CDT - New Mexico Town Information
Note: This information is compiled from Tom Bombaci website, information from Jim & Ginny Owens, Ken & Marsha Powers, and my own research. As the towns located along the CDT are small, business are likely to come and go. So contact the interested establishment before sending your resupply box or expecting service.
Last updated Feb. 2004
Chama:
Internet access and email at library. Post Office is on 5th Street near town center; so is bank with ATM, and Foster's Hotel Phone: (505) 756-2296.
South end of town has several good restaurants, a good grocery, campground with laundromat, mini-mart, and several motels. North end has a laundromat, and campground; about .75 miles north of Foster's. Chama Suites is non-smoking, has free breakfast, and may be talked into transporting to / from Cumbres Pass.
Ghost Ranch (Abiquiu):
AYCE meals [limited hours], laundry, shower, camping, lodging, library [no Internet], hiker-friendly. Mail drop available; also Coke and snack machines.
The US Army Corps of Engineers at Abiquiu Lake has some basic facilities (nice restrooms with showers, campsites, interpretive trails and programs, and a new visitor center). Reserve campsites online at http://www.reserveusa.com/. You can also reserve by phone, toll free, at 1-877-444-6777. Phone lines are open from 8:00 a.m. to midnight (EST), seven days a week. The National Recreation Reservation Service web site is a non-government commercial site maintained in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, US Department of the Interior, and the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
Phone: (505) 685-4371
Web: http://www.spa.usace.army.mil/recreation/default.htm
Cuba:
A walk-into town. Circle A Ranch Hostel [May through October] is on 370 acres adjoining the San Pedro Parks Wilderness; contact Dafna Ronn at (505) 289-3350; showers, bunks for $13 without sheets; Dafna will pick up groceries for hikers to cook at their kitchen.
North end of town - just south of turnoff for Hostel and Wilderness access, has Frontier Motel with laundromat, couple of restaurants, and mini-mart;
South end of town - has several motels, a laundromat, couple of restaurants, several mini-marts, and the Post Office;
Center of town - has several small and two fairly large groceries. Internet access at library, about 1/3 mile east of the Cuba Visitors' Center.
Charlie McDonald is an excellent source of information about trail conditions and water availability for this part of the state.
Albuquerque:
Michael Grady, 3516 Smith Avenue SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106-1606, phone 505/255.8041, voicemail 505/272.8890, is willing to stash water and supplies, drop/pick up mail, help with GPS waypoints, etc., although "I am not available on the spur of the moment and would appreciate some planning & discussion in advance." There is also a hostel here: Route 66 Hostel at 1012 Central Avenue SW, 505/247.1813 or Ctaylor939@aol.com.
Grants:
Trail Angel: Michele Ray is perhaps the consummate trail angel. Find her at the Post Office on "Main Street" (Santa Fe Avenue, old US 66), between Lead and Copper Streets (505) 287-3143. She will handle the log book and is the one to see about resupply boxes, etc.
Santa Fe Avenue (old US 66) has numerous motels, banks with ATM, Pizza Hut and 2 Chinese restaurants with AYCE buffets. Petro truck stop's Iron Skillet Restaurant also serves buffets, but it's a little further away... Uranium Café serves really good breakfasts, all day (Monday through Saturday). In town: Smith's Food and Drug, along Lobo Canyon Road; and Milan Supermart; several laundromats; library with Internet; Greyhound service multiple times a day.
Pie Town:
Trail Angel - Nita Lorrande and Don Kearney, just up the hill going south from US 60 on dirt NM 603; two-story house on west side of road. Camp in yard or inside if you reach them at (505) 772- 2651 (call early in the day). They have a washing machine, rely on the sun for drying. You might be able to talk Nita and Don into showing you the VLBA antenna in town...
Free campground is also available at Jackson Park elsewhere in town.
Post Office in town, open five days and 8 - 10AM on Saturday; Phone: (505) 772-2637.
Pie-O-Neer Café has some groceries, good food, hours are 8AM to 7PM seven days; closed Monday and Tuesday. Phone: (505) 772-2900
Pay phone next to the Café, but no Coke machine.
The Daily Pie, open from Tue - Thur 8AM to 3PM, Friday - Saturday 8AM to 8PM, Sunday 10AM to 5PM, closed Monday . Phone: (505) 772-2700 or email pietown@gilanet.com
Reserve:
(35 Mile West of trail on Highway 12)
Two motels, several restaurants (some closed Monday and Tuesday), laundromat, bar, two small groceries, Internet access at small library in village hall up the hill behind the high school.
Forest Service - office 2 miles west of town on NM 12 Phone: (505) 533-6231.
Village Motel - (Len & Debbie Milbyer) have proven to be gracious hosts and ride-givers in the past. Phone: (505) 533-6600
Elk Country Café - has good burgers and pizza; Phone: (505) 533-6615
Grandma T's - has good breakfast.
Gila Hot Springs:
Visitor Center has restrooms, water No other services. Phone: (505) 536-9461.
Doc Campbell's Trading Post - 3 miles south of the Visitor Center has small grocery, microwave sandwiches, homemade ice cream, unleaded gas, water, phone; showers and laundromat in back. Phone: (505) 536-9551
Some campgrounds nearby.
Wilderness Lodge B&B 100 year old school building that was torn down and moved to it's current site. Has a hot spring in front yard and is located about 1 mile south of Doc Cambell's. Phone: (505) 536-9749
Piños Altos:
Good RV/camping site.
Buckhorn Restaurant - Extremely good steaks at the Beer and open-range fire.
Silver City:
Banks: AmBank, Wells Fargo, First Savings
The Inn on Broadway B&B - Phone: (505) 388-5485. Kitchen, laundry facilities, etc. Six blocks west of NM 90, adjacent to Grant County Courthouse. Rates range from about $85 per night.
Gila Hike and Bike - Outdoor shop Phone: (505) 388-3222, 103 East College Street.
Post Office - 500 North Hudson Street, Phone: (505) 538-2831.
Gila National Forest headquarters is at Phone: (505) 388-8201.
Bus - Las Cruces Shuttle - Phone: (800) 288-1784
Deming:
All essential hiker services in a fairly compact area. Within six blocks of town center are: Post Office, motels, laundromats, c-stores, supermarkets, restaurants, bar, gas, ATM, pharmacy, library with Internet access. Deming also has Greyhound [6:30 AM] and Amtrak service [three trains / week] , and is on I-10.
Columbus:
for those using this terminus:
Small town, but has Post Office, motel, two B&Bs, restaurants, small grocery and gas/c-store. Possibly a laundromat. Pancho Villa State Park (505/531.2711) has camping, water, showers. Just three miles from the Mexican border and the Mexican town of Palomas, with true Mexican food and beer. Martha's Place B&B is at 505/531.2467. Further information at discovercolumbusnewmexico.com.
Separ:
Continental Divide Trading Post - Soda's & Snacks, gas Phone: (505)546-3635
Hachita:
for those using the Antelope Wells bicycle terminus or Big Hatchet Mountain Reserve hiking terminus
Food & Groceries
Egg Nest Café - offers meals and other services such as parcel-holding and shipment, Internet access, limited groceries, a shower facility, and current trail information Pat and Marlene Harrris.
Phone: (505) 436-2666
Email: thegeenest@vtc.netHactita Food Mart - will hold parsels and has limited groceries.
Phone: (503) 436-2593
Transportation
To Trailhead: Sam Hughes - (505) 436-2662 - Will provide transportation to any of the CDT trailheads and put out water caches.
Hachita Liquor Store & Saloon - provides primitive accomodations. Phone: (505) 436-2633
Antelope Wells:
Apparently no longer the "official" terminus for hikers; that is now some miles (>10?) east, along the border fence, southeast of Big Hatchet Mountain.
Note: hikers or their transport cannot, must not approach this terminus directly from Antelope Wells because of hostile ranching family.
No services other than a water faucet at Antelope Wells. No services, and apparently no road access, to "official" terminus. There is a cattle water tank within a mile of the border at the hiking terminus.
For northbounders, care should be taken at this point in getting on the correct jeep trail for Sheldon Canyon; do not head eastward along the main jeep trail you have been following from the border. There is a water tank in Sheldon Canyon; water is very slow-running [if at all] from this windmill pump. Note: these two water tanks are not well-maintained by the owners. Tanks contained dead bodies of birds and deer [March 2000], though at the time of this observation water could be obtained directly from the feed pipes. Northward from Sheldon Canyon all the way to Silver City, water can be obtained from cattle tanks/ windmill pumps approximately every eight/ten miles along the "official" CDT, and water is of good quality. There are other pipeline stock troughs which are not marked on the BLM topos. These usually can only be discovered by taking note of cattle movements.
Note: cattle will leave water tanks at dusk to graze and move back to water tanks during early/mid-morning.