Open spaces and parklands are at the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The city has dedicated nearly 30% of its footprint to open spaces, with a staggering 91% of its population living within a 10-minute walk of a park. Albuquerque’s Open Space Division oversees some 30,000 acres of land and manages roughly 165 miles of trails.
At West Mesa Open Space, the city recently completed a new 6.5-mile trail. But this is just the beginning. The West Mesa Trails Plan calls for a total of 25 miles of new trails in the area.
A city built around open space
Jim Sattler, Albuquerque’s Assistant Superintendent of Open Space, has worked with the city for over 30 years and has spent his entire career developing trails. We discussed the city’s offerings with him and Colleen McRoberts, Superintendent of the Open Space Division. “When people come to Albuquerque, what they probably enjoy most is the nature,” McRoberts told us.
And there’s a lot of it.
Nature hits you without having to leave town. First, the Rio Grande cuts right through the center of the city — Bosque forest lines the banks, which, as McRoberts shared, turn a brilliant gold in the fall.
The Sandia Mountains, which Albuquerque owns and manages much of, rise to the east of the city. Further east, more mountain biking can be found in the East Mountains, which Albuquerque Open Space manages despite being outside the city limits. Albuquerque Open Space even extends into another county, managing trails in Placitas, northeast of the city.
“We have a really extensive network for a municipality,” McRoberts said. “[It provides] really awesome opportunities for recreation of all different kinds.”
Lately, McRoberts and Sattler’s attention has been focused west of town, on the West Mesa. Anyone who has been to Albuquerque likely knows that some truly spectacular and ancient sites are found just southwest of the city at Petroglyph National Monument. Five cinder cone volcanoes stretch north of the monument, creating a unique basalt escarpment landscape with petroglyphs of their own. Here, Albuquerque Open Space co-manages some of the land with the National Park Service.
Residents rallied to protect the West Mesa volcanoes from urban sprawl
Albuquerque’s 30,000 acres of open space is the result of decades of deliberate conservation. Even back in the 1960s, the city was prioritizing land acquisition through the Recreation and Public Purpose Act. Much of this land was previously managed by the BLM, and the city began piecing it together into a regional park system.
The West Mesa area is home to five volcanoes that, like much of the land acquired by Albuquerque, were privately owned. As urban sprawl headed west of town, residents rushed to protect the area. Citizens like Ruth Eisenberg advocated for protecting the West Mesa area rather than turning it into subdivisions.
Eisenberg, along with others, spearheaded efforts to raise funds to purchase the volcanoes and other areas with petroglyphs. Some of this land would become part of the national monument. Years later, one of the trailheads was named in her honor.
“It traces to these individual citizens who cared enough to get off the couch, to love these places, and to try to do something to protect them,” McRoberts told us. “And we’re successful in that endeavor. And the citizens have continued to vote to tax ourselves to pay for more and more land to protect and manage.”
The new 6.5-mile Volcano View trail is just the beginning
In the West Mesa area, Open Spaces has just finished a new 6.5-mile trail dubbed “Volcano View.” The new trail is part of the 25-mile West Mesa Trails Plan.
Sattler told us that the genesis of the trail went back to when the Petroglyph National Monument released its visitor use management plan. The plan excluded bikes throughout most of the monument.
“We realized we’ve got over 2,000 acres of land to the north of the monument,” Sattler explained. “So it made sense for us to take the initiative to develop a trail system.”
The division began trail planning and applied for a Trails + Grant with the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division. They were awarded the $295,000 grant, which Albuquerque matched with a $338,000 grant.
With these funds, Open Spaces completed the planning period and hired the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps to build the Volcano View trail.
“The construction probably took maybe two months or so,” Sattler said. “The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps was working like four 10-hour days.”
The West Mesa area is relatively flat, with the 6.5 miles of singletrack stretching across sandy areas and basalt and caliche outcroppings. Along the way, riders encounter spectacular views of mesas, volcanoes, and mountain ranges.
Don’t expect anything too technical on Volcano View. The city has plenty of challenging terrain elsewhere. Instead, this trail was designed with families and beginner riders in mind. McRoberts rates the Volcano View trail a dark green to light blue.
The West Mesa Trails Plan calls for 25 miles total
The Volcano View trail is just phase one of 25 miles of new trails planned at West Mesa. Some of the mileage does include paved paths. During this phase, just over four miles of paved path were redone, bringing the project total to $2 million.
Both McRoberts and Sattler stressed that the West Mesa Trails Plan is a long-term vision for the city of Albuquerque. However, they are excited that the momentum from phase one has apparently carried them into the following stages. While quite a bit is still up in the air, she said that they have started looking at phase two.
“The next section is this area that we recently acquired, [which] is called the La Cuentista Open Space,” McRoberts said. “We’re going to try to go after another Trails+ Grant when we’re ready, which will hopefully be next year.”
There’s still quite a bit up in the air concerning future trails at West Mesa. The area does have some social trails, and the plan considers formalizing them as an option. And due to the flatter terrain, new trails will likely be similar to Volcano View.
With the need to acquire more land, build trailheads, plan and propose trails, and, of course, get more funding, McRoberts was realistic when she mentioned it is a bit like the “stars and moons lining up.” However, Albuquerque’s residents have come through before for land conservation, and McRoberts and Sattler know they’ll do it again.
Know about a new trail project we should cover? Whether you’re breaking ground on the next must-ride destination or putting the finishing touches on a neighborhood flow trail, we want to hear about it. Drop us a line at [email protected] with high-quality photos of your build, plus details like trail mileage, location, difficulty, and what makes it special. We’re always on the hunt for the next great trail story, and there’s a good chance your project could be featured in an upcoming article.
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