Starting January 23, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be repairing and resurfacing the dirt road leading to Soledad Canyon Day Use Area and the parking lot to Bar Canyon Trail. The work to be done will require the BLM to impose a partial closure of the dirt road and parking lot from January 23 to 27, with a full closure from January 30 to February 3. The closures will not affect the residents located off the dirt road.
With the partial closure, the public will still be able to access the Soledad Canyon, while the work is being done on portions of the road and parking lot. However, with the full closure, the public will not be able to drive on the dirt road or park in the lot because large trucks will be delivering new dirt and heavy equipment will be spreading the dirt to resurface the road and parking lot.
During the road work, the public will still be able to access to Soledad Canyon by parking at the Sierra Vista Trail parking lot (off the paved portion of Soledad Canyon Road) located about a mile and a half away, and carefully hiking around the construction zone.
As part of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, Soledad Canyon is a popular hiking area with local and out-of-town visitors. Over the past year, the rain and run-off have eroded the road and parking lot. The BLM’s objective is to maintain the area’s infrastructure, ensuring the visitor experience to Soledad Canyon continues to be enjoyable and top-notch.
For more information on the project’s schedule, please contact the BLM Las Cruces District Office at 575-525-4300.