El Camino Real Trail

We hiked the two interpretative trails the BLM has installed along this section of the old Camino Real.These trails are accessed by good county roads that run between the Caballo and San Andres Mountains.This area has been known since the early colonial period as the Jornada del Muerto. The first site is about 10 miles from the Upham exit on the wide, well maintained gravel county road. There is no sign indicating the turn-off, I just happened to notice the red kiosk roof near where the powerlines cross the road. This is the Point of Rocks trail. We hiked along a rocky ridge which overlooks a large ephemeral lake bed . We extended the hike a little bit by walking down the powerline road to the lake bed itself. Another 10 miles down the road is the Yost Escarpment trail. This longer trail took us past a cattle tank up on the low escarpment to an original section of the El Camino Real. It ends at an overlook with the view towards the Spaceport ( still under construction). Note to any rockhounds: Carnelian agate can always be found in this area. Most pieces are small but sometimes chunks over 1 inch can be found. UPDATE (12/31/22): The road is completely paved now. A few petroglyphs and grinding mortars can be found in the Point of Rocks area by leaving the trail and exploring the rocky ridge and the boulders that have tumbled off of it.