West of the Rio Grande, the San Mateo Mountains north of Grants and the Zuni Mountains forming the backbone of the Continental Divide southeast of Gallup can be a new experience in outdoor recreation. McGaffey Lake recreation area, not too far from the route of the conquistadore Juan de Oñate, is a cool retreat after crossing the desert and lava flow.
West of Socorro on U.S. Highway 60, with Magdalena as headquarters, the high Datil, Gallinas, and Magdalena mountains and another San Mateo range rise above the San Agustin Plains, an ancient lake bed. Mt. Withington and Mt. Baldy, 10,787 feet high, dominate the landscape. Good roads and developed campgrounds are available. Hunting for wild game as well as for unusual gem stones and geologic finds are favored activities in this western section of the Cibola. District ranger stations are at Grants, Gallup, Magdalena, Mountainair, and Tijeras.
Lincoln National Forest
Named for the great president, the Lincoln National Forest, with headquarters at Alamogordo, has characteristics distinguishing it from all other National Forests in the state. The high mountains and canyons of the Sacramento, Guadalupe, Capitan, and White mountains, rising between the Tularosa and Pecos basins, were the backdrop and often the prize of the Indian and cattle wars. Stories and legends of early day happenings in the Tularosa Basin, mining operations, battles between rival cattle ranchers, large timber operations providing lumber, poles, mine props, and railroad ties are warp and woof of the Lincoln country. This Forest includes the high mountains north and south of the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation.
During the last decade, the Lincoln National Forest gained new fame as the birthplace of the world-renowned Smokey the Bear, symbol of forest fire prevention. In the Capitan Mountains, travelers like to visit Smokey’s birthplace near Capitan Pass, and in the community of Capitan on U.S. Highway 380 is a log museum which features the activities of the bear cub found near there during a disastrous fire.
For the outdoor enthusiast, the Forest offers superb beauty, graceful and majestic snow-covered peaks, and the peace and serenity of a forest sanctuary. Each year, thousands of visitors from the plains seek its cool refuge from desert heat in summer and its readily accessible sports area in the winter. Ten campgrounds with many picnicking and camping sites are provided. Canyons, mountains, and streams in many instances feature anglicized names—Big Dog Canyon, Mule Peak, Bug Scuffle Hill—though the influence of the early Spanish settler still remains in names such as Sacramento, Agua Chiquita, Ruidoso, and Rio Penasco.
Lincoln National Forest abounds in points of interest; Monjeau Lookout overlooks the headwaters of the Bonito, Eagle, and Ruidoso creeks as well as the tall slopes of Sierra Blanca to the southwest. Sierra Blanca, 12,003 feet high, is the most southerly mountain of that elevation in the continental United States. Just north of the peak is the Sierra Blanca Recreation Area, with one of the finest and best-equipped skiing facilities in the country. The restaurant and gondola lift operate during summer months, and from Lookout Mountain observation site, near the gondola’s upper terminal, the traveler can view White Sands, the Malpais (lava flow), and the 28,000-acre White Mountain Wild Area.
Hunters find deer of three distinct types in this Forest—the Rocky Mountain mule deer, the desert mule deer, and the Texas white-tailed deer—and, of course, black bear from which family Smokey the Bear came. Game birds like wild turkey, quail, and chukkar partridge challenge the hunter. Fishing the Lincoln’s lakes and streams is a recurring delight to the angler. Aspens and oaks flaunt their brilliant autumn coloring against the warm green of pines and spruces, heralding the advent of winter snows and provoking numerous aspencades for those who wish a share in this ever new pageant of nature’s beauty.
Like all the National Forests, the Lincoln is managed for the production and wise use of water, timber, and forage for livestock and wildlife and outdoor recreation. District ranger stations are at Cloudcroft, Carlsbad, Mayhill, Ruidoso, Sacramento, and Capitan.
