Spring 2024 Southwestern Swing, 4.01.24 - 5.06.24, Part 4, Chiricahua National Monument
The drive from Alamogordo to our next destination was only supposed to be four and a half hours so we had time to stop by the White Sands Visitor Center on our way out of town. We drove down to Las Cruces, New Mexico and then took I-10 across the state line into southeastern Arizona. And this is where I made my first mistake of the trip. I pride myself on my research skills and it serves us very well but on this occasion I blindly followed Google Maps to get to Chiricahua National Monument. The correct route would be to get off at the town of Willcox and take the paved 186 right to the monument. Google Maps told me to get off of I-10 earlier at the town of Bowie so we did. Several miles later after driving through orchards the road turned to dirt and then began climbing. We ended up driving some twenty-three miles over Apache Pass on a washboarded steep dirt road past Fort Bowie National Historic Site before finally re-connecting to the paved road we should have taken in the first place. Let’s just say that Bridgit’s sense of adventure wasn’t activated by this little detour.
The transition from the New Mexico desert to the Chiricahua Mountains was impressive. As we entered the monument and made our way towards the campground, huge pillars of rhyolite towered above us. Chiricahua has one campground called Bonita Creek and it is a beautiful campground in the woods along the creek. Due to its winding roads and tight trees, RV’s over twenty-nine feet can not stay there and only RV’s twenty-four feet or less can drive the scenic road beyond the campground. Our Navibahn fit into our site just fine. The campground has no hookups but does have bathrooms and each site has a picnic table and a fire pit.
Twice as nice!
Chiricahua National Monument map
After setting up camp we stopped in to check out the visitor center which was a really good one. Then we drove the Jeep up the one road into the park called the Bonita Canyon Scenic Drive. It climbs steadily over eight miles to a high point called Massai Point. Most of the trails in the park start from there or just a little ways back. Our drive was really just a reconnaissance mission so we didn’t do any hiking. After dinner I drove back up to Massai Point to shoot the sunset. There were only a few cars up there and they all left before sunset. I wandered around a bit a scoped out where a good place would be for sunrise photos the following morning.
Sunset from Massai Point
Sunset from Massai Point
Sunset from Massai Point
I really wanted to catch the first rays on the incredible rhyolite pillars from Massai Point so we left our campsite at five-thirty. The sun rose at 5:48AM and it was quite beautiful, although it took a little time before it rose enough to light up all the pillars. Once I was done shooting sunrise photos it was time for a hike. We drove back down the road just a few hundred yards to the Echo Canyon Trailhead. There are numerous trails that stem from this spot. The longest is called The Big Loop. At 9.5 miles, it was more than Bridgit would have cared to do. Another trail over 7.5 miles led to a place called The Heart of the Rocks. That would have been nice but we opted for a tamer 3.3 mile loop called the Echo Canyon Loop. The trailhead sits at 6,780’. This was a really fun trail with wonderful views the entire way. We had great views of thousands of the dark rhyolite pillars.
Massai Point sunrise
Echo Canyon Loop
Echo Canyon Loop
At one section we could look up to the observation lookout on Sugarloaf Mountain.
Looking up to observation lookout on Sugarloaf Mountain
Echo Canyon Loop
Echo Canyon Loop
Echo Canyon Loop
As we continued, we came to a place known as The Grottos, where we were hiking right into a big pile of pillars. There were all kinds of little passageways and hidden sections to explore.
The Grottos
Echo Canyon Loop
Echo Canyon Loop
Past the Grottos we descended a few hundred feet to a spot called Echo Park. Beyond Echo Park we eventually came to a stream near the far point of our loop. We took a break there and while we were relaxing, a beautiful bird came by to check us out. It didn’t seem to concerned with our presence and I had time to get out my zoom lens and get a good closeup of him. Later, we confirmed at the visitor center that it was a Spotted Towhee.
Spotted Towhee (this one’s for Bridgit’s brother Michael)
The Echo Canyon Loop is actually three trails combined. Once we hit the far point of the Echo Canyon Trail it curved around and came to the junction with the Hailstone Trail. This trail doubles back in a different canyon and eventually connects to the Ed Riggs Trail which takes you back to the point where we started. The Hailstone Trail gradually ascends Upper Rhyolite Canyon. The sides of the canyon looked a little drier but still had tons of pillars and huge yucca and agave plants along the trail. By doing the loop counter-clockwise, we avoided any major elevation gain, making for a very pleasant hike.
Upper Rhyolite Canyon
One other bonus that Chiricahua had to offer was that there was hardly anyone there. The campground was full but I was alone for my sunset shoot at Massai Point and Bridgit and I hiked almost the entire Echo Canyon Loop without seeing another person until shortly before getting back to the trailhead.
As far as animals, other than the bird, we saw lots of turkeys, a few lizards and some deer. There are bears, mountain lions and rattlesnakes but we didn’t see any of those. We were really hoping to see some Coatis, which are mainly in central America but live as far north as Chiricahua. They can travel in packs of up to thirty. I’ve read they are in the raccoon family but they look sort of like a weasel.
Pic of a coati off the internet
We really enjoyed Chiricahua National Monument and would definitely go back. It was a convenient stopping point between White Sands National Park and Petrified Forest National Park which is where we were off to next!