El Malpais National Monument · New Mexico

Continental Divide National Scenic Trail

65 mi of trail, end to end · about 1,700 ft of climbing · 3,700 ft of descent · 6,460 ft–8,164 ft · asphalt, earth, gravel surface · trail class Fully Developed · hiking

Picnic areasVisitor centers

Along the way Visitor Center Area El Malpais National Monument Information Center (NPS)

Trailheads Acoma-Zuni Trailhead 6,877 ft Drive there · El Calderon Loop Trailhead 7,268 ft Drive there

On the parks map

Other trails from the same trailheads

Continental Divide National Scenic Trail/Zuni-Acoma Trail · 6.7 mi · from Acoma-Zuni Trailhead
El Calderon Loop · 3.1 mi · from El Calderon Loop Trailhead

All 10 trails in El Malpais National Monument Find a trail On the parks map Park on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.