Elena Gallegos Picnic Area

Saturday morning we made the trek up to the foothills in far northeast Albuquerque for a picnic and some hiking. The city operates a large park here that connects several trailheads to longer trails in the adjacent Cibola National Forest, and it’s a popular biking, hiking, and picnicking site.

The Sandia Mountains rise abruptly from the eastern edge of the Rio Grande Rift, forming in places a 5000’ angle of granite. On the eastern slope the Sandias emerge from the plains slowly, but on our side, the sudden climb is dramatic. Here is a view of the northwest edge of the Sandias from the picnic area.
The hiking trails pass through the scrubby vegetation of the high desert, characterized by bear grass, cholla and prickly pear cactus, and, after a wet winter, a variety of wildflowers. As you ascend a bit, juniper and pinon become more common, and a mile past the end of today’s hike (a two-year old and a pregnant woman make long hikes a dream) you find yourself in a full-fledged forest.

Of course, the whole point here is the hiking. Walking around in the foothills is a very relaxing experience. Mere minutes from the traffic of the urban space, you find yourself removed completely, with a unique perspective on the modern city.