The town of Raton in northeastern New Mexico has earned a reputation among travelers as a welcome rest stop during a long journey. As early as the 1700s, semi-nomadic tribes of Apache, Ute, and Comanche moved into the area in search of fertile land for crops and abundant wildlife as food. When the Santa Fe Trail opened in 1821, many Americans moved west following this route that connected Independence, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trail became a major trade route as fur trappers, freight wagons, gold seekers, adventurers, and immigrants followed the new path. Raton, as well as many towns along the route, flourished from the increased traffic.

The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad crossed the Raton Pass in 1879 (as detailed in our post on Las Vegas) using the established Santa Fe Trail. The railway made travel by wagon obsolete while increasing the shipment of goods both east and west across the country. Cattle became an increasingly popular commodity thanks to freight transportation, and ranching expanded into a major industry around Raton, which persists to this day.

While the railroad carried increased trade through Raton, the discovery of coal in the 1870s further enhanced the economic prospects of the growing town. Newly opened mines created the need for miners, and many different ethnic groups flocked to Raton in search of work and a chance to achieve prosperity – the proverbial American Dream. Raton transformed into a coal mining town and the industry boomed for the next 100 years. Croatians, Germans, Italians, Irish, British, Polish, Greeks, Czechoslovakians, and Japanese worked the mines and the supporting businesses, with their descendants forming “the very backbone of Raton” and creating “one of the most ethnically diverse populations in all of New Mexico” according to the Raton 2018 Visitor and Relocation Guide.

Automotive travel along I-25 now follows a similar path as the original Santa Fe Trail, carrying new visitors through Raton retracing the wagon tracks of those early American pioneers. Our RV jostled along I-25 into Raton, likely enjoying a much smoother ride than the settlers bouncing over the wagon-rutted dusty trail in the 1800s. Just like those travelers two centuries ago, we entered Raton in search of supplies and a place to rest after a journey (although our less than two hour drive that day hardly compares to a cross-country trek over dangerous terrain in a covered wagon). We barely spent any time in town, yet we both felt immediately at ease and welcome for no readily apparent reason. Sure, the people at the Enchanted Grounds Coffee Shop and Cafe were friendly and eager to offer a neighborly greeting, but the inviting aura went deeper than just a welcoming smile and quick conversation. As far as first impressions go, Raton is a strong contender for our favorite town in New Mexico out of the places we visited. It’s not big, there’s nothing flashy about it – we just genuinely enjoyed our short visit with no strong indication as to why exactly.

After cramming in some internet work while sipping excellent cappuccino, we stocked up on groceries and continued into Sugarite Canyon State Park. The employee staffing the visitors center desk was immediately talkative and informative, eager to recommend the Soda Pocket Campground when we told him we didn’t need electric hookups, and curious to learn more about our solar panels. He gave us a map, shared details on the hiking trails, and gave me a few tips for fishing during our stay.

The Soda Pocket Campground is located about five miles from the visitors center at the end of a two mile gravel road leading to the top of a bluff. The camping area isn’t difficult to get to, but the steep gravel road is slow-going. The campsites and views from the top are totally worth the bumpy ride, not to mention the wildlife viewing opportunities that abound simply outside your window or beside your picnic table. We observed mule deer nearly every day at both dawn and dusk, birds I can’t identify, a flock of turkey crossing the road (isn’t that the start of a joke?), as well as a small gray fox beside our site.

We didn’t have a cell signal of any kind within the campground, with only an intermittent signal at best from outside the visitors center. The Soda Pocket Campground was damaged by a wildfire in 2011, the remnants of which are still visible on the surrounding hillside. The facilities in Soda Pocket (picnic shelters and vault toilets) were rebuilt and are in excellent shape. The park also has a shower building, but it is located by the visitors center which requires a drive, bike ride, or mildly strenuous hike to use. That sort of negates taking a shower in the first place assuming you’re simply returning in the same manner you arrived (which in my case would be sweaty and mildly aromatic). No water is available in the Soda Pocket Campground, which necessitates a little advance planning. Sugarite Canyon is also under a boil water advisory – which is over two years old now – so you’re technically not supposed to drink the water that’s available anyway.

The park contains 20 miles of trails stretching across 4,500 acres ranging from 6,900 to 8,320 feet in elevation. We followed the Deer Run and Lake Alice trails from Soda Pocket to the visitors center, with a side trip along the Coal Camp Trail while at the park entrance. If you’re interested in hiking or biking during your visit, be sure to grab a handy trail map from the visitors center for details on all of the available trails. The park has a designated horse corral camping area as well and some of the trails are open to equine traffic.

Remember the T-rex track found in Philmont Scout Ranch from our last post? The Sugarite visitors center has a replica cast of that footprint, as well as displays on the wildlife and history of the surrounding area. The land that is now the state park was a coal mining camp from 1912 to 1941. The remnants of that camp line the aptly named Coal Camp Trail along with information boards describing the history and daily lives of those coal mining families. Walking the trail provides a peek into a bygone era, with building foundations, defunct mining equipment, and even mine entrances still visible.

Based on the Sugarite Coal Camp brochure available from the park, the mining colony seems to be an anomaly among coal camps. The Sugarite Camp never experienced a big disaster during its years of operation, and despite the demanding, low-paying work typically found in any mining community, the former residents often remember their time at Sugarite as “the best years of their lives” recounted during occasional reunions. Some of these former residents still return to visit their old “home” town. This coal camp was where the rich cultural diversity now known in the area developed, as immigrants from all over the world converged to work the mines.

Families enjoyed recreation on various sports fields, socialized and learned new dance steps in the clubhouse, and children earned an education in the schoolhouse. So beloved was the school, that students and teachers entered the burning building in 1939 to save the books and a piano. Classes resumed the very next day in three vacant buildings. Life in the northern New Mexico coal camps was a far cry from the bloody union strikes found in the southern Colorado camps around the same time period.

On the other end of Sugarite Canyon State Park, the Ponderosa Ridge Trail winds along the base of Little Horse Mesa to Lake Maloya. We hiked the trail one morning, Ashley loaded with knitting and me with fishing gear, to spend a few hours lakeside. Expecting the usual afternoon storm, we routinely glanced at the horizon while I fished to avoid getting stuck in bad weather. After catching three massive four-inch yellow perch and returning them all to the lake since we simply couldn’t eat that much fresh fish, we packed up our gear and headed back across the trail just in time to beat a windy heavy downpour.

We set off once again the next morning for a shorter walk to the top of Little Horse Mesa, the highest point in the park. The view from the mesa provides a different perspective of the canyon, not to mention a glimpse onto the neighboring plateau. The sound of cattle mooing from the other mesa carries easily across the expanse, causing observers to wonder how exactly the ranchers drove the herd to the top. My guess is individual helicopter rides for each lucky cow, but Ashley thinks that probably isn’t correct. I told her that fitting them each with parachutes and pushing them out of one cargo plane was even more ridiculous. I guess we’ll never know the truth.

Raton is yet again another beautiful area in the New Mexico high country. Sugarite Canyon is located close enough to town that those wishing to travel between the two by automobile can easily do so. I personally wouldn’t recommend biking, but it isn’t necessarily out of the question. Park visitors have ample opportunities for hiking, not to mention excellent fishing in the various coves around Lake Maloya for those who know what they’re doing. The lake is also perfect for kayaks, canoes, and rowboats with a boat launch ramp available in the park. Visitors to Raton can even choose to ride the train into the Amtrak station conveniently located in the downtown area. We would’ve liked to explore more of the town, but we chose not to bike from the park or simply drive the RV since it’s not really a short commuting vehicle. But based on our initial impressions, we’d happily visit again and who knows – maybe we’ll follow in the footsteps of those rail travelers so many years ago and board a locomotive into the western frontier.

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SOURCES

1. The Raton 2018 Visitor and Relocation Guide provided the history of Raton as recounted in the beginning of this article.
2. The New Mexico State Parks publication “Digging Deeper into Sugarite Coal Camp” provided the history and lifestyle details of the mining camp. Plus it has a clever title, which is always a bonus.