13.7-mile wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico, with hot springs, streams, fumaroles, natural gas seeps and volcanic domes dotting the caldera floor landscape

General Information

Hours:

Winter Park Hours (November 1 to January 30)
7am to 6pm
Summer Park Hours
May 31 to September 6
7am to 9pm
Fall to Spring Hours
September 8 to May 27
9am to 5pm

Fees:

Vehicle - $25.00
Accepts America The Beautiful Pass.

Pet Policy:

Pets allowed

Closest cities with hotels:

Alamogordo, 13 miles

Seasons:

All year

Location:

Website:

Rating:

★ 5.0

Alamogordo, NM Weather Foecast

How to Get There

Overview

Valles Caldera (or Jemez Caldera) is a 13.7-mile (22.0 km) wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. Hot springs, streams, fumaroles, natural gas seeps and volcanic domes dot the caldera floor landscape. The highest point in the caldera is Redondo Peak, an 11,253-foot (3,430 m) resurgent lava dome located entirely within the caldera. Also within the caldera are several grass valleys, or valles, the largest of which is Valle Grande, the only one accessible by a paved road. Much of the caldera is within the Valles Caldera National Preserve, a unit of the National Park System. In 1975, Valles Caldera was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

The circular topographic rim of the caldera measures 13.7 miles (22.0 km) in diameter. The caldera and surrounding volcanic structures are one of the most thoroughly studied caldera complexes in the United States.

Over two dozen official hiking and biking trails of varying length are available.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Valles Caldera", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0