Devisadero Loop Trail 108 Trailhead — Attraction in New Mexico

This is our first visit to the area, and the proximity to Taos is perfect. Our family of 5 really enjoyed this trail, which gave us a good workout. We’re moderately active, but don’t live near many hills anymore. It may be easy or moderate for more active people, but it was hard for us. We enjoyed the challenge. The initial upward slope tested my 46 year old, average mother of 3 who walks her dog daily but that’s about it cardio fitness, and by the time we got to the split, we needed to enjoy the view. A friendly hiker warned us about rattlesnakes as he came down. We were cautious, but fortunately didn’t encounter any. We began our hike around 9:30 am, and I would suggest starting earlier if you’re able. Between the sun, the altitude, and arid climate, if you’re from a flat, humid area, it’s challenging. But so much fun! There are so many spectacular views. The changes of vegetation along the hike are captivating, as are the rocks. We had 2 kids in Teva sandals with the in spite of my suggestion, and they managed through a couple of slippery slopes ok. One is a gymnast, the other is a less coordinated 10 year old. We took our time. I tripped over a couple of loose rocks but only fell once, and I’m pretty sure the soles of my running shoes are shot after this. (They were reaching the end of their life anyway). We saw a couple of ravens, some beautiful moths and butterflies, grasshoppers , horse flies, beetles, and a skink , but no other wildlife. There were cactus, asters, phlox, and some other wildflowers in bloom. We took the counter clockwise trail up and I feel like it was a good choice. It’s slightly shorter than the other side of the loop, so resting at the peak was important. The vegetation makes the top of the peak less expansive, but it’s still beautiful. We were exhausted and ran out of water about 1 mile from the end even though we had brought plenty. Hydrate before you go; my family has figured out why I kept reminding them to hydrate in the days before our vacation. If you are looking for a fun challenge, this trail is worth it. It may be too difficult for very small children under 8, unless they’re exceptionally coordinated. But it’s worth testing to see how far they can go and turn around if...

2hr 45min duration, 6 miles, 1500 ft elevation, 8300 ft altitude at its peak!

We arrived around 9 and parked in the only lot across the street from where the hike starts. The lot and trail head are easy to find.

This hike really gets your heart rate up (inclines + altitude)!

The first .5 miles is all incline. At that point, you can go right or left at the fork. We went counter clockwise (right) which is another 2 miles of steep incline, with a few spots that plateau out where you think you’ve made it to the top, but there’s still more! We finally reached the peak and similar to the rest of the trail, there weren’t incredible views but the trees, rocks, and cacti were lovely scenery.

Because we went counter clockwise, the back half of our loop was a casual decline. (Obviously if you go the other way it would be the opposite - casual incline, steep decline.)

We didn’t see almost any people until the second half of the loop, they were on their way up while we were going down, so they probably started around 10:30 or 11.

This trail pushes your endurance and is nature forward. Overall, really enjoyed the morning hike and would recommend it if...

Lots of snow and lovely sights! Mountains look amazing from the trails. The trail was beautiful, but their are some psycho locals that tried to harass us because we had our dogs. I saw plenty of other people with dogs and no signs posted telling us dogs were not allowed on the trail. As first we thought he was a park ranger but then he started going on about out of state visitors not being allowed and masks infringing on his rights so we knew he was just another Karen lol... Hopefully he'll read this one day and realize tourism is helping his small town's business owners due to the government's poor decisions to shut everything down. If you don't like tourism don't live in a tourist...