3.7 Miles Roundtrip

718 Feet Elevation Gain

Somewhat Challenging With Some Climbing Up a Mesa Wall

Spectacular Views of Ghost Ranch and the Surrounding Region That Sits at the Edge of the Colorado Plateau

Ghost Ranch was the home, studio, and repeated subject of painter Georgia O'keeffe and it sits at the edge of the Colorado Plateau in New Mexico near the town of Abiquiu. It is now a research center with some fun museums for archaeology and paleontology. It is also a very popular filming location for movies and TV shows both past and present.

The best thing at Ghost Ranch though, is the Kitchen Mesa Trail, a 3.7 mile roundtrip hike (unless you start from the Visitor Center like I did, in that case it’s about 5 miles roundtrip) that can be a little difficult, especially for people afraid of heights. You start the trail within the canyon between the mesas but you eventually reach the end of the canyon.

At this point, you have to scale the mesa wall to get up top, which sounds harder than it actually is. Once up top enjoy the wonderful views of the surrounding Colorado Plateau landscape. You’ll see the famous Chimney Rock, the Tusas Mountains, the Jemez Mountains, and the peak that Georgia O’keeffe called her own, Cerro Pedernal. She said of the butte looking peak, “God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.” Thankfully, it did not go with her into the afterlife.

Another very prominent feature I could not find the name of but surely has one, is what I termed the Shark Fin. Let me know if you have the name and I’ll cite you.

There are three other trails at Ghost Ranch including Box Canyon Trail (4 miles Roundtrip), Matrimonial Mesa Trail (up to 2 miles), Chimney Rock Trail (3 miles Roundtrip), & the Camposanto Trail to the Sacred Wall. You can also rent kayaks and canoes. The campground is open from May to Late October as well. There’s plenty to do at Ghost Ranch, clearly!

The pictures below show the steep ascent and descent of the mesa wall.

Also nearby is the very cool Colorado Plateau style alcove known as Echo Amphitheater. If it were in Utah, it would most certainly be filled with Anasazi / Ancestral Puebloan ruins, but here, it’s just a great geological feature to admire.

And don’t forget to check out the Ghost Ranch Museums with their focus on the archaeological past, the paleontological past, and it’s cinematic past!