GILA HIKE & BIKE

Little Walnut - Located four miles North of Silver City, the Little Walnut Trail System offers our closest access to the Continental Divide Trail. Even so, there’s great hiking to be found long before you get to the CDT! Standing in the main parking lot, it’s impossible to miss Gomez Peak and almost impossible to resist climb it. Once you enter the system you’ll find maps located at several different locations making navigation a breeze. Prioritize hiking Gomez Peak and Eighty Mountain (an out-and-back trail leaving from the ‘Mountain Loop) before venturing further into the ‘High Gila.’

If you’re hoping to hike the CDT, drive past the main parking area and the Picnic Ground and continue up Little Walnut Road. After a mile or so you’ll come to the CDT trailhead, where the CDT crosses the road. From here you can hike either North or South. Hike to the North and you climb steadily, while the South trail meanders slowly down to ‘Walnut Creek’. Expect other trail users on these sections, since the CDT draws in hikers and mountain bikers from across the nation.

Boston Hill - Historically, the 'Boston Hill' open pit mining area is of great importance when considering why people first descended upon Silver City. After considerable prospecting for silver, the area was first mined in 1870. Shortly after realizing that silver was not in abundance, the Massachusetts and New Mexico Mining Company began extracting a considerable quantity of fluxing ore.

There are four trailheads giving access on to Boston Hill; Market Street, Cheyenne Street, Spring Street and Cooper Street. Market Street gives you elevation and offers the shortest distance to the top of Boston Hill. Cheyenne Street offers access to a set of benches offering beautiful views of the University Campus. To find those benches, take the left trail fork after passing through the Cheyenne Street gate. Spring Street offers access to another set of benches overlooking Silver City, and the Cooper Street trail head takes hikers through piles of mine tailings before the trail arrives at the back side of the hill.