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El Calderon Trail being renovated to make it more accessible
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The bat flight hikes and the trail at El Calderon area will be on hiatus for 10 months while one of the most scenic trails in El Malpais National Monument is redone to make it more accessible.
El Calderon trailhead will be closed for about 10 months to make it happen, according to an email from park ranger Sarah Puckette. The trail and parking area will close Monday, Aug. 11. The area is where ranger-led bat viewing hikes occur. The last evening bat viewing hike was scheduled for Aug. 9.
During the closure, visitors can visit the north and west side of the badlands during the daylight from other areas, including the Zuni-Acoma Trail on New Mexico 53. National Park Service Road 100 is scheduled to remain open for local traffic; the Continental Divide Trail will remain open for thru-hikers.
The area is scheduled to reopen May 2026 after the construction project that includes improving the first three-fourths of a mile of the trail to bring it within Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) standards. It will be the first ABA-accessible trail in the monument, the email said. The project includes ramps, railings and benches.
“These improvements will make the park’s rocky lava landscape more accessible for all visitors and provide them the opportunity to easily look inside a lava tube cave,” Puckette said in the email.
