Maestas
- 7.5 mi
- round trip
- 1,221 ft
- climb
- 8,012 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- May–Sep
- best months
Is Maestas open right now?
Alert in the area
The Forest Service lists an alert for Santa Fe National Forest.
Road Conditions
Agency alert covering Santa Fe National Forest · USFS · Santa Fe National Forest
As of · Source: USFS · Santa Fe National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Maestas is a hard hike of about 7.5 miles on the Coyote Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico, managed by the Forest Service. The trail is an out-and-back with a one-way climb of about 1,200 feet, from a low point of roughly 7,055 feet to a high of about 8,012 feet. The most comfortable stretch for a visit runs from late spring into early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 70°F and September highs around 75°F, with July and August the warmest and wettest months. Bikes are allowed on the natural-surface trail. Dry Lake is about 2.7 miles away, and the Rio Chama campground sits about 7.9 miles off. The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the Rio Gallina hike are both within about 10 miles.
- Dry LakeHiking2.7 mi
- CdtHiking7.4 mi
- NogalesHiking7.8 mi
- Rio ChamaCamping7.9 mi
- Continental Divide National Scenic TrailHiking8.2 mi
- CeciliaHiking8.7 mi
- Rio GallinaHiking9.4 mi
- Skull Bridge(elizabeth's) RoadHiking9.8 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
- Dry LakeHiking · ~5 min drive
- GURULE LOOPHiking · ~10 min drive
- CdtHiking · ~13 min drive
- Continental Divide National Scenic TrailHiking · ~14 min drive
- NogalesHiking · ~13 min drive
- CeciliaHiking · ~15 min drive
- Questa NavajoHiking · ~17 min drive
- Skull Bridge(elizabeth's) RoadHiking · ~17 min drive
- CdtHiking · ~15 min drive
- Chama Canyon RoadHiking · ~17 min drive
Best time to visit Maestas
Best months: May–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
40° / 12°
5 wet
Feb
43° / 16°
4 wet
Mar
52° / 22°
5 wet
Apr
60° / 27°
3 wet
May
70° / 36°
3 wet
Jun
82° / 46°
4 wet
Jul
85° / 53°
8 wet
Aug
82° / 51°
8 wet
Sep
75° / 43°
5 wet
Oct
63° / 31°
4 wet
Nov
50° / 20°
4 wet
Dec
40° / 12°
5 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Lindrith 1 Wsw, NM, 14.1 mi away at 7,220 ft. The station sits about 800 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
