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| McGaffey Lookout Tower |
The 4.1-mile trail (no. 74 on forest maps) starts more than a mile above sea level and gains about 300 feet in elevation. The national forest sits in northern New Mexico and is broken into several sections.
To reach the trailhead, from Interstate 40 take exit 33 and head south on N.M. Hwy. 400 through Fort Wingate. A small parking area for the trailhead is on the right/south just past the McGaffey Campground entrance. If you reach McGaffey Lake, you’ve gone too far.
The trail runs south with the edge of the McGaffey Campground to the west. Among the highlights of this section is a wooden bridge that crosses a drainage at 0.8 miles from the trailhead.
Once across the bridge, the trail begins its steady ascent.
As you’re climbing slopes facing different directions, you’ll quickly notice a lot of variety in flora. This is because each slope receives a different amount of precipitation.
Ponderosa pine, junipers
Among the interesting trees you’ll see along the trail are southwestern ponderosa pine, rocky mountain juniper, one-seeded juniper, alligator juniper, and pinyon pine.
The southwestern ponderosa pine displays distinct characteristics depending on age. The bark of younger trees is blackish-brown, while mature trunks have broad plates of yellow to orange-red bark with black crevices. Early loggers referred to these trees as "blackjacks." This particular subspecies of ponderosa pine can be found in southern Colorado, southern Utah, northern and central New Mexico, Arizona, and the westernmost part of Texas.
The Rocky Mountain juniper can be found across the West. It typically reaches a height of 35 feet and is commonly found on prairie hillsides in the Great Plains, as well as in open scrub woodlands across Wyoming, Colorado, and the Great Basin. This juniper species has a distinctive rounded to pyramidal crown, reddish-brown bark, and can grow in both shrub and tree forms.
The one-seed juniper, found in the southwestern United States and Mexico, also is referred to as the New Mexico cedar, Cherrystone juniper, and Sabina. This species typically ranges from 6 to 20 feet in height, but can reach up to 40 feet, although this may take over 20 years to achieve. The tree has a shrubby appearance with multiple curved limbs originating near the base, along with thin scaly bark and aromatic foliage. Its berries are bluish-black to copper-colored, juicy, and serve as a food source for birds and mammals.
Lookout tower
The alligator juniper, also known as the checkerbark juniper, typically grows to a height of 33-49 feet. It is found in the southwestern United States as well as central and northern Mexico. Unlike other junipers, its bark is unique, being hard, dark gray-brown, and cracked into small square plates that resemble the skin of an alligator. This tree thrives at moderate altitudes ranging from 2,460 to 8,860 feet above sea level, primarily in dry soil conditions.
The pinyon pine is indigenous to the American Southwest region, specifically in Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. This tree holds significant value in the Southwest, as Native American tribes heavily depend on its nuts for sustenance. Apart from being a staple food source, the nuts are also consumed as a snack and incorporated into various dishes in modern New Mexican cuisine.
A great variety of shrubs and seasonal flowering plants also dot the mountainside. Wildlife is abundant here as well; you’re sure to hear birdsong and in the trail’s dirt will spot deer hoofprints.
At 2.05 miles, you’ll reach McGaffey Lookout Tower. The 54-foot steel tower with a metal cab was erected in 1965. It replaced a slightly taller tower that the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed in 1934, which in turn replaced a wooden tower from the 1920s.
Bicyclists do frequent the trail. Courtesy is for hikers to step aside, but not off the trail, so they can pass.
TOPO MAP
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