Old Buckman Rd
Santa Fe, NM
USA
Groundbreaking of Camino Real Trail at Dead Dog Well Trailhead in 2016
For National Trails Day, Santa Fe County and federal partners invite the public to the opening of the Camino Real National Historic Trail. The ceremony will be at Dead Dog Well Trailhead off of Buckman Rd. at 11:30 am. (See invitation below.)
Join one of the rides to the event described below, or come to the event and explore the new trail on your own.
Horse Ride: The Santa Fe County Horse Coalition will lead an 11-mile round-trip equestrian ride to the event, leaving from Santa Fe National Forest’s Headquarters Well Trailhead at 9:00. Equestrians taking a shorter route will leave from Dead Dog Well to meet up with the group for an out-and-back.
The Santa Fe County Horse Coalition will also be providing snacks and refreshments at the ceremony at Dead Dog Well Trailhead. For more information, contact Julia Belt at 850-621-6811 or juliabelt @ gmail.com
Bicycle Ride: Santa Fe Conservation Trust is organizing a bicycle ride to the event that will highlight the trail as a “spoke” in the emerging GUSTO wheel. This ride offers a wide range of options, from a mellow five-mile cruise on pavement out to the MRC and back, to a 20-mile round-trip mountain bike route with a supported half-time celebration at Dead Dog Well Trailhead.
We will start on pavement and finish on dirt, leapfrogging the equestrians north of Headquarters Well Trailhead on way to the ceremony. Cyclists may join the entire ride of roughly ten miles from the City’s “South Side” to the Dead Dog Well Trailhead, or just pick selected paved or dirt segments of the ride, as follows:
Event map with bike ride notations in red: Click on image to enlarge
- 9:45 am – Camino Real Trailhead (River Trail): Depart on paved Camino Real Trail from Camino Real Trailhead at the end of Constellation Dr. (off of Airport Rd.)
- 10:00 am – Municipal Recreation Center (MRC): Arrive/Depart on paved Camino Real Trail along Caja del Rio Rd. from MRC (City softball and soccer fields).
- 10:15 am – Headquarters Well Trailhead (SFNF / Caja del Rio Unit): Arrive/Depart on dirt Camino Real Trail (cross over to Dead Dog Leg Rd. at first or second gate in order to pass horses).
- by 11:30 am – arrive at Dead Dog Well Trailhead for National Trails Day ceremony.
After the ceremony we will hop back on the Camino Real Trail to head south ahead of the horses. Several alternative options are available that may appeal to different riders:
- Wanna stay longer for the festivities before heading back? Use Dead Dog Leg Rd. to pass the horses on the Camino Real Trail.
- Got a fat or plus bike? You might want to explore more of the Camino Real Trail toward Diablo Canyon after the ceremony
- Various low-traffic dirt road options lead back toward town from Dead Dog Well, via one leg or the other of last year’s Gravel Grinder route. Take Buckman Rd. east to Las Campanas and beyond, or head south to County Road 62 – East, and work in even more pieces of our growing “River Trail / Camino Real Trail.” (See last year’s Gravel Grinder Map)
