Have you ever wanted to walk into a volcano? Capulin Volcano is one of the few places in the world where you can do that. A 2 mile road spirals to the summit, ending at a parking area where two self-guided trails begin. ONe trail, 0.2 miles long, goes to the vent at the bottom of the crater and gives you an opportunity to see the inside of a volcano. The second is the Crate Rim Trail, one mile long, a self guiding path that encircles the rim. This trail begins with a moderate climb. Once on the rim you will find the going fairly easy until you begin the descent to the parking lot. From the trail you can look to the southwest where the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Frail passed. During the late 19th century, wagon trains bound for Fort Union traveled past the volcano from the northeast over the Fort Union-Granada Road. The view westward is particularly magnificent. The majectic, snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains form a mighty backdrop to the wide expanse of rangeland, broken by volcanic hills and mesas. Be sure to hike both trails. It’s not often that you can walk so brazenly in a volcano.
Capulin Volcano is the cone of a volcano that was last active about 56,000 to 62,000 years ago. This volcano represents the last stage of a great period of volcanism that had begun about 7 million years earlier. Evidence of this activity can be seen in the scores of nearby volcanic hills and peaks. The largest of these is Sierra Grande, an extinct volcano rising some 2,200 feet above the surrounding plain, about 10 miles to the southeast. To the northwest of Capulin are a number of mesas that are capped with lava, the three largest of which are Barela, Raton and Johnson Mesa.
AlthoughCapulin Volcan is considered extinct, the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field that it sits in is considered inactive.
Location: Capulin, NM
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