Ready to start your adventure? You will cross paths with over 1,100 years of mining history here along the five miles of trails and enjoy spectacular views of the Sandia, Ortiz, Jemez, and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges.Cerrillos Hills is an arid high desert. Here are some things to rememebr: Drink and bring plenty of water on your hike. Winter means cooler weather but you can still become dehydrated. Animals like rattlesnakes are less common during this time of year but will take advantage of warmer days. Always be alert. Keep your pets leashed to avoid surprise encounters with wildlife or horsebackriders.
Jane Calvin Sanchez Piñon Ascent
You are at the foot of the Jane Calvin Sanchez Trail. During the spring and summer months, bunch grasses and wildflowers begin to flourish as the hills flush with hints of green and gold. You're entering the south entrance, near the main parking area. Look for junipers and piñon trees and large inclusions of rocky andesite. As you make your way up the trail, don't forget to look back and enjoy the view of the Ortiz Moutains and the Galisteo Basin.
Piñon Juniper Woodland
Cerrillos Hills State Park is known for its mining history and mineral production, but it is also home to the Piñon Juniper woodland; a biome found mid-elevations in arid regions of the Western United States. These woodlands are characterized by the piñon and juniper trees that grow together along with other types of vegetation, like sagebrush, chamisa, oak and warm weather grasses.
Shale Tells Us a Story
About 150-300 million years ago, the Cerrillos Hills we know today would have been at the bottom of an ancient inland sea. You would have needed swim fins and scuba gear to be where you're standing. The shale you see here is evidence of this ancient seabed. Shale is a sedimentary rock that forms when clay, silt, mud, and organic matter are compacted over time. Shale is special because it often breaks easily into thin, flat layers. This feature is called "fissility," meaning it likes to split. Shale has many parallel layers. Often, reminants of lifeforms can be found between layers of shale. These are called fossils, the preserved remains of a plant or animal, or evidence of their activities.
Christian Lode
Territorial mining in Cerrillos Hills brought people from all over the world with dreams of making it big. Of those people was Christian Rasmussen, a Danish immigrant and businessman who staked a claim here, off the Jane Calvin Sanchez Trail. This claim would go on to produce hundreds of pounds of galena and manganese adding to Rasmussen's wealth. He owned about a dozen claims in the hills, but this site was his most productive.
Changing Rocks
As miners began to arrive here to stake claims, they noticed that the best way to locate the minerals they were after was looking for deposits of yellowish looking rock. Degraded andesite is brittle, and this was good news for anyone who wanted to dig into it. Mining in these parts during the late 1800’s meant that tools and equipment were limited to pickaxes and shovels. Deposits of degraded andesite signaled mineral deposits below and the miners were lucky that the degraded rock was easy to chip away with the tools they had access to.
What's Scat?
What is scat? As you hike along the Jane Calvin Sanchez Trail and other trails in the park, you may encounter animal droppings. These droppings are known as scat. They are important because you can tell what kinds of animals have passed by and what they are eating. The photo above shows coyote scat, our most common animal dropping. Depending on the scat you find, you'll be able to tell what kinds of food the coyote has eaten. In the photo, you'll notice the scat is made of seeds and pink matter. What could the coyote be eating?
Rotterdam Lode
This lode was owned by Hans Christian Rasumussen, a Danish immigrant who owned multiple mine sites in the area. Mine sites like this dimple Cerrillos Hills State Park in the hundreds but the bulk of mineral production took place northeast of the park. While claim records are not clear on what minerals were extracted here, it was likely was lead or galena.
Clues in the Cut
As miners flowed into Los Cerrillos, so did the need for firewood and building materials. Many of the junipers from that time are long gone but some of their stumps remain. The miners would have had simple tools like axes and hatches. Modern cutting tools like chainsaws cut in straight lines while axes and hatches cut in jagged formations. Taking a closer look at this juniper, what do you think happened to it?
Jane Calvin Sanchez Mineral Spring Ascent
You are at the foot of the Jane Calvin Sanchez Trail. You're entering the north entrance, near the mineral spring. This riparian zone hosts a variety of plantlife including cottonwoods, cattails, wild clover, coyote willow and even minature orchids. As you make your way up the switchbacks, notice how the plantlife changes from plants that thrive near water to those that thrive without. Be sure to look back and admire the golden leaves of the cottonwoods. During the fall, the turn brilliant yellow and flicker in the autumn breeze.
