a.foot adventure | raton-clayton volcanic field + capulin + sugarite state park

Let's go visit a really cool volcano at Capulin Volcano National Monument, east of Raton, NM near the Colorado border. Capulin (pronounced kah·poo·leen), means black cherry in Spanish and denotes the dark red color of the long-ago cooled lava it spit out at least 56,000 years ago. Capulin Volcano is a near perfect example of a cinder cone type volcano with a hiking trail along the crater rim and down into the crater vent.

This adventure is for 2024 contributors only. Anyone who signs up will be placed on the "Waiting" list. I will be checking your current status before moving you to the "Going" list. If you are not already a 2024 contributor, and you would like to go on this or any other a.foot outing, click here...

We will meet at the Capulin Volcano National Monument visitor center where I will give the group an orientation about the volcanic field and the volcano. From there we will drive to the top of the volcano and explore. The views are extraordinary - you can see four states. And we will witness the lady bug bacchanal, a summer phenomena where millions of lady bugs turn the trees and rocks orange.

After exploring Capulin, we will drive along the top of Johnson Mesa, via the small town of Folsom and make stops along the way. Johnson Mesa is one of several mesas in the area that were caused by lava flows which solidified into basalt. Over time the softer sedimentary rock surrounding the basalt eroded leaving several distinct large elevated tablelands with precipitous sides. From the west side of the mesa, we will drop down into Sugarite State Park, have lunch and hike a trail around Lake Maloya before returning to Santa fe.

This is an exploratory adventure. The hiking will take place on Capulin and around Lake Maloya. The hiking distance is minimal. The rewards are the views of this unusual and ancient volcanic area, learning about volcanoes and discovering Sugarite State Park.

I will talk about car pooling as we approach the date. It is a three hour drive from Santa Fe and almost four hours from Denver, but I am organizing this as a day trip. The drive is part of the adventure. If you want to camp overnight, there is a KOA in the village of Capulin and there is camping in Sugarite State Park.

Entry is $20.00 per vehicle or you can use your America the Beautiful Pass. It pays to car pool!