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| The Mexican Canyon Trestle at one time was the world's largest wooden trestle bridge. |
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| Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail map. Click for larger verison. |
The 2-mile round trip Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail is an old rail line converted to a hiking path. Brochures, maps and other guidebooks sometimes refer to as the Mexican Canyon Trestle Trail.
To reach the trailhead, from U.S. Hwy 82 in Cloudcroft turn onto 24M to the Trestle Recreation Area. Leave your vehicle in the parking area.
Two trails lead from the loop’s road into the rec area. The shorter of them and the preferred trailhead is on the loop’s northwest side at the replica railway depot. The first half-mile is paved as winding through ponderosa pine and Douglas fir.
Decades ago, the trail marked the route of the former Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railroad. The 32-mile route dropped nearly a mile in elevation to bring logged fir and spruce to sawmills in Alamogordo and mail and tourists both ways. It operated for almost a half-century from 1899 to 1947.
In about 0.1 miles, the trail junctions with the route that leads to the southwest corner of the rec area’s driving loop. Continue right-straight/west.
First, though, pause at the Tularosa Basin Overlook. The vast desert valley covers 6500 square miles and is larger than Connecticut. White Sands National Park sits in the basin’s southwestern section. Tobogan Canyon, which leads toward the basin, sits to the the overlook’s south and west.
Another great overlook awaits at 0.2 miles. The Devil’s Elbow Overlook offers a fantastic view of the White Sands Missile Range on the desert floor below and the San Andres Mountains beyond. The overlook sits near the large railroad cut known as the Devil’s Elbow, which was excavated in 1899 largely with hand labor and a little dynamite.
From the overlook, the trail turns sharply northeast. In a few yards, it joins the bicycle trail. Go right/northeast.
S-curved wooden trestle
The trail next passes the remains of a 338-foot long, S-curved wooden railroad trestle. To support the heavy train, large timbers – some more than a foot square – had to be used. Originally this had another tier above the current highest one, and it once contained two 30 degree curves.
After the trail curls northwest, you’ll come to one end of the S-Trestle. The trail turns to dirt in this area.
The forest here looks far different than it did when the railroad was constructed in the 1890s. A fire swept the area about a century ago, and aspen, a pioneer tree species, replaced the evergreens. White fir is now overtaking the aspen. Some of the white fir is immense, reaching up to 3 feet in diameter.
At roughly 0.6 miles, the trail splits upon coming to a bench. Continue right/northeast. Going left takes you to a trail shelter on the Old Cloudcroft Highway, which is used for ORVs.
Mexican Canyon Trestle
Though the trail is popular, you stand a good chance of spotting deer and small forest critters. Elk and black bear sightings also are possible, but they usually stay farther away from town.
At 0.75 miles, another bench awaits as the trail zig-zags. In short order, the trail straightens and flattens.
The Mexican Canyon Trestle comes into sight at about a mile. The largest wooden trestle bridge at the time of construction, it measures 323-foot long and is the height of a six-story building. An overlook deck sits at one end of the trestle, and the area is a popular picnic site.
After taking in the trestle, retrace your steps back to the rec area parking lot.
