Baylor Canyon Pass Trail is a 4.1 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Las Cruces, New Mexico that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
dog friendly
kid friendly
hiking
nature trips
trail running
walking
bird watching
views
wild flowers
wildlife
Hike from the foot hills, along tree-covered trails to a mountain pass. The sign is the trailhead. Follow the main trail west. There is little chance of losing the trail. The trail will switchback up the canyon. At about 2.0 miles you reach Baylor Pass. Return via the reverse route. Day use fee for this trail is now $5
Did this trail a week ago. Was going to go to the other side of the pass and back, but there was a brush fire that was put out near Baylor Peak and the fireman wouldn’t let us go back to Aguirre Springs. Luckily a guy from BLM gave us a ride back to our truck. Good hike though!
Nice trail. We were going to do the peak, but it was WAY too windy when we reached the pass. Still a nice hike to the pass. Trail is very easy to follow. And there are some nice views.
Update: Day use fee for this trail and Pine Tree Loop is now $5.
https://www.blm.gov/visit/aguirre-spring-campground
no shade. extremely hot if you are not from Las Cruces. if hiking in the summer, start at around 5:30am
great hike for a quick get away! great view on the top! no parking entrance fee and the trail is pet/children friendly.
definitely do it again!
Really enjoyed this trail. It was so hot, but the views the whole way made it worth it.
Nice moderate hike with beautiful scenery and an awesome view from the summit where you can see both El Paso, TX and Las Cruces, NM. Beware of rattlesnakes in summer and fall.
Great view of the Organ mountains and a nice variety of terrain. Enough elevation to be a workout, but nothing that would prohibit the whole family from enjoying.
This trail is great, lots of variety on the walkway. About halfway up there's a big flat rock & shade, perfect area for lunch. Once we got to the top it was very windy but also a really good area to rest up there. We came across a little running water also.
January's weather is just like spring with gusts
Beautiful little short hike beginning on a gentle slope of tall grass and wildflowers that starts to wind through a gradually ascending rocky footpath. I didn't summit Baylor Peak but climbed a rocky prominence beneath it. Gorgeous place to watch the sun set. One word of advice--watch for rattlers..Lots of big snakes especially if hiking near dusk.
Awesome trail , beautiful views , birds and flowers , catch the sunset atop the rocks from the campground ,easy trail to follow , well worth the distance..
Baylor Canyon Pass trail tops my list of trails in the Las Cruces area. With inspiring views, peaceful silence, wildlife, and a well maintained yet rugged trail, you can't go wrong.
This trail is well maintained and easily navigated. The views from almost every turn is breathtaking. To view images along the trail, scroll to my downloaded hike and click on each of the red dots along the trail.
I enjoyed this hike thoroughly! From Baylor to Aguirre and back in about 6 hrs, that includes a 45 min lunch break. The views are great, and its not very challenging, but distance is probably not ideal for beginners.
Have only hiked this trail part of the way. Maybe I'll hike the whole trail,
Hot.
Just hiked the Baylor Pass Trail from the Aguirre Springs campground on the east side of the Organ Mountains. This is an awesome well maintained trail with a gradual elevation gain around a 1,000 ft. to the pass. A lot more trees and vegetation on this trail compared to the west side trail which connects at the pass.
At around two miles you reach the top of the pass and is a good place to stop and take in the views. The city of Las Cruces to the west and the Tularosa Basin and White Sands National Monument to the east. I would recommend a good walking stick or trekking poles due to several places with loose slippy rocks. I would rate this hike as easy to moderate and is one of my favarotie trails in the area.
Great hike but you definetly need to be in semi decent shape. We did the whole loop and it took us a littlt over 3 hours. At the end we were exhausted. Didnt see any wildlife but did see lots of tracks. Cool scenery with some ice at the top of the trail.
Easier than the West Pass. I would also recommend this direction if you take the complete one-way hike. The additional hike to the peak is strenuous if you are not use to hiking above 5000'. I made it to 6600 but had to give up on the final push to the true peak as I was alone.
Nice, easy hike with some cool views of the east side of the Organs, especially the Rabbit Ears. This is a much nicer way to get to Baylor Pass, as opposed to the west trail (which is very bouldery and overgrown). Ended up continuing on to Baylor Peak off to the right (north) of Baylor Pass, which has a somewhat faint but followable fairly steep trail up to Baylor Peak with some great views.
Had a great hike with my wife and daughter on this trail. Definitely does a better job at keeping the numbers on the trail lower than some others in the area. Great views and one of the prettiest rattlesnakes I have ever seen (and I grew up in this area). Will go do it again soon.
Awesome trail...
Very nice hike, did it with my 8 year old son, he had a great time, i rate it as easy to moderate, the views are very nice.
Great, well laid out trail! Moderate difficulty with a sort of steep pitch from the very beginning. The remainder of the trail is pretty much flat with many switch back leading to a soft altitude gain to the pass. There was a moderate amount of ice and snow in the shadows. This snow was visible from the parking lot. My GPS showed a gain of 785 to the top of the pass and a total of 1015 for the hike.
Fun and beautiful!