Sweet Sugarite Canyon

We have often said that the NRA Whittington Center, where we are camped this week, is a real “hidden gem.”  Here, we have a lovely campground surrounded by thousands of acres of rolling hills and mesas, and offering outstanding opportunities for anyone who enjoys the shooting sports.  

We have been coming here for a number of years, and this year we have discovered another “hidden gem” just a few miles east of Raton, and an easy 20-minute drive from camp.  It is called Sugarite (pronounced sugareet) Canyon State Park.  We went there for a hike on Monday and enjoyed it so much we went back on Wednesday.

The park includes the site of the town of Sugarite and the Sugarite Coal Camp.  From 1912 until 1941, high-quality bituminous coal was mined from three mines.  The miners were a diverse group.  It is said they once spoke 19 different languages, and that conflict among them was uncommon.  A one-mile walking tour of the Sugarite Coal Camp begins at the visitor center and winds past the mine entrances and ruins of some of the buildings.  We look forward to taking this short hike and learning more about the history of this area.

The park’s 4500 acres include grasslands of the Great Plains, as well as mesas and forested slopes of the Rocky Mountains.  The elevation at the visitor center is 6,900 feet, and the top of Little Horse Mesa rises to 8,320 feet.  In addition, there are two lakes, Lake Alice, which lies alongside the road, and just above it the larger Lake Maloya. 

The park’s northern boundary is the New Mexico-Colorado state line.  Lake Maloya extends a short distance into Colorado, so when we hiked the perimeter we were actually making our way in and out of two states. 

Just across the Colorado State Line above the park sits the beautiful Lake Dorothey.  It is accessible only on foot or by horseback, and the locals tell us it has excellent trout fishing.

We took the one-half mile road up to the lake, and enjoyed dramatic scenery and beautiful wildflowers along the way.  

Both John and I were impressed with the size of the dandelions here.  This one was not only beautiful, but the size of John's palm.

Doubling back to the parking area, we struck out on the trail along and above Lake Maloya.  The trail is steep in places, but with beautiful shade and access to the lake and streams where the dogs could cool off.  

There were even more wildflowers lining the trail through the trees.  

We loved this little white one, but haven't yet identified it.

There were also stands of a local variety of the flower we call "horsemint."  The flower heads are smaller, but it has the same color and fragrance.

There were several varieties of blue flowers....more reasons to get a book of wildflowers of New Mexico.

But I think our favorite was this one, which is called "sky rocket" according to the rangers.  I think it is also called scarlet gilia or Ipomopsis aggregata.

Rue and Kota wore their packs on Wednesday, and we were glad we had someone to carry our water since we can't drink from the lake like they do. 

They were most interested in the small mouse-like meadow voles whose den entrances pock-marked the trailside.  Rue tried her best to catch one, but was only successful when she dug into one of the burrows and came out with a juvenile.  

The meadow voles we saw were dark brown with short tails.  They are mouse-like, but have smaller ears and less prominent eyes.  I did some research and found that a female vole is ready to breed at about one month of age…and so are her daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters.  Believe-it-or-not, one video I watched said that in one year’s time, the offspring of one female meadow vole will weigh more than an elephant.  Rue and Kota would have been happy with just one, and I don’t think they would have made much of a dent in the population.

As we made our way along the lake today, we came upon a group of people in the process of erecting a raptor nesting platform.  It was the Eagle Scout project of the young man below.  We wished him success and left him and his helpers to their task.

Sugarite State Park has two campgrounds.  Lake Alice Campground has 16 sites, 12 with water and electric hookups.  Soda Pocket Campground may not have water and electric, but it takes the prize for the view.  

Up a steep, rutted dirt road, it overlooks Sugarite Canyon to the east and south, 

and has a dramatic view of Little Horse Mesa to the north. 

We might consider taking Falcon and the Royals up someday, but it could be a nail-biter in bad weather.  Maybe we'll just enjoy Sweet Sugarite for day trips and hikes.