Winding thousands of miles from Texas to Canada, the Great Plains Trail passes many striking natural landmarks. Few are more impressive than the now-extinct volcanic cone at Capulin Volcano National Monument in northern New Mexico.
The Capulin cinder cone is part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. Estimated to be 55,000 to 62,000 years old, it rises about 1,300 feet from the surrounding plain to an elevation of 8,182 feet. The crater atop the cone is 400 feet deep, and can be reached via a spiral, asphalt trail. From the summit, you can see five states — New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Capulin is about 3 miles north of its small village namesake (after a type of local chokecherry plant) and right along the current route of the GPT as it loops north toward the small town of Folsom. (Note: The Great Plains Trail Alliance is currently migrating the trail map from one host to another service. Some information on the old map is now outdated.)
To reach the summit, hikers must walk along the should of a paved auto road. Besides trails around and to the bottom of the crater, there are two small trails at the base of the cone.
4 Responses
While I am thrilled to see Capulin Volcano on the Great Plains Trail, hikers should know they cannot access the top of the volcano when the road is open. Pedestrians and bikes are not allowed while the road is open. They can hike up after the road closes. Hiking is also not allowed in the park.
Rachel,
Great to hear from you! We are aware of those regulations in Capulin. We currently promote Capulin as a sort of spur activity along the GPT. We encourage all users along the trail to obey any and all regulations as far as camping, hiking, trespassing, etc.
We currently have very few users (think zero) of the GPT right now, but our goal is to grow, and truthfully, we have nowhere to go but up. We will certainly advise anyone we know of to adhere to the regulations at Capulin. That said, in the future, it would be great to work with you on the potential development of a trail to the summit!
Happy autumn!
Steve Myers
Should say camping is not allowed, not hiking. There are hiking trails at the base of the volcano but none lead to the top
Understood. Thanks for clarifying!
Steve