Valley of Fires Recreation Area completes three major improvements

CARRIZOZO, N.M. – In recent months, the Bureau of Land Management’s Roswell Field Office has added three significant improvements to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area, which celebrates 60 years as a public recreation area this May.

The recreation area is located immediately adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow, which developed about 5,000 years ago after Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin. When the lava cooled, it became porous black rock and home to a variety of wildlife and plants.    

The improvements include new interpretive signs along the existing Malpais Nature Trail; the new Kipuka Trail that takes hikers for a journey next to the lava flow; and a new Junior Ranger program. The Malpais trail is a nearly 1-mile, handicapped accessible, paved loop that brings visitors through a portion of the lava flow.

“Visitors who haven’t been to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area lately will find an enhanced experience,” said Jesse Vinson, the outdoor recreation planner for the BLM RFO who spearheaded the improvements. “We encourage people to see the new signs, walk the new trail and engage children in the new Junior Ranger program.”

The BLM worked with the nonprofit Public Lands Interpretive Association, headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to make the Kipuka Trail and Junior Ranger program possible. The nonprofit did much of the legwork and applied for a State of New Mexico Trails+ grant on the BLM’s behalf.

Vinson also thanked Michael McGee, a hydrologist and certified trail master in the BLM RFO, and Stephen Carter, executive director of EcoServants, headquartered in Ruidoso, New Mexico, for their work creating the trail.

The Kipuka Trail is a gentle dirt path that meanders through the interior of the “kipuka,” an island of soil and vegetation encircled by the lava flow, Vinson said. Starting at the visitor center and ending at the southern edge of the recreation area, the out-and-back trail spans over a mile, or 2¼ miles walking back to the starting point.

“While the Malpais Nature Trail offers an up-close view of the ecosystems flourishing in volcanic rock, the Kipuka Trail provides a unique experience as it takes visitors off the concrete path and into the diverse wildlife of the Chihuahuan Desert,” Vinson said.

Take sunscreen, plenty of water and watch for rattlesnakes which are sometimes seen along the path during the warmer months of the year, Vinson said.

In regard to the signs, Russell Fox, an engineering technician for the BLM RFO, led the charge on getting the contract awarded for the new signs, Vinson said.

Also, Warren Kasper, manager of the Fort Stanton – Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area and Valley of Fires; Knutt Peterson, cave specialist for the RFO; and Lindsey Chavez Meairs, an outdoor recreation specialist for the RFO, helped edit the signs, Vinson said. Levi Sanchez, a range technician for the Fort Stanton – Snowy River Cave NCA, and Chavez Meairs helped immensely refurbishing the stands for the signs.

The new signs provide updated information, including photos and artwork, about the lava flow, its inhabitants and the surrounding area, Vinson said.

The BLM gave the Valley of Fires land to the state to develop as a park in 1965 and the state dedicated it as a park on May 6, 1966, according to BLM and State of New Mexico records. The state reconveyed the land to the BLM in 1989.

Kasper said that for the last 60 years, first as a New Mexico state park, and now as a BLM recreation area, Valley of Fires has been an ideal place to camp and to experience some amazing public lands.

“The Kipuka Trail adds a new perspective,” Kasper said. “It has been a great opportunity to partner with the Public Lands Interpretive Association in the development of the Kipuka Trail. Even before it was finished, it was exciting to see people using the trail to see Valley of Fires in a new way.”

For more information about the Junior Ranger program, view our Junior Ranger Program information online. To ensure the visitor center will be open during a planned visit, please call 575-648-2241.