off I-40, 1.5 mi
east on old 66
look for brown hiking signs into Montecello
subdivision, north to trailhead
Destination: Three Gun Springs (Tres Pistoles) and crash site (as requested)
Area: Legend that three Spanish Conquistador pistols were found near the springs. Easy hike to the springs. Hot dogs & marshmallows at the springs. Challenging hike to aircraft wreck from the springs (steep and no trail).
Sat, Dec 20, 2025
Departure: Carlito Springs Open
Space Parking (free)
https://goo.gl/maps/pQgUZaiLPJT9SC838
Area: Easy, 2-mile loop, running spring water year round
Departure Time: 9am
Sat, Jan 17, 2026
Theme: Isa 60:13 The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary.
Departure: Elena Gallegos, Pino Trail Parking Area ($2 fee per car)
Destination: Pino Canyon, campfire and locate the airplane crash marker
Area: Pino means Pine in Spanish.
Spruce and fir dominate the high country.
Be prepared for
snow. Hot dogs & marshmallows.
Departure Time: 9am (2 hours to camp site)
Sat,
Feb 21, 2025
(Piedra
Lisa Waterfall) (canceled
for medical
reasons)
https://www.nuclearmuseum.org/visit/events/discover-steam-day-february
Theme: Lonely are the Brave (watch the movie on Amazon)
Trail closed Mar 1 to Aug 15 every year
Departure: Piedra Lisa Trailhead (N of La Luz)
Departure Time: 9am (2 hours to the waterfall)
Destination (2023): Waterfall
(3.5 mile
RT)
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-mexico/piedra-lisa-to-waterfall
Campfire with hotdogs and marshmallows
Movie Trail:
Lonely are the Brave
Geocache
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC178Y3_lonely-are-the-brave
(as
requested, weather permitting)
Area: Trail is steep at times and difficult to see, but trackable by GPS
Special Treat: extensive footage
of the Sandias in Lonely are the
Brave
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056195/locations
https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Are-Brave-David-Miller/dp/B002SATCO0
Sat, Mar 21, 2026 (Post Pass)
Theme: Over the mountain and thru the woods
Departure: Three Gun Trailhead (Monticello Parking Area)
Departure Time: 9am DST (approx 4 hours across the mountain)
Destination: Embudo Canyon Parking Area (Indian School)
Area: Steady climb to Post Pass, then downhill to Embudo Spring
Special Arrangements: vehicles at both ends or pick up
Sat, Apr 18, 2026 (Cienega Loop)
Theme: Springs of Life
Distance: ~ 4 mile loop
Departure: Sulphur Canyon parking (south of Doc Long)
Departure Time: 9:30am (4 hours) – Daylight Savings Time
Destination: Sulphur Spring, Wolf Spring, Toro Spring, and several geocaches
Area: Ciénaga is a Spanish term meaning desert marsh, bog or shallow, slow-moving flow of water through dense surface vegetation. A ciénega (also spelled ciénaga) is a wetland system unique to the American Southwest. Ciénagas are alkaline, freshwater, spongy, wet meadows with shallow-gradient, permanently saturated soils in otherwise arid landscapes that often occupied nearly the entire widths of valley bottoms.
Visit site of most recent crash site (Nov 2015) – NTSB investigation
Afterglow: Visit
Tinkertown Museum on the way
home
https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Years-Behind-Mast-Theodora/dp/0979312477
Sat, May 16, 2026 (Bosque Peak)
Long drive to the trailhead but
the adventure worth the effort.
Detail
story of the 1890
settlement
Departure: Bosque Peak Trailhead
Departure Time: 9am (approx 6 hours round trip)
Destination: cave, crash site,
historic gravesite, geocaches, and cabin
ruins
https://www.kxnm.org/el-bosque-homestead.html
Area: Gradual climb to Bosque Peak going slow to enjoy the sights
https://nmdigital.unm.edu/digital/collection/loslunas/id/500/
Sat, Jun 20, 2026
Theme: Father's Day
Departure: Elena
Gallegos, Cottonwood Springs Trailhead ($2 fee per
car)
https://goo.gl/maps/jCNpPE5XCMj91gR78
Departure Time: 8am (4 hours to the crash site)
Destination: 1955 TWA aircraft wreck in TWA Canyon
Area: Variety of vegetation as
hikers ascend from desert to lush forest. Add a rock to the
rock house. Watch out for heavy poison ivy along creek bed in
Dominga Baca Canyon.
Share some praise &
worship at Worship Rock. Enjoy peaceful Aspen Grove
waterfall. Conquer the rock wall.
Sat, July 18, 2026
Theme: Landmarks in life
Departure: Michael Emery
Trailhead (east end of Spain) (free
parking)
https://goo.gl/maps/ez5eBvGAhL6aUUVd8
Departure Time: 8am (4 hours to the crash site)
Destination: 1941 A-17 aircraft
wreck in Bear Canyon
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/114840
Bike to edge of mountains for a quicker, easier return in the heat
Bring lunch. Cache ice cooler for return.
Area: Spectacular view of entire
Bear Canyon and pristine hiking along creek bed.
View
massive 50' rock monument. Locate geocaches.
Sat, Aug 15, 2026 – James Collins Memorial Hike
Theme: Navigation through life
Departure: Canyon Estates
Trailhead (north of Tijeras) (free
parking)
https://goo.gl/maps/N9UcBMuEL87D8moG6
Departure Time: 8am (3 hours to crash site)
Destination: 1964 Piper Commanche PA24 aircraft near Hondo Canyon - bring a GPS and practice finding coordinates; geocache at the site placed by legendary hiker James Collins
Area: Continuous tree cover from beginning to end. Visit Travertine Waterfall and cave. Hike a portion of the CCC trail named for the Civilian Conservation Corps who constructed the trail in the 1930s. Look for the historic tree marker on the CCC trail.
Sat, Sep 5, 2026 (Family 50 Bicycle Ride) (rescheduled from May)
Theme: Stop and Smell the Roses (Mac Davis, 1974)
Departure: Smith’s Parking Lot (Central & Tramway)
Destination: Official 50-mile loop bicycle ride around Albuquerque
Area: Official route modified to use southern bike routes back to Smith’s Parking Lot
Departure Time: 7am (approx 6 hours)
Mon, Sep 7, 2026 (Labor Day)
Theme: Pro 25:4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. http://www.higherpraise.com/lyrics1/RefinersFire2.htm
Departure: Mystery
Trailhead
Parking area ½ mile north of Doc Long (free)
Departure Time: 9am (1.5 hours to smelter)
Destination: Historic Smelter Ruins
Area: Barro Canyon, North
Mystery Trail, Tecolote Canyon
Study up on NM mining and
discuss some geology and
chemistry.
http://agmc.info/uploads/education/new_mexico/New_Mexico_Mining_History.pdf
https://westernmininghistory.com/state/new-mexico/
http://agmc.info/uploads/education/new_mexico/Overview_Of_Early_Mining_History_In_New_Mexico.pdf
Afterglow: grab a hot dog at the Shell Station Grill
