New Mexico trails · Continental Divide Trail
Continental Divide Trail
A 81.7-mile section of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail in New Mexico, with 3,002 ft of climbing. The full trail runs about 3,100 miles. Reaches Spring Tank and other lake/spring destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 53% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 40.2. It gives back about 7,922 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Spring Tank (lake)
- Sullivan Tank (lake)
- Ojito Azul (spring)
- Jawbone Tank (lake)
- Cold Lake (lake)
- Upper Canjilon Lakes (lake)
- Rancherilla Spring (spring)
- Murphy Tank (lake)
- Harris Bear Spring (spring)
- Hopewell Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
MARTINEZ CANYON access. 36.42667, -106.37883 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:09 a.m., the sun rises at 6:35 a.m. and sets at 7:35 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:01 p.m. (MDT) — 12 h 59 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 81.7-mile route works out to roughly 31 h 45 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail + Continental Divide Trail — 2.1 mi loop, 89 ft gain
- Continental Divide Trail + Continental Divide National Scenic Trail — 2.2 mi loop, 46 ft gain
- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail + Continental Divide Trail — 11.1 mi loop, 467 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Tusas Loop — 25.3 mi