On Monday February 28, the Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities began a construction project on the Pueblo Canyon Road at the low-water crossing just east of the the old Bayo Wastewater Treatment Plant (see map below). The road at the crossing will be closed to all public use from February 28 to around mid-June. Construction will take place along the floodplain.
The closure affects trail users coming down the Bayo Canyon and Pueblo Canyon trails and those heading west along the access road that begins at the highway yard at the New Mexico Highway 4/502 interchange.
A trail detour route has been marked that stays outside the construction zone. The detour permits trail users heading west along the access road to skirt around the work area and it serves as a way to connect the Bayo and Pueblo Canyon trails.
Watch for trail detour signs posted along the roads near where the construction zone begins. The routes are marked with orange flagging tied to trees and shrubs. The route isn't very fancy, but it has been located to avoid overhanging brush. The surface is rough, rocky and not maintained. There is a crossing of the outflow from the wastewater treatment plant that requires a long step or a short jump. The route won't appeal to mountain bikers, but it does keep the trail network in the canyon open for use.
Any idea on when the "bridge" by the 18th green will be completed?
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5 March 2011
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Cool weather is perfect for a loop hike made in part by taking the *new* Knapp Trail to the Quemazon Trail. I started from the Ice Rink, walked toward the overflow parking area, and took a trail through the woods to the entrance of the dirt service road to the Los Alamos Canyon Reservoir. Walk past the (empty) Reservoir to find the road become an obvious trail -- the start of the Knapp Trail. The Knapp follows the canyon bottom for awhile before ascending toward the Quemazon Trail along freshly-cut switchbacks. Walk carefully and forgive the often loose and off-camber tread of this new portion that might see a few more seasons of work. You'll reach the Quemazon Trail soon enough at its crest near its intersection with Pipeline for spectacular views to the south and east. At the Quemazon TH, find the signed entrance to the Devaney-Longmmire Trail by walking right (roughly south) with the backyards of neighborhood homes to your left. A quick series of switchbacks return you to the bottom of Los Alamos Canyon, where you'll spot across the road a wooden footbridge and a path that returns you to the Ice Rink and your car.
As of Saturday 5 March, the entire loop was free of downfall.
Bridge on the Walnut Canyon Rim Trail is community service project that will be completed as soon as the ground thaws and dries out, certainly by mid-April.
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