Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park (Blog Hike #1002)

Trails: Upland, Overlook, and Resaca Trails
Hike Location: Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park
Geographic Location: west of Las Cruces, NM (32.24944, -106.82150)
Length: 2.6 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2024
Overview: A double loop around seasonal wetlands along the Rio Grande.
Park Information: https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/spd/find-a-park/mesilla-valley-bosque-state-park/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=956718
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming January 17, 2025)

Directions to the trailhead: In Las Cruces, take I-10 to SR 28 (exit 140).  Exit and go south on SR 28.  Drive SR 28 south 0.9 miles to SR 359 and turn right on SR 359.  Drive SR 359 west 2 miles to the park entrance on the left, which is reached immediately after crossing the Rio Grande.  Turn left to enter the park and drive the gravel entrance road to the main parking lot at the Visitor Center.  Park here.

The hike: Established only in 2003, Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park is one of New Mexico's newest state parks.  The park protects 305 acres on the west bank of the Rio Grande.  The park's name comes from the nearby town of Mesilla and the fact that it protects a bosque, a Spanish word that translates to "riverside forest."

            Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park offers only day-use amenities, and its main attraction is its pair of short hiking trail loops: the Upland Trail and the Resaca Trail.  As their names imply, the Upland Trail forms a loop through the park's higher areas, while the Resaca Trail forms a loop right along the river.  Both loops start near the Visitor Center, so you could hike them independently.  Yet combining the trails forms a double loop that explores all the park has to offer; such is the hike described here.

Visitor Center trailhead

            Start by walking through the Visitor Center area and walking down the wide gravel entrance trail that serves both of this park's loops.  In a few hundred feet, you reach the levee that protects communities to the west from the Rio Grande's floodwaters.  Cross the levee, angle right, and cross the Picacho Drain, a narrow irrigation channel, to find the signed start of the Upland Trail.  Angle softly right to begin a counterclockwise journey around the Upland Trail.

Badland formations along Upland Trail

            All of this hike stays in very flat terrain, but some bare badland-like formations soon rise to the right.  These formations only rise about 50 feet, and they are easily eroded by rain and wind.  Some of that soil forms the trail's soft dirt surface.  This area is a great place to look for animal tracks and see what has been here before you.

Hiking the Upland Trail

            At 0.5 miles, the Upland Trail curves left to begin its return leg.  A bridge used to cross the Picacho Drain here, but it had been dismantled on my visit.  At 0.8 miles, you finish the Upland Trail.  Before heading over to the Resaca Trail, turn sharply right to hike the short Overlook Trail.  True to its name, this trail leads gradually uphill to an east-facing overlook that offers a great view across the Rio Grande valley to the stark Organ Mountains beyond.  A bench here encourages you to sit, rest, and enjoy the view near the midpoint of the hike.

View on Overlook Trail

            Retrace your steps down the Overlook Trail, then turn right to re-cross the Picacho Drain.  Next angle softly right to drop off the levee and begin heading clockwise around the Resaca Trail.  Whereas the Upland Trail explored the area near the badlands, the Resaca Trail explores the area right along the Rio Grande.

The dry Rio Grande

            At 1.3 miles, you reach the edge of the river, where the trail curves right to begin heading downstream along the river's west bank.  Depending on the season of your visit the Rio Grande may be dry: it only flows near Las Cruces during spring snowmelt and summer monsoons.  The river was a dry sand bed on my visit, but I still enjoyed the desert scenery.

Hiking the Resaca Trail

            Ignore a couple of short-cut trails that exit right, and at 1.8 miles make a sweeping right turn as the Picacho Drain merges with the Rio Grande.  Some scrubby riverside brush makes for good birding habitat, and I saw some larks, sparrows, mourning doves, quails, and owls on the gorgeous late February morning of my hike.  At 2.3 miles, you close the Resaca Trail's loop.  Turn left to re-cross the levee, then turn right to retrace your steps to the Visitor Center and complete the hike.