Capulin Volcano National Monument is located in Capulin New Mexico. It is open year-round (weather permitting) closing only Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year.
This park has gone cashless, well mostly. If you only have cash you can go to the gift shop and purchase a one day pass. The current rate for a single vehicle is $20. As I always say, check the official website for updated pricing and policy changes. I will put the link to the official website at the end of this article.
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Brief History
According to Wikipedia, this volcano last erupted 55,000 to 62,000 years ago. It’s now an extinct cinder cone volcano. It rises to an elevation of 8182 feet above sea level. The mouth of the volcano is about 1 mile in circumference and the crater is about 400 feet deep.
Inside the park
There was a short nature trail near the visitor center. It had signs explaining the vegetation and wildlife that is to be found in the area.
You can drive up the 2 mile winding road to a parking lot area with some amazing views. There are restrooms available at this point also. From here there are a few different trails you can hike.
The Crater Trail
We did a short trail called “The Crater Vent Trail”. It was only about .2 of a mile but was approx 100 feet decline down to the bottom of the crater. It seemed like a short trail until we had to go back up…lol.
A Storm Was Approaching
We also started to do “The Crater Rim Trail”. This trail is approx. 1 mile long and loops around the edges (Rim) of the volcano. It appeared to have some steep inclines and decent. I say appeared because we only got a short way around when we realized a storm was heading our way. Since we rode the motorcycle, we decided we better head back.
2 More Hiking Trails
There are 2 more hiking trails that we did not even get a chance to check out. They are “The Lava Flow Trail” and “The Boca Trail”. The Lava Flow Trail is a 1-mile loop and the Boca trail is a 2 mile “strenuous” trail.
Final Thoughts
When you check-in at the visitor center you will receive a map with all the different trails and their difficulty. The ride to the visitor center was a scenic ride just in itself and added a little value to the trip. Although we were short on time and only were able to explore a small portion of this park, we enjoyed the scenic views and beauty this park provided. We would definitely like to get back there in the future and at least finish the “The Crater Rim Trail”.
Capulin Volcano National Monument Official Website
Check Out My Short Video Of Capulin Volcano National Monument
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