Published June 24, 2010 05:14PM
|Top 3 Ghost Town Home |
Up the way from modern Glorieta lies the site of a ruined town that flourished alongside the railroad. In the 1860s, Glorieta sprouted a hotel, two saloons, and four sawmills that employed 250 men, and it became a sportsmen’s headquarters for trips to the north Pecos River basin. Survey the town’s heaped remnants on this 6.4-mile round-trip. From the trailhead, you’ll pass the turnoff for the Glorieta Baldy and Broken Arrow Trails before the path narrows and winds back and forth over a small creek. Watch for an old rusting auto and decrepit equipment from a silver mine before emerging into the last in a series of meadows at mile 3.2. Head right to explore the ruins of the Glorieta House, a two-story wooden hotel built in 1883 that finally collapsed on itself 75 years later.
Refuel
The Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe has a green chili cheeseburger that’ll chase your demons away. (505) 983-5319
The Way
From Santa Fe, take I-25 north 17 miles to exit 299 and follow signs to the LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center. Ask the guard in the gatehouse for free hiker parking.