Pecos Falls
Mora County, New Mexico
Your visit at a glance
- Waterfall height
- 82 ft (25 m)
- Location
- Mora County, New Mexico
- Access status
- Partial guide: long wilderness route; trail junctions and distance to the falls are unknown
- The walk
- Long wilderness hike; one-way distance to the falls unknown
- Ground & access
- Difficult because of length and altitude, though grades are mostly gradual. High-elevation wilderness trail above 9,000 feet. Weather changes fast.
Pecos Falls is a 60-foot horsetail waterfall on the upper Pecos River at about 10,200 feet in the Pecos Wilderness, Santa Fe National Forest. The usual start is the Iron Gate Trailhead, 23 miles north of Pecos by NM 63 and Forest Road 223. Hamilton Mesa Trail 249 climbs to Hamilton Mesa and heads north into the Pecos Falls area. Carry a current Pecos Wilderness map to find the exact trail junctions to the falls. This is a long trip, often done as an overnight. Camping and campfires are not allowed in the Pecos Falls area itself. The route description dates from 1998.
Plan your visit
Iron Gate Trailhead in Iron Gate Campground, Hamilton Mesa Trail 249 north across Hamilton Mesa into the Pecos Falls area of the Pecos Wilderness
A Lodge 66 trail list puts Pecos Falls on a 20-mile loop from Iron Gate that begins with 8.1 miles on Trail 249. An older visitor account calls it a 14-mile hike up to the falls. Neither gives a clear one-way distance to the falls.
Difficult because of length and altitude, though grades are mostly gradual. High-elevation wilderness trail above 9,000 feet. Weather changes fast.
Where to start
Iron Gate Trailhead inside Iron Gate Campground. Forest Road 223 is rough and recommended only for high-clearance vehicles. A livestock gate on the road may be closed; open it and close it again behind you. Vault toilet; no drinking water. Forest Service coordinates: 35.83997, -105.62060.
Timing & water
The Forest Service lists the season of use as May to November, weather permitting.
Before you go
Forest Service day-use fee of $5 per vehicle per day, or a New Mexico Enchantment Pass or Interagency Pass. Wilderness group size limit is 15.
Visitor informationVisit sources
More waterfalls nearby
Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.
- Quemado FallsPartial: wilderness trail documented; distance to the falls not stated and the trail is hard to follow33 ft (10 m) · Rio Arriba County, NM6.2 miNW
- Rio en Medio Falls164 ft (50 m) · Santa Fe County, NM19 miSW
- Hyde Park FallsPartial guide: state park waterfall trail documented; match between this listing and the park waterfall is probable, not certainSanta Fe County, NM21 miSW