The Dale Ball Trail system is located at the foothills of the

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, outside

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

. A popular destination for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking, these trails vary in difficulty. Sections can be challenging for users not acclimatized to the altitude or climate. The trail system is well marked, junctions include section maps and arrows to nearby junctions.

Trailheads and access

Access to the Dale Ball trail system can be made via dedicated trailheads or adjoining trails. The Cerro Gordo trailhead is located at the intersection of Upper Canyon and Cerro Gordo road. It has limited parking, and gives direct access to the Central and South Sections as well as the Nature Conservancy’s Santa Fe Canyon Preserve Trail. The Sierra del Norte trailhead is located at the intersection of Hyde Park Road and Sierra Del Norte and provides ample parking. This trailhead serves the North and the Central sections of the trail system. The south section of Dale Ball Trails is also served by the Dorothy Stewart trailhead, Wilderness Gate trailhead, and St. John's trailhead, all three located on Camino de Cruz Blanca. Dale Ball Trails can also be accessed from the

Atalaya Trail The Atalaya Trail is an out and back trail to the summit of Atalaya Mountain, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Distance Some ambiguity in the trail distance can be found in reference material due to the fact that the United States Forest Servic ...

to the south, and the Little Tesuque Trail via La Piedra Trail to the north.

Trail information

There are maps available for download at the city of Santa Fe website, and paper maps for free at the visitor center at 210 W Marcy Street. The Dale Ball trail system can be broken up into three sections: North, Central and South. The landscape is undulating with

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

, piñon,

yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flo ...

and cholla cactus on the North and Central section, typical of a pinyon-juniper woodland, while on the south section one can see ponderosa, white fir and douglas fir at higher elevations. The south section can be challenging due to baseline altitude and elevation gain. Picacho Peak (8,577ft) and Atalaya Mountain (9,121ft) are popular destinations on the southern section of the trail system.

Trail conditions and precautions

The baseline elevation at the trailhead, the high desert conditions, and potential elevation gain, warrants some caution from the user. Overall the trail is well maintained and well marked, but connecting trails may not be.

Events

The "Dale Ball Buster", a running event, gained some notoriety due to a

Runner's World magazine ''Runner's World'' is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in Emm ...

article written in 2012. The "Ultra Santa Fe", a long distance trail race, and "Frozen Feb FatAss", a nighttime trail run, are events organized by Endurance Santa Fe, which utilize the Dale Ball trail system.

References

{{reflist

External links

City of Santa Fe – Trails & Maps

Santa Fe Conservation Trust
Hiking trails in New Mexico Hiking trails in Santa Fe County, New Mexico Santa Fe, New Mexico