An out and back, prehistoric inspired ride experience starting from Pioneer Women’s Park in Las Cruces. The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument in the Robledo Mountains, established in 2009, holds a major deposit of Paleozoic Era fossilized footprints.
Left behind by amphibians, reptiles, and insects, these footprints along with plants, and petrified wood date back 280 million years. Evidence of Early Permian species previously unknown to scientists have also been found.
This monument off-road route will bring you to the park and you can explore additional parts at your leisure. Explore the Ridgeline Trail if you would like an adventure to see the Discovery Site. Maps at the parking area have more information. Let your imagination flow as you pedal along.
We recommend you also visit the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science to learn more and see additional trackways.
-Gravel Adventure Field Guide’s Las Cruces/Doña Ana County Edition
Route GPX can be accessed here>>>Prehistoric Trackways
This route starts in Mesilla Plaza. On the southeast sits the former courthouse, a pink stucco building. In 1881, the infamous Billy the Kid was convicted of the murder of Sheriff Brady and sentenced to hang here. Rumor has it he dodged the gallows that day and went into hiding. Emerging decades later as William Bonney’s. This adventure ride follows the area of his legendary exploits in Doña Ana County to the far side of Robledo Mountain.
West of Fort Selden, you’ll pedal near Black Hill Hideout. A rocky outcropping that gave Billy, and his gang, a vantage point to monitor soldier activity at the fort below. Story is they scratched their names or initials onto the rock.
Back in Old Mesilla, you can recover from the day challenge by stopping into La Posta. It’s where Billy ate at times, no doubt after alluding authorities in the Chihuahuan Desert.
-Gravel Adventure Field Guide’s Las Cruces/Doña Ana County Edition
Route GPX can be accessed here>>>El Chico Bandito