Getaways

Chama’s Rustic Charms

Ride and camp year-round among majestic elk herds near the historic village of Chama.

Story and Photos by Kent & Charlene Krone

The Krones’ rig at the Edward Sargent Wildlife Management Area. Chama, New Mexico, located eight miles south of the Colorado border, is a natural magnet for avid equestrian adventurers. Tucked between the southern foothills of the San Juan Mountains and western reaches of the Brazos Mountains, riding opportunities here are endless.

Chama, New Mexico, located eight miles south of the Colorado border, is a natural magnet for avid equestrian adventurers. Tucked between the southern foothills of the San Juan Mountains and western reaches of the Brazos Mountains, riding opportunities here are endless.

We began our riding adventures here in the 20,400-acre Edward Sargent Wildlife Management Area located about a mile from the historic village of Chama. Wildlife management areas are large tracts of land managed for conservation and recreation. They’re generally more rugged than parks and offer fewer amenities.

This large WMA extends all the way to the Colorado border. The focus is on wildlife protection— especially elk—and habitat conservation. Here, you’ll enjoy magnificent views of high meadows, grassy valleys, and towering hills blanketed with pine trees, cottonwoods, and golden aspen. Livening up the scene are coyote, wild turkey, mule deer, black bear, and abundant birdlife, plus the majestic elk.

The WMA is open to equestrians year-round, but riding is restricted to designated areas from May 15 to June 30 and during established elk hunts; the area contains a favored corridor for the 3,000 to 5,000 elk that migrate from Colorado to Rio Chama each fall and return in the spring. Several hundred elk remain here year-round because their water, food, and shelter needs are met.

Primitive camping is free, with four large heavy-duty corrals, but no water. When we needed to refill our water tanks, we bought water from a nearby recreational-vehicle campground.

Full moon rising over the Edward Sargent Wildlife Management Area. A stand of aspens escort Charlene Krone and her mount, Nate, on the Krones’ first ride out of camp. Cowboy pauses for a drink from the Rio Chamita Stream on the way to Nabor Lake.

Ridge Ride

Our first ride, straight from camp, was along a ridge we admired while enjoying our morning coffee. We rode through the gate across from the corrals, then headed north. After crossing an expansive meadow, we found a well-used trail.

Scrub oak initially lined the gently climbing trail, but eventually, the oak surrendered to tangles of aspen and cottonwood trees. As we rode, we noticed watering holes for animals. Some resembled giant mud puddles, while others were deep, clear ponds. In the mud on the river’s edge, we spotted the tracks of birds, rodents, coyote, bear, deer, and elk.

With no destination in mind, we did a wandering, meandering ride. We rode about 5 miles and gained 1,200 feet in elevation. Since Chama is situated at 7,860 feet above sea level, the additional gain brought a reduction in temperature, as well as an influx of blue spruce and pine trees.

Hidden valleys came into view as we rode up and down the gently flowing ridgeline. Burnished foliage contrasted with golden bracket ferns as they swirled together on the forest floor. Tantalizing trails materialized and beckoned to us, only to fade away as we tried to uncover their secret destinations.

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The Krones’ rig at Hopewell Lake Campground, located at 9,700 feet above sea level 45 miles southeast of Chama in Carson National Forest.

The Krones’ Missouri Fox Trotters, Cowboy and Nate, relaxing in the Hopewell Lake Campground corrals.

You can access the Continental Divide Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canda, right from the Hopewell Lake Campground. “In this area, the trail isn’t tidy and maintained,” the Krones report. “A great deal of the CDT consists of dirt roads and cobbled-together trails.”

This ridge is ideal for you to design your own ride. Ride as far as you’d like. Take whatever trail appeals to your fancy. There’s an entire network of trails. It would be fairly difficult to get lost, because you have the ridge, valley, and river to guide you. Just remember to take a warm jacket; at these high elevations, the weather can be unpredictable.

Nabor Lake Ride

On our second ride, we headed to Nabor Lake, a manmade reservoir located a little over 6 miles from our camp. After reading about the lake, we thought it would be a fun spot for a picnic and maybe a little fishing for Gila trout.

From the main road, go through the gate before the camp exit. This is a nonmotorized dirt road that crosses Rio Chamita, a small trout stream. Here, our Missouri Fox Trotter geldings, Nate and Cowboy, got a serious “turkey test.” The scrub oaks bordering the creek suddenly came alive with squawking, flapping wild turkeys, startling all of us!

The turnoff for Nabor Lake is 4 miles up this road. If you were to ride an additional 6 miles, you’d arrive in Colorado. We left the road but paralleled it while riding cross-country in the lush basin.

Having never been here before, we didn’t want to miss the faint tracks on the right that signaled our turnoff to Nabor Lake. We noticed aspens close to the road on the left and a T-post on the right alongside the tracks. Other than that, it would be easy to miss this turn; a GPS is helpful. From this trail junction, it’s 2.2 miles to Nabor Lake.

As we headed north, we could see Chama Peak in the distance. Three deer bounded effortlessly across the swelling hillside. An old corral appeared on our right, sprawled on the ground, like an old, homeless drunk.

Unexpectedly, our trail morphed into a wide grassy lane with straight rows of aspen on both sides, a forgotten entrance to an old mansion. When the lane turns right, continue straight on a faint path. This takes you to a picturesque meadow and Nabor Lake.

We rode across an earthen dam to an overlooking hillside and found some downed trees to use as picnic benches. Nate and Cowboy waited patiently to get hobbled so they could enjoy their lunch of green grass.

On our return trip, we did a cross-country adventure ride. We headed east, traveling through small >>

The Chama Depot, serving the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, built in 1880. “From our idyllic campground, we could hear trains chugging and whistling, so we decided to check it out,” the Krones write.

Historic Railroad

basins, alongside hills, and in and out of grassy parks where we noticed lots of matted grass where elk or deer had bedded for the night. Rio Chamita Creek was our general guidepost for this exploratory return ride.

More Top Rides

We highly recommend doing cross-country riding here. The terrain is open, and both the creek and ridgetop are helpful in directional navigation.

A couple of riding ideas: After crossing Rio Chamita Creek near the stone monument, go right. Go through two fences, and explore the valleys to the north. Past the monument, where the road turns to the right, take a left, and explore the two valleys on the left side of the road.

Keep your eyes open for wildlife. One highlight for us was watching a black bear dig for grubs. We had stopped for a break and noticed a “black rock” that appeared to be moving. Sure enough, the binoculars confirmed it was a black bear. We sat in the sunshine and enjoyed our own private wildlife show.

Hopewell Lake Campground, located at 9,700 feet above sea level 45 miles southeast of Chama in Carson National Forest, is a good riding area for those hot, humid summer days. You could make this horse camp

work for a short stay, but it isn’t well-designed for horses. The small single corral would be crowded with two horses, and the other corral belongs to another unit. In between the two corrals are a water spigot and a stock tank—nice amenities, but a long haul if you want your horse to have a water bucket hanging in his pen. Aside from Hopewell Lake, another attraction here is the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, which runs along the south edge of camp. This trail runs from Mexico to Canada, a grand total of 3,100 miles. It’s not tidy and maintained; a great deal of the CDT consists of dirt roads and cobbled-together trails. No matter how gorgeous the riding or how awesome the horses, a little variety adds spice to life; the little town of Chama boasts the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. From our idyllic campground, we could hear trains chugging and whistling, so we decided to check it out. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is the longest, highest, and most complete example of late 19th and early 20th century narrow gauge railroading in the nation. It was featured in the 1994 film Wyatt Earp, starring Kevin Costner. The railroad operates daily, running old-time “We traded in our coal-operating locomotives up and over mountains 10,000 feet high. We saddles for a seat signed up for an evening ride that would take us up to Cumbres Pass, on an antique train where dinner was served inside a protective enclosure. We traded in car and proceeded our saddles for a seat on an antique train car and proceeded to watch to watch nature nature unfold in all her finery. That evening, a small group of us stubunfold in all her bornly stayed in the exposed car, braving an icy wind sweeping down finery.” the mountainside and plummeting temperatures. There was a method to our madness: Seeing the full moon rise while aboard the historic train. Finally, a glowing, luminescent orb began crawling up and over the mountain, growing larger and larger. We forgot the cold and just felt like we were the luckiest people in the world. A full moon, an antique train, being together on an adventure with our horses—life is good! USR USRider® Equestrian Traveler’s Companion 25 Winter 2023