New Mexico trails · Green Fly
Green Fly
A 13.7-mile out-and-back in New Mexico, with 1,262 ft of climbing. Reaches Preacher Tank and other lake/spring destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 48% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 4.6. It gives back about 1,618 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Preacher Tank (lake)
- Burnt Corral Tank (lake)
- No Permit Tank (lake)
- Sam Martin Spring (spring)
- Windfall Tank Number Two (lake)
- Windfall Tank (lake)
- Black Mountain Tank (lake)
- Windfall Tanks (lake)
- Substitute Tank (lake)
Getting there
GREEN FLY access. About 3 h 01 min drive (77 mi, 40 of them unpaved) from Silver City. 33.30264, -108.14779 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:51 a.m., the sun rises at 7:16 a.m. and sets at 6:40 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:05 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 24 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 27.5-mile round trip works out to roughly 11 h 26 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- SAM MARTIN + GREEN FLY + CASSIDY — 14.4 mi loop, 2,018 ft gain
- SAM MARTIN + Cassidy Trail #25 + GREEN FLY — 14.6 mi loop, 2,315 ft gain
- SAM MARTIN + JORDAN CANYON + GREEN FLY — 17.9 mi loop, 3,612 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Sam Martin — 6.9 mi
- Granny Mountain — 8.0 mi
- Tom Moore — 9.7 mi
- Middle Mesa — 10.0 mi