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New Mexico trails · Mail Trail

Mail Trail

A 9.7-mile out-and-back in New Mexico, with 2,064 ft of climbing. Reaches Starkweather Spring and other lake/spring destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length
9.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,064 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
38%
Steepest mile
+687 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
2.8 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Bikes
yes
Horses
yes
Managed by
U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

6,139 – 8,184 ft123456789

The climbing leans toward the first third: 49% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 3.2. It gives back about 1,447 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Mail Trail

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

MAIL — parking nearby. About 2 h 24 min drive (98 mi, 1 of them unpaved) from Silver City. 33.73210, -108.80320 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:54 a.m., the sun rises at 7:19 a.m. and sets at 6:42 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:07 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 24 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 19.3-mile round trip takes roughly 9 h 14 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 4:32 p.m. — 2 h 10 min before sunset.

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