Zuni-Acoma Trail (Hwy 53) Guided Hike

Learn about what makes El Malpais home to some of the region's most diverse plant communities, and experience the dramatic landscape changes, sometimes from just one step to the next. The hike will visit and discuss the burn scar from the 2024 Encerrita wildfire. The west Zuni-Acoma Trailhead is located 16 miles south of Grants on Highway 53. If coming from Grants, the turn is just past mile marker 70. (Please note the Zuni-Acoma Trail has a second trailhead located on Highway 117. Please be sure you go to the west Highway 53 trailhead!) 

The first part of the hike is through grassland along a dirt trail. Eventually, the trail turns into a cairn-marked route across rubbly lava flows with loose rocks. The guided portion of the hike will cover about the first 1.5 - 2 miles of the trail and return to the parking area along the same route. Plan for around a 4-mile round trip hike.