Cedar Creek Trails — Attraction in Ruidoso

Are you ready for a Christmas story to tell for years to come? Because we weren't! We are not from the area, but came here based off a trusted friend's recommendation for beautiful hiking trails. And we were certainly not disappointed. Beautiful trees, breathtaking scenery, brilliant views of the mountains... think Hallmark. The trails to the NE of Cedar Creek offer an easy hike through the forest, a fairly simple route, and clear paths that loop around back to your starting point. Although they're described as "moderate", I highly recommend them for walking families - probably not great for strollers, wheelchairs, or arthritic hips/knees, given the narrow paths, ups and downs, and rocks. Could easily do in sneakers or Tom's. Many great picture opportunities with mountains and trees in the background - would be awesome for family photos. We enjoyed every step. Overall, the ideal family nature walk location. Now the trails to the SW... here is where our story gets good. If you're looking for an adventure, look no further. After hiking on the trails mentioned above, we decided to "try out the other side". These trails were described as "advanced" but we thought, since the "moderate" trails were so easy, these would only be slightly more difficult. And that was probably our first mistake. There was much more of an incline for sure, but otherwise nothing that wouldn't have been doable for an hour or so hike. But friends, we didn't hike for an hour or so... We had planned on staying on our initial trail, following it around and coming back close to our starting point (where we had parked the car). But other plans were in our future. We began our trek around 2:00 so we would have enough time to return home by 4:00 for Christmas dinner. Upon coming to our first trail marker, we noted that we had about two miles to go to finish our trail. It was almost 3:00, and we did not think we'd have enough time or energy to enjoy hiking the rest of the way. So we turned off onto an adjoining trail/shortcut called Raven's Crest, which the map said would add on only about another half mile or so, and would allow us to connect back to our starting trail at another location, closer to the end. This was undoubtedly our second mistake. After hiking uphill for over half an hour, we all agreed that we had been going the wrong way. Luckily, my husband brought his cell phone. We pulled up the GPS, and saw that we were a solid 3 miles (as the raven flies) from a road... any road. At this point, it was beginning to get dark, and our Hallmark hiking experience was slowly morphing into a Deliverance back-woods thriller. We decided to turn around - a wise choice, looking back at the trail map we had left behind. We hiked back toward our turn-off, and at some point, discovered a dirt road up a hill through some brush. There were no signs on this road, clearly made for an ATV or truck of some sort, but from what we could see on the map, it was a straight shot to the ranger station. While I will not recommend hiking on this particular road (lots of rocks, deep crevices, more rocks, and very uneven dirt) it did take us back close to the point of our initial trail where we had decided to take the Ravens Crest "shortcut". This time, we chose to take the other trail. This was also a good choice. At this point, the sun was not visible in the sky, but it still gave enough light that we could see the trail for another 15 minutes or so. We made it back to Cedar Creek around 6:00 with only the stars and the cell phone flashlight to guide the last half hour of our dark trail hike. Now we had to get to the car which was still another mile up the road. Friends, don't expect a ride. We made it to the car after 5 hours of hiking. Each of us shed tears trying to hoist ourselves into a seat, and again as we crawled into bed that night. Today, we are resting in our cabin - likely the wisest choice we've made thus far. My tips: take water, snacks, a phone, good shoes. Do not begin your hike at 3:00 in the winter, and if the sign has an "if you get lost"...

Went to Ruidoso for a weekend, mainly to find some trails to go on with my little ones to show them the outdoors. Found the Cedar Creek Trails and had an amazing time. We spent a few hours wandering around the several trails, and my kids had a great time. The paths aren't too hard, but there are parts that are pretty uphill and downhill. We had a big wagon that we pushed the kids around in and didn't have too much trouble on the trails, though some parts were rough. It was also one of the least packed areas during the weekend, which was a plus. Saw lots of deer and birds as well. Favorite trails in the...

Best mountain biking trail in Ruidoso, probably also the best in New Mexico. I have been riding here for 8 years, and have probably ridden the downhill trail several hundred times. The trails are well built and have good scenery, although the recent South Fork fire did a lot of damage to the trees in this area. There is a lot of variety in the trails, ranging from short and easy to double black diamond. If you are in Ruidoso but don't have bikes, I would recommend renting some so you...