LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The Dripping Springs Natural Area, including the visitor center, picnic sites, and all the hiking trails within the area, will be closed to visitors on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The entrance gates to Soledad Canyon and Dripping Springs Natural Area will be closed on these days. Aguirre Springs Campground and Recreation Area will remain open. The visitors center at Three Rivers Petroglyph Site will also be closed, but the site will remain open.
Outside of these three holidays, Dripping Springs is open year-round. The gate is open from 8 a.m. to sunset from October to March and 7 a.m. to sunset from April to September. The day-use fees are $5 per vehicle and $15 per bus. In addition, there is a fee of $50 for the group picnic site; the other 12 picnic sites are free with the $5 day-use fee. Reservations are required for the group site and can be made by calling the Bureau of Land Management Las Cruces District Office at 575-525-4300.
Framed by the majestic Organ Mountains, the Dripping Springs Natural Area is located 10 miles east of Las Cruces, on the west side of the mountains. From Exit 1 on Interstate 25, visitors will take University Avenue to Dripping Springs Road east to the Visitor Center parking lot.
Popular with visitors, the Dripping Springs Natural Area has over four miles of easy hiking trails, including the Dripping Springs Trail, which shows off desert scrub and low-elevation pinon-juniper and oak woodlands. The area also boasts excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, including red-tailed hawk, ladder-backed woodpecker, desert mule deer, desert cottontail, and collared and tree lizard – to name a few.
Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, the Dripping Springs Visitor Center offers interpretive displays of the Organ Mountains, brochures and maps. The facilities, including sidewalks and restrooms, are accessible.
Leashed dogs are allowed in the Natural Area but not past the Crawford Trail Junction on the Dripping Springs and La Cueva Trails. At all times, dog owners must pick up their pets’ waste and dispose of it in a trash receptacle. In addition, camping is not allowed along any of the trails.
For more information on the Dripping Springs Natural Area, visit the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument webpage.
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