Peralta Pass to Forest Road 10.  Red = rim; purple = public road; bright green = trail; dark green = other road closed to public vehicles but open to hiking.

Valles Caldera South Rim
Peralta Road to FR 10
Forest Road 280 to Forest Road 10

Introduction.  The south rim of the Valles Caldera, from Paso del Norte to Battleship Rock, is subject to multiple use policies of the U. S. Forest Service.  Grazing, logging, hunting, motorized trail use, cross country skiing, and hiking, are all permitted uses.  This report describes the midsection of the south rim from Peralta Canyon to Los Griegos. Part of this rim route is a motorcycle single track trail with a logging road parallel to the trail at the east end.  The rim is narrow and craggy on the east half, so the roads and trail contour the slopes on alternate sides of the rim.  This southern rim of the caldera is densely forested. However, there are a number of openings with very fine views of Redondo Peak and the southwest section of the caldera.

Access: Peralta Road—Forest Road 280—and the road from Vallecitos de los Indios to Paliza Campground—Forest Road 10—are dirt roads marginally passable to passenger cars during good weather; a high-clearance vehicle is best.  Both roads are gated and closed in snowy winters. The Peralta Road accesses the utility towers on Peralta Ridge; it is permanently gated before reaching Peralta Ridge.

Description: The south rim of the Valles Caldera is a mosaic of volcanic flows that span a large fraction of the lifetime of the Jemez Volcanic Pile.  This section traverses the Paliza Formation that contains the oldest rocks of the entire rim.  Its pasty andesitic and basaltic flows formed lumpy hillocks and narrow ridges along the rim.

The head of Peralta Canyon is a narrow east-west, heavily wooded ridge consisting of small knolls.  Forest Road 280 climbs the south rim from State Road 4 up to a low pass onto this ridge, which is a part of the rim. The motorcycle trail from Paso del Norte crosses the road here.  In addition, a cross-country ski trail comes up Corral Canyon from SR4 to this point; this trail is marked with blue diamonds on flanking trees.  The combined motorcycle/ski trail continues west on the north side of the rim; Forest Road 280 becomes FR 281 and proceeds west on the south side of the rim.  They join again at the low pass on Peralta Ridge between Peralta Canyon and Paliza Canyon.  The trail is quite pleasant as it contours around the slopes; motorcycle people keep the trail clean and well-maintained.  The forest canopy is closed here; there are no views and few other plants besides the mixed conifers and occasional aspens.  Some areas have significant deadfall while others are quite clear.

  
The motorcycle trail at Peralta Pass on the rim.          A pleasant trail in the forest.  Rim to left.

The trail skirts around the north end of Peralta Ridge at a place called Las Conchas (the shells). Just before that turn, the trail divides, with the left branch quickly crossing over the rim back to FR 281 at the low pass on Peralta Ridge.  The right branch of the trail proceeds straight ahead around Las Conchas.  The hillside is steep, but the forest opens up enough in places so the little Conchas peaks become visible up on the rim.  At one point the trail passes a nice viewpoint over the southwestern corner of the Valles Caldera. The view extends from Redondo Peak to Cañon de San Diego where State Road 4 descends to Battleship Rock and goes on to Jemez Springs.  In the far distance are the Nacimiento Mountains above Cuba.

The view from Las Conchas to the west rim of the caldera.  Nacimiento Mountains on far horizon.

The ski trail continues along its contour to an abandoned logging road.  This section of the rim is a maze of old logging roads.  The ski trail’s blue diamonds lead to a steep road still in use which descends to Paliza Pass.  At the pass, both the road and ski trail leave the rim and descend north down slope into the caldera and State Road 4.  Ahead (west) is the steep slope of Los Griegos. This is cattle country.  There is a drift fence and gate across Paliza Pass that divides grazing allotments.  The motorcycle trail goes through the gate and down into Paliza Canyon.

Los Griegos is on the rim. However, there is no trail to Los Griegos along the rim.  From Paliza Pass, the fence line follows the rim to the top, but it is steep and brushy with some cliffs.  The motorcycle trail descends into Paliza Canyon to the first side drainage, where an old logging road heads up the draw.  When the road ends, cow paths continue up to the grassy south face of Los Griegos, from whence one just climbs to the ridge.  It is well worth the climb.  It is a lovely little ridge with small grassy meadows, a wonderful forest of southwestern white pine, and views in all directions.

  
Paliza Pass looking northeast to Las Conchas.          Pedestrian crossing at Paliza Pass, looking northwest.  This is cattle country.  The access road from State Road 4 is four-wheel drive.

  
Atop Los Griegos.                                                                View from the top, looking east along the rim to
Rabbit Mtn, Cerro Grande, and Pajarito Mtn.

Dorothy Hoard  October 2006