Capulin Mountain National Monument-- NM

I happen to live ONTOP of a volcano. A very long extinct volcano that is now capped with limestone after millions of years of rising & falling sea levels. Below is what the shoreline a few minutes from my house looks like today. The only evidence of a volcano is the colour of the water. The line between light & dark blue is where the depth rapidly drops off from less than 100' deep to 1000s deep in just a few miles.


Click For Full-Size Image.

My brother lives on the side of a tuff cone and it's nearly as high as Capulin, so I can walk up and into a volcanic crater any time I want to visit him. I guess I'm spoiled!

My school secretary recommended a visit to Capulin several years back when we were traveling with our kids in the area. It was a quick stop. I would say we were off and back on the highway in about 90 minutes. The views were great, but my boys were super interested and excited about going up to see a real volcano. They are in their twenties now and still talk about it. Therefore, I guess I would make my decision for stopping on time at hand, my own personal interest level in seeing a volcano, and the people you are traveling with.

The same woman told us we needed to see White Sands on another trip. We stopped and walked around the dunes for about 20 minutes before the boys said, "Can we go now? This is just sand!"

My point is that we will all have our own opinions about nearly any stop along the way.

Agree with PawPaw_n_ Gram that it is a very worthwhile side trip if you are traveling on US 87 between Clayton and Raton. Otherwise, it is quite a way off the Interstate and probably not worth the extra miles. But I am a geologist and it is therefore a very interesting example of a small, but nearly perfect, cinder-cone type of volcano. And, since we meet family from Amarillo at Sugarite Canyon SP every summer, Capulin is very convenient for us to visit.

Just FYI, Sugarite Canyon is one of our favorite SPs in New Mexico, so I would highly recommend it as at least an overnight campground if your do visit Capulin. However, it is very popular in the summer, so you will need reservations and it is probably already full for every weekend this summer.

Capulin is the only complete standalone cinder cone from a volcano that I'm aware of with a road to the top, and a walk down into the crater, at least in the US.

I found it extremely interesting, especially since it is so very different from any of the 'big' volcanic mountians. Well worth a few hours, I'd even like to spend a whole day if we are traveling past it again some time.

But I'm interested in learning the history and how the volcano was created. A lot of 'see the sights' RVers only want to stop for an interesting view and move on quickly.

However, I wouldn't go out of my way for a special trip. If traveling along US-64, we will stop. If on I-25, not worth the side trip unless I have time to kill.

As mentioned - Trailers and large RVs are not allowed on the road to the top.

There is a small, nice RV park in the town of Capulin if you want to spend the night. A couple years ago when we were there, there is not anyplace in Capulin to eat, so if you wanted to go out to dinner, it is about 30 miles to Raton.

The next time we visit Capulin will probably be while camping at New Mexico's Sugarite Canyon SP just outside Raton.

We stopped there a few years ago. Stayed one night. Drove to the top. Got out & walked to the very top. Enjoyed the fabulous view. Spent some time in the visitors center which was well done. Thought the whole thing was well worth the time.

We had time. If you are trying to do a months worth of travel in two weeks maybe better to pass it by for another time.

I guess opinions vary. I do not think Great Sand Dune is worth a stop, especially if you are pressed for time. Capulin depends on what your interests are and the time of year. I would not expect this time of year to be a good time for Capulin everything is still brown. Google Maps has some good photos from both places, so you can decide.

This volcano is inactive, no lava lakes in other words.

Thunder Mountain wrote:
We passed it several times a year "commuting" between Dallas and Estes Park. About ten years ago we we had some time to burn and decided to take the detour up to Capulin. Nice view from the top but not really worth it especially considering you have to unhitch.

Can you see down into the volcano? Is the inside the same as the outside?

We passed it several times a year "commuting" between Dallas and Estes Park. About ten years ago we we had some time to burn and decided to take the detour up to Capulin. Nice view from the top but not really worth it especially considering you have to unhitch.