One of the beauties of a road trip is stumbling upon an incredible sight or experience that you had no idea was there. Valley of Fires National Recreation Area in southwestern New Mexico (along I-380 just past Carrizozo) is just such a place.
We were mainly heading from Roswell to Albuquerque and our map program suggested this as the quickest route. You’ll read in my road notes that the scenery along the road was well worth the route in and of itself. But after we emerged from the mountains surrounding Smokey Bear State Park and Lincoln National Forest, we found ourselves in a relatively-flat area surrounded by massive black boulders with semi-arid desert growth trying to overcome them.
We saw the sign that said, “Valley of Fires, next left” and we decided there’s no reason we shouldn’t check it out. We’re glad we did. I’ve never heard anyone talk about this area before and saw the name on the map without realizing what it was, but it was definitely worth the stop.
There’s a nominal fee for entrance (I think it was about $6) and you can even camp there in a tent or RV if you’d like. We have the “America the Beautiful: Lands Pass” that lets us get into every national park/monument/recreation area, so we received free entrance to this area also.
There’s a parking and lookout place very near to the entrance, so we pulled up, walked up the short trail (about 2 minutes total) and looked out over the Valley of Fires. What we saw was an area that stretched forward about another 3 or 4 miles and stretched left and right further than we could see (going past the interstate to the right). What we saw was black lava boulders that mostly seemed to be spread out in rows but was occasionally interrupted by random piles of larger black lava boulders. We could see a nice meandering path that wound its way through the lava.
The trailhead for the path was right where we were standing, so we decided to take it. It’s what is known as the Malpais Nature Trail. The entire trail is only about ¾ of a mile long and is paved halfway (they’re in the middle of finished the rest). Once you get down to it there are really no hills and dips, so a person in a wheelchair could even do the paved half.
It’s really worth it to take the trail. You get right up next to the lava and you can touch it as much as you’d like, you can even step out on it. I’d recommend having some good shoes though if you want to be stepping on it, because some areas of the lava are very sharp and could give you a nasty injury if you slip.
The lava boulders vary greatly in size, from the size of a small four-wheeler to the size of a small house, just on the trail we were on. The lava itself maintains all its original ripples and it really looks like a thick liquid that has recently cooled. It is also very sharp to the touch. To me, it is very reminiscent of lava flows in Hawaii that I’ve seen on TV. It turns out that it looks recent because it is. Apparently, this lava flow erupted from vents in the valley floor (not a volcano) just 1,000 to 5,000 years ago. That makes it one of the youngest flows of lava in the US and it also makes you wonder if it could happen again anytime soon.
What’s even more spectacular is that when the lava was flowing it was bursting out at a speed that could fill three bathtubs with liquid every second. It spread to 44 miles long throughout the valley and 2 to 5 miles wide. At it’s thickest, the lava is 165 feet thick and overall it covers 127 square miles of surface area. It really makes for a spectacular sight, all the more so because you find it out in the middle of seemingly nowhere, New Mexico. Yet even here, the earth has been active, more active than we’d wish for today.
These facts increase the wonder as you walk the trail and view the lava flows and formations. Some areas are neat because the lava had formed into hard bubbles which burst after hundreds of years, leaving perfect areas for animals (such as bats) and plants to grow. The fact that the vegetation is consistent throughout the area yet the lava is always jutting out makes for a very interesting sight.
It’s also neat to see a lot of the wildlife that makes its special habitat here. We saw a nice collared lizard that had several bright-colored stripes down its back and an exceptionally noticeable red and white collar around its neck. We saw quite a few birds and small rodents as well. There were even several small juniper trees working their roots way through the lava boulders. However, their height did nothing to betray their age: one was over 400 years old!
Other than the Malpais Nature Trail, there’s a nice Hilltop Vista that’s a very short hike to the top. The Hilltop Vista gives a great view of everything around and it allows you to put the massive lava flow into context of the mountain ranges that are on every horizon. From the Hilltop Vista, I think I could even spot the great white sand dunes of southwestern New Mexico, but since the day was extraordinarily windy they seemed more of a white haze blocking out the nearer mountains than actual dunes.
One neat thing about the Valley of Fires in New Mexico is that they encourage you to take a hike out onto the lava flow, exploring for yourself. If I’d planned ahead to do this, it would’ve been a great experience seeing the natural habitat that has formed in such an unusual place. But we were on a schedule and wanted to be in Albuquerque before nightfall, so we had to move on.
In the end, that’s what I think makes the Valley of Fires, New Mexico great. It’s a very nice little stop. It takes only a short time and a low amount of physical exertion to really enjoy it and take it in. It’s a geological wonder that is surrounded by natural beauty. And we just happened upon it! These kinds of stops are what makes road trips great!
