Cerrillos Hills State Park — Attraction in Four Corners States

A quaint, peaceful, and worthwhile stopover close by the small town of Cerrillos, located just about 20 minutes from Santa Fe.

Parking is located down a short dirt road. You likely won't have any trouble finding a spot at the first parking area, but if you'd like, you can drive further down past private property to an additional parking spot. It's $5 per car, so be sure to make your deposit before going exploring.

The park features a small network of mostly interconnected trails that, together, add up to about 10 miles. None of the trails are very long, nor are they technically challenging. The longest one is about 1.5 miles one way.

I started my walk down the Juan Sanchez trail which was only about 0.8 miles one way. A cool aspect of that trail were the various mining posts that provided a little bit of history surrounding the mining boom that once happened in this area. Regardless of what trail you take, you'll be treated to some lovely views of the surrounding New Mexican...

Cerrillos Hills is a quiet place that isn't far from Santa Fe by car. We ended our trip to Santa Fe here and it was quiet and peaceful. There were only two other people on the trail while we were there so it was quiet and uncrowded. It was the perfect way to end our trip before we had to head back home. The trail is well marked with signs that explain the mines that were there and they outline what was mine, when it was mines, and who mined it. There are also signs that explain the topography of the area out at a distance. Labeling all of the visible peaks you can see from the vantage point we were at. These signs were helpful in understanding the area and gave us an appreciation...

The many trails in the park lend themselves to breathtaking views of the Cerrillos hills and the many mountain ranges in the area. Paths are marked well though trail maps along the routes are sadly missing. Unless you are high up on a peak you will not have phone or internet service, so make sure to take a good trail app like GPS Waypoints Navigator and download your maps before you get to the park. Accessing the park from highway 14 is easy and there is ample parking with $5.00 self pay. We especially enjoyed reading about the mining history of the area at the exhibits posted along the trails at old mine claims. All and all a wonderful vigorous and...