Sabinosa Wilderness Area. New access. Who's going!

[Bob W]

(not my picture)

The Sabinosa Wilderness Area is 16,000 acres of BLM land near Las Vegas, New Mexico. Unfortunately for casual visitors (but maybe good for the wilderness) there's no public access because the area is completely surrounded by private property.

http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/bl...rness_and_wsas/wilderness_areas/sabinoso.html

That's about to change thanks to a new land purchase by the Wilderness Land Trust made possible by a donation of $3.1 Million from the Wyss Foundation.

http://www.nmwild.org/2016/news/public-access-coming-for-sabinoso-wilderness/

http://www.abqjournal.com/713850/news/public-access-to-nm-sabinoso-wilderness-almost-there.html

When the final arrangements are completed, it's definitely going on my To-Do List. :thumbup:
Anyone else following the updates? Anyone planning on a visit? By any chance has anyone been into the area with permission from one of the surrounding landowners?

 

[Currawong]

Looks awesome. Bit far for me to go.

 

[Bob W]

Looks awesome. Bit far for me to go.

Not too far. If I can make to Canberra, you can get here.

 

[SwiftDream]

New Mexico is one of my Five favorite states for high adventure, trail-less rucksack wilderness wanderings. If I find my self near the Sabinosa I'd definitely spend time there. Looks intriguing.

 

[Bob W]

New Mexico is one of my Five favorite states for high adventure, trail-less rucksack wilderness wanderings. If I find my self near the Sabinosa I'd definitely spend time there. Looks intriguing.

If you think that looks intriguing but don't have time to wait on access issues, check out the Mills Canyon area of the Kiowa National Grasslands. It's a deep canyon cut through the heart of the Northeast Highlands near the town of Roy. The area is National Grassland, managed by the USDA Forest Service so you can wander, camp, and hike anywhere. There's also a free campground in the canyon bottom, historic ruins, fishing (sometimes), and amazing scenery. The developed areas get a few visitors on weekends, but you're unlikely to see anyone while exploring the numerous side canyons.

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/southwestern/MillsCanyon/index.shtml

The total acreage of the Kiowa Grasslands is 230,000 acres but Mills Canyon is only a portion of that. The remainder is scattered around, mostly out by Clayton.
http://ratonphotos.com/kiowa-national-grassland

 

[Doubletee]

Thanks for the heads up!,,, a bunch of us go up to Whittington twice a year ( going in a couple of weeks) and have landed for fuel at Las Vegas airport before. Sounds like a neat area.I go to Clayton several times a week in the summer working so know a little about the area but not gone to Las Vegas much. I'll have to check it out. Live in Texas!

 

[Bob W]

Whittington is nice. I don't target shoot but have family that do. Their museum is top-notch for this area. I used to sometimes work at the ranch just across the road from there, and a friend of mine previously had the contract for operating the Raton airport (it's owned by the city).

Something else at Whittington, I'm not sure how much they hype or market it to visitors, but if you get some free time check out the ghost town of Van Houten on the Whittington Center property. It's not far from the main campground and shooting ranges.

I borrowed those pictures from TripAdvisor, but since they are my photos I guess it's OK.

If you like to get out on your own and do things while in the Raton area, we have an incredible selection of nearby parks and public lands.

Carson National Forest, 1.5 Million acres:

Colin Neblett Wildlife Area, 33,000 acres:

Valle Vidal, ~100,000 acres:

Climax Canyon city park, 200 acres:

Lake Dorothy and James John Wildlife Areas, 8,000 acres combined:

Sugarite Canyon State Park, under 4,000 acres:

Charette Lakes, Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, Eagle Nest Lake State Park, etc., etc., etc. You get the idea.

Plus it's a great area to just toss the camera in the car and go for a drive.
http://ratonphotos.com/roadside-photography
(my own website with no soliciting or ads)

 

[Doubletee]

OMG ! All the years we have gone there and never knew that was there!,,, will ask about it when we go! Thanks

 

[The Zieg]

Just down the road from me, sort of. Looks like it's on my destination list.

Zieg

 

[Bob W]

Just down the road from me, sort of. Looks like it's on my destination list.

Zieg

I had to look on a map to see where Elizabeth is. Never heard of it.
It would be about a five-hour drive from there to Las Vegas, just guessing. It's four from Raton to DIA.