El Calderon Loop
| The El Calderon Loop trail is a scenic trek past several caves, sinkholes, lava trenches, and a cinder cone. |
| Hike data | Waypoints | Maps | Getting to the trailhead | About the hike | Plants along the trail | Comments |
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| Date: | 2014-05-11 |
| Time it took us: | 3:09. Moving time 1:21. |
| Usage (people/hour): | 2.22. Many people go to Junction cave, but they are not counted in the people per hour rate because they are on this trail for such a short time. |
| Cleanliness: | 10. |
| Waypoint | Type | Description |
| ELCALD | Trailhead | El Calderon parking area and trailhead |
| Map name | Cartographer | Year | Scale | Topo map? | Online access | Notes |
| El Malpais Recreation Map and Guide | BLM | 2008 | 1:100000 | Y | from Amazon (purchase) | Great overview map for El Malpais area, including showing land ownership. |
| Geologic Map of El Malpais Lava Field and Surrounding Areas, Cibola County, NM | USGS (Charles Maxwell) | 1986 | 1:62500 | Y | No online copies. | For sale at the three visitor centers (NPS, BLM, Northern NM) around El Malpais. |
| Guide to Indian Country of Arizona Colorado New Mexico Utah | Automobile Club of Southern California | 1998 | 1:0 | N | from Amazon (purchase) | Good overview road map for northwest NM. No scale is given on the map. The corner coordinates are approximate. |
| Ice Caves | USGS | 1967 | 1:24000 | Y | from sar.lanl.gov (free) | |
| Wildernesses of New Mexico | US Forest Service | 1981 | 1:1000000 | N | No online copies. | Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways. |
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From I-40 , take exit 81 (Grants). Head south on NM 53.
After about 19 miles, you will see a sign indicating the El Calderon
area is to your left.
Take this turn and go about 1/4 mile on a all-weather gravel road to
a parking area with a few picnic tables and a vault toilet. The trail
takes off from the southeast corner of the parking lot.
The trailhead is here at the sign.
|  |
 | Very shortly after you leave the parking area, a trail takes off to the left. This
trail goes to Junction Cave. You can enter the cave only if you have stopped at the
visitor center to get a permit.
You want to continue straight.
|
The trail is gravel, and easy to follow. It gently climbs the hill in amongst
Piñon and Juniper.
|  |
 | You also go between the Double Sinks, two deep holes. Watch your step, because there
are no railings to prevent you, your kids, or your pets from falling in.
|
After walking about 20 minutes (0.7 mi, 1.26 km), you reach stop 3 on
the trail. This is the overlook into Bat and Xenolith Caves. Bat cave
(the one you can see) is closed for health reasons (to protect your
health). Xenolith can be visited if you have obtained a permit from
the visitor center.
In the summertime at dusk, you can see bats leaving the cave to find
their breakfast of insects.
|  |
 | At GPS: El Cald x1, the trail meets an old road. The trail turns to the right.
After a short distance, you come to another junction, GPS: El Cald x2.
This is a trail to the cinder cone, El Calderon itself. You should take
it the 0.1mi (0.16km) to look down into the source of the lava around you.
Imagine being here when it was erupting! Now, in calmer times, it is stop 5 on the
trail.
You return back to the junction to continue on the trail.
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At this point, the trail is now in an open, ponderosa pine forest.
|  |
 | At GPS: El Cald x4, the trail meets a road. When we hiked the trail, this was the end
of the trail and you had to take the road back to the parking lot. However, now the
trail continues independently of the road back to the west side of the gravel parking
lot where you started.
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Plants we saw along the trail:
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