Kwaaymii Interpretive Trail

Features: Morteros, Pinon Pines.

Length: 0.5 mile loop.

Elevation gain/loss: +99'/-99'.

Hiking time: 20-30 minutes.

Users: Hikers only.

Difficulty: Easy.

Best time of year: Any time except during storms.

Potable water: In Visitor Center.

Access point: Visitor Center parking lot.

Description: The trail leads from the Visitor Center to the top of a small knoll. Numbered signs along the way coincide with the trail brochure at the trailhead. At the top, you can find morteros ground by Kwaaymii Native Americans hundreds of years ago, when they spent the summer months in the Lagunas. There is also a fine specimen of Pinon Pine at the top. Pinon Pines dominated the vegetative landscape of the Laguna's for centuries, until the Laguna Fire of 1970 wiped out nearly the entire population. Specimens can still be found scattered throughout the area, and the pines are slowly increasing in numbers. From the top, the trail meanders downward through pine, Mountain Mahogany and Bay Laurel, and ends back at the Visitor Center parking lot. Please advise Visitor Center staff if the box for the trail brochures is empty.