bluff springs

It's a nice spring-fed waterfall that you can reach within a few minutes of easy hiking. It's worth the drive.

Bluff Springs is my favorite for the area. I return time after time because there are so many area to explore. On a recent trip we hiked to the left of the falls on a trail that is partial "rails to trails" it is a lovely walk with an open high meadow at the beginning and a wooded trail up the mountain. People enjoy hiking in the area and I've also seen artist painting and couples on picnics. Many people also primitive camp in the area of the upper falls. The area has so many trails that it is great for any fitness level. One word of caution...on weekends there are a lot of ATVs in the area. I use trails on those days that are off limits for motorized vehicles. On the way in from the highway there is a right turn that leads to another favorite hike "old Sunspot Hwy" the road to the trail-head is is pretty one with a small stream on the left through the little valley. Cows graze the area and I've also seen game. People camp along this road during weekend occasionally. The trail-head is at the very dead-end of the road.

Bluff Springs can be a bit of a challenge to find. Here are the directions from the Lincoln National Forest webpage: "Take the Sunspot Highway (NM6563) located just 2 miles south of Cloudcroft about 8 miles and turn left (east) onto the Rio Penasco Rd, county road C017. This road is paved up to Water Canyon, then dirt the remainder of the way. Continue on the dirt portion for another 1.5 miles and Bluff Springs will appear on your right."We thoroughly enjoyed spending several hours hiking the trails of Bluff Springs. Cross the footbridge and take the stairs up near the waterfall to find the trail which leads past lovely spring fed areas of wild watercress. Wildflowers bloom in the fields even in the hottest part of summer and the views of the area mountains are wide and stunning. The Bluff Springs trail connects to the longer Willie White trail. We only walked a short way down this trail since it was our first day at high altitude and we were still acclimating.Don't hesitate to drive the dirt/gravel portion of the road. We did so even in the middle of the "monsoon season" and had no troubles. We were in a rented SUV, but saw others in ordinary sedans traverse the road with no problems.http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lincoln/recarea/?recid=40310