Bridal Veil Falls is the end destination of a beautiful 2.3-mile hike near Alamogordo, New Mexico. It is constructed along a former railroad as part of the Fresnal Rails to Trails Project. I write about the history of that railroad and the Pinto Train Depot here. The Pinto Train Depot (my blog’s feature photo) and the stone foundations of Pinto stand across from the falls.
We took Hwy 82 toward High Rolls and turned onto Steep Hill road. This spit us out onto Fresnal Canyon Road, where we turned right and then drove until we found the little dirt pullout for T129. This trail is a shortcut to T128, the trail that links Bridal Veil Falls and the Salado Train Trestle.
Turn right on T129 and follow the trail back about a half mile through a fence. You will soon hear the falls. The stream had water in it today, and the trees were teeming with birds. Pretty wildflowers sprouted along the trail.
The falls have been described online as “underwhelming.” But I thought they were very pretty in a New Mexico way. They are 45 feet tall. You can easily climb up to them and some people have even climbed on them, as evidenced by the graffiti on the brown sandstone behind the water itself.
A nice gazebo stands besides the falls, offering a place to sit while taking in the view.
Directly across from the falls is the old Pinto Train Depot. The Sacramento railway used to stop here so people escaping the furnace of summer in El Paso and the Tularosa Basin could admire the falls in the cool shade. They would then continue on to Cloudcroft.
The Pinto train depot has deteriorated even more since KC Bonnell took the photo I use as my blog feature photo. The roof on the side has completely caved in. The scrap of wood with “117” has fallen off the wall. Even the stone wall surrounding the depot has crumbled a bit more. What will be left of this place in another 10 years? 20 years?
There was once a cellar or crawl space. I’m not sure what it was used for. Now I think it’s just used by brown recluses.
I believe the other buildings are the remains of the Pinto, NM, a true ghost town now. Exploring the area and the old buildings, cars, tools, and such really made me reflect on how drastically the world has changed in a relatively short period of time. I wish I could give more historical context on these buildings.
After exploring the remains of Pinto, we returned on T128 following the stream to the Salado Train Trestle. This train trestle was restored so that you can walk on it.
If you take a little well-posted detour from the trestle bridge, you can also view the remains of another trestle that is not so well-preserved.
Having concluded this lovely hike, we went to New Mexico Pomegranates, a small farm in La Luz where the farmer invited us to pick pomegranates. They are soon planning to roll out pomegranate wine and other products.
What a lovely and perfect Friday in October in southern New Mexico. Who says there’s nothing to do here?