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Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks National Monument offers visitors unique experiences
Even for those who are immersed in its environment on a daily basis, the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument is full of pleasant surprises.
鈥淚 still get sort of these 鈥楢h-ha鈥� moments when I鈥檓 out there visiting. There鈥檚 still places that I haven鈥檛 seen. Or places that I鈥檝e been to a million times that I see something different each time,鈥� said Patrick Nolan, executive director for the Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. 鈥淓ach experience is really unique, and it鈥檚 just a really unique, cool landscape that you don鈥檛 find anywhere else. It鈥檚 a real jewel of New Mexico.鈥�
The monument, which also includes the Potrillo Mountains and Do帽a Ana Mountains, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary next May. According to its website, the monument was established to protect 鈥渟ignificant prehistoric, historic, geologic, and biologic resources of scientific interest.鈥�
鈥淚t really took a large sort of community grassroots effort to protect it,鈥� Nolan said. 鈥淚t was a wilderness campaign at first, and it sort of shifted prevailing political winds before settling on the monument designation, which (President Barack) Obama signed in 2014.鈥�
Today, visitors of the monument can participate in myriad outdoor activities, while a varied landscape offers plenty of scenery and a diverse population of wildlife including birds, mule deer, javelina, coyote and even oryx. In some cases, it鈥檚 best to proceed with caution.
鈥淚 would tread lightly around oryx,鈥� Nolan said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e known to be a little aggressive.鈥�
Options are abound for hiking enthusiasts, with trails of varying degrees of difficulty available. According to Nolan, the Dripping Springs Trail, located on the west side of the Organ Mountains, is the monument鈥檚 most visited with a flat, wide-open hike that is ideal for beginners. More advanced hikers might enjoy Pine Tree Loop, which features a higher elevation, or Sierra Vista, a relatively flat 27-mile trek ideal for hikers and cyclists alike. In short, there鈥檚 probably something for everyone 鈥� even those who prefer to blaze their own trail.
鈥淭here鈥檚 other places that aren鈥檛 like official trails that can present some more challenging trails for folks, too,鈥� Nolan said.
Perhaps the most difficult hike in the area is known as the Needles, a 5.8-mile hike that ranks as one of the toughest in the state. It鈥檚 advised to avoid this route in the summer, Nolan says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very steep toward the second half of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 some scrambling. Folks don鈥檛 necessarily anticipate that. When you鈥檙e looking at it, it looks sort of doable. But it is an incredibly challenging hike.鈥�
Meanwhile, mountain biking has become increasingly popular at the monument in recent years. One of most well-known trails is the Monumental Loop, which spans a total of 230 miles and connects all four parts of the monument. How one decides to approach it is a matter of preference.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of trails, county roads and unofficial trails that folks can ride,鈥� Nolan said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to do the whole 200-plus miles. You can do it in chunks. You can just do one part of it. But I think it鈥檚 really cool too, both to get visitors here, but it鈥檚 also a cool tool to get folks to other parts of the monument.
鈥淎 lot of people just tend to go to the Organs because it鈥檚 the closest and most accessible. But there鈥檚 a ton of other places to go and see. Monumental Loop helps to get there.鈥�
While summer tends to attract its fair share of visitors to the monument, the more moderate fall and spring seasons tend to be the busiest. Those are also the times that Nolan highly recommends making a visit to the monument.
鈥淭he best time to come here is spring or fall,鈥� he said. 鈥淪pring is when you鈥檝e got some blooming cactus. Fall is after monsoon season, and the mountains really green up, and I think are at their peak beauty-wise. The weather is great to get out there hiking.鈥�
Editor's note: The original story on the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument contained incorrect information; this story has been updated and corrected.
