Rockhound State Park: Jasper and Thunder Egg Trails (Blog Hike #989)

Trails: Jasper and Thunder Egg Trails
Hike Location: Rockhound State Park
Geographic Location: southeast of Deming, NM (32.18386, -107.61600)
Length: 2.1 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2024
Overview: A mountainside loop hike with boulders, rocks, and views.
Park Information: https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/spd/find-a-park/rockhound-state-park/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=955732
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming December 20)

Directions to the trailhead: From the east side of Deming, take SR 549 east 4.2 miles to SR 143.  Turn right on SR 143.  Drive SR 143 south 3.7 miles to Stirrup Road and angle softly left on Stirrup Rd.  Drive Stirrup Rd. southeast 1.9 miles to the park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, and drive the park road 0.6 miles to the Visitor Center on the right.  Park in the lot in front of the Visitor Center.

The hike: Perched on the west end of southern New Mexico's Little Florida Mountains, Rockhound State Park protects 1100 acres with extensive but ancient volcanic history.  That volcanism produced a large collection of rare rocks and minerals including geodes, thunder eggs, quartz, jasper, agate, and opal.  The area was mined for precious metals, copper, lead, manganese, and fluorite from 1880 through 1956, and the park was established in 1966.  The park's name comes from the fact that it is one of the few parks that allows visitors to find and keep small numbers of those rare rocks.

            The park is somewhat light on amenities: it features only a small 34-site campground, a few picnic areas, and 2 short trails.  The campground sits on a fantastic mountainside location that offers extensive westward views across the desert.  The hike described here also takes advantage of those views, and it combines the park's two short nature trails to form one grand tour of Rockhound State Park.

Start of Jasper Trail

            From the Visitor Center parking lot, head northeast to pick up the Jasper Trail, which heads into the desert.  The trailhead is unsigned, but the single track dirt trail starts between two wooden posts and is lined with stones on either side.  Thus, the trail is easy to find.

Hiking among prickly pear cactus

            The trail climbs gradually as it treads along the park's south boundary, which lies only a few feet to the right.  Mesquite and prickly pear cactus dominate the flora, and my approach flushed an owl out of one of the bushes.  At 0.4 miles, the trail curves left, and the grade intensifies.  This entire hike lies between 4500 and 4800 feet in elevation, and the relatively high elevation can cause sea level people such as myself to get winded faster than usual.  Thus, do not underestimate the difficulty of this short hike.

Highest point on Jasper Trail

            0.55 miles into the hike, you reach a gap that is the highest point on the Jasper Trail.  A small knob rises to the left and a larger mountain rises to the right, but the trail continues north to begin descending.  At 0.7 miles, you reach the end of the Jasper Trail at an information kiosk and a picnic area.  You could turn left and walk the park road directly back to the Visitor Center if you want a short hike, but to get the full tour of this park's trail system, turn right to begin the Thunder Egg Trail.

End of Jasper Trail; start of Thunder Egg Trail

            Like the Jasper Trail, the Thunder Egg Trail begins by heading east and climbing.  Unlike the first trail, the Thunder Egg Trail passes some large boulders that add to the scenery.  Both of these trails are named for rare rocks, and the mountain you see straight ahead is a good place to look for those rocks.  Where the trail splits, you can go either way: the two options come back together in only about 500 feet.

Boulder beside trail

           Just past 1 mile, the trail curves left as you pass the highest point on this hike.  The view west over the campground and across the desert beyond is spectacular, and this would be a great place to watch one of the desert's famous sunsets.  A couple of benches and interpretive signs offer opportunities to rest or provide interesting information about the area.

View west over campground

            The descent that is the second half of this loop is moderately steep and rocky, so you have to take care where you step.  After crossing a small wash that was dry on my visit, you reach the park's campground at 1.5 miles.  The Thunder Egg Trail ends here.  To complete the hike, walk the campground road to the campground entrance, then turn right to walk the park road downhill to the Visitor Center.