San Ysidro Trials Area

The San Ysidro Trials Area is a very unique destination where trials riders, mountain bikers, and outdoor enthusiasts come to enjoy beautiful scenery and technical recreation activities. Stone badland features are widely spread within the area and create distinctive topographies, such as the delicate ecosystems of tinajas. Tinajas are naturally formed stone bowls that fill with water during the monsoon season and from snow melt. These pools provide an oasis for migratory birds, game species, and many other microorganisms.


 

Accessibility Description (ABA/ADA)

  • Both the lower and upper parking lots are composed of loose dirt and rocks. These lots are not ADA-compliant.
  • The San Ysidro Trials Area itself is a mix of thick, silty dirt, slick rock, winding bike trails, and tinajas all around.
    • To explore this area, one needs to be able to maintain their balance in shifting soils, climb or leap the rocks around the tinajas, and quickly move out the way of riders on the trails.

Know Before You Go

Fees

  • None

Facilities

  • There are no restrooms or water at this site.
  • A lower parking area is available just off Highway 550, where visitors can hike or bike the rest of the way in.
  • Please call the Rio Puerco Field Office at 505-761-8700 to gain access to the upper parking lot and camping area within the San Ysidro Trials Area.
    • They will provide you with the current combination code to unlock the gate. Please lock it behind you.

Nearby Amenities

  • The nearest location to acquire food, gas, and water is in San Ysidro, ~4.5 miles away via US-550 N.

Season/Hours

  • Open year-round.
    • The road may become difficult to navigate in poor weather.

Special Rules

  • Make sure to lock the gate after your group passes through.
    • Do not let people who are not part of your group through the gate.
  • Be a responsible user and stay within the boundaries of the recreation area.
  • Riding in or through tinajas that hold water or through riparian vegetation is prohibited.
  • Riding through or disturbing cultural resources is prohibited.
  • Shooting is prohibited.
  • Permits are required for commercial, competitive, and organized group events.
    • Please do not remove ribbons or markers along trails: this is used for events, it is not litter.

Brochures, Maps, and Publications

  • N/A

Wildlife

  • Coyotes
  • Fairy shrimp
  • Ground squirrels
  • Various birds

Adventure is at Your Fingertips

Phone

505-761-8700

Email

blm_nm_comments@blm.gov

Activities

Iconograph of two people wearing backpacks and using walking sticks
HIKING
Iconograph of a bicyclist going up a rocky hill.
MOUNTAIN BIKING
Iconograph of a camera
PHOTOGRAPHY
Iconograph of binoculars
WILDLIFE VIEWING

Addresses

Rio Puerco Field Office
100 Sun Ave NE UNIT 330
Albuquerque,
New Mexico
87109

Geographic Coordinates

35.55489778, -106.8068008

Directions

From Albuquerque, travel North on I-25 and take Exit 242 (Bernalillo), go left, and take Highway 550 West. Continue on Highway 550 West to the Village of San Ysidro. About 1 mile past the Village, the San Ysidro Trials Area parking lot will be on your right, right after an old weigh station (mile marker 25). The entrance is easy to miss, and there is a deep dip as you pull in.

 

Fees

No

Stay Limit

14 Days