New Trails Around Town - Santa Fe

A happy tree pardoned from the plowman's blade

City Parks and Rec. has begun cutting a new bike path on the east side of St. Francis within close proximity to Casa Dirt. The new trail section is an addition to the Santa Fe's growing urban bike path system, so it will be paved over at some point when they finish up. For the last four weeks, and the foreseeable future, it has been an awesome new mile of dirt trail that just showed up over night. Several times a week I leave the house, run out some first tracks, and then the following day the earth-movers change everything up, grade the track, remove some more rocks, and I get back out there for some more first tracks the following day. I'm going to have 50-60 miles run out before the trail officially opens. Like the goodwill gesture of champagne on the bow of a new ship, there will be hundreds of shoe imprints christening the new trail beneath its future coat of blacktop.

By Spring the trail builders ought to have a connector in place tunneling beneath St. Francis to the Zia Rd. trailhead and bike path on the west side of St. Francis. This will also be great because crossing through the adjacent intersection es un poco peligro buey.

Early trail cut by Zia - looking north

Early trail cut by Siringo - looking north

 

Early trail cut near St. Michael's Dr. - heading north

The Groundhog Day of first tracks

Using the new trail has also given me a break from my usual loops, circuits, and out-and-backs which is pretty nice. I can launch out to the hospital then northeast to Museum Hill rather than the tough but familiar trot up the wash of Arroyo Chamiso. Museum Hill has a sweet new trail winding through the arroyo system to its north side, part of a planned new botanical garden or something. Connect these two new trail sections with the older Museum Hill footpaths on the southside and what you have is a stellar new 7-8mi loop just in time for the coming Fall. New trails and link-ups are really awesome. High five.

View Museum Hill Loop (8mi) - Santa Fe in a larger map 

Related Posts:
  - Museum Hill Footpaths
  - Arroyo Chamiso to the Foothills