What a 1985 Map Did to the Rail Trail South of Eldorado

"We couldn't follow the railway in all sections, so there is wonderful scenic variety, including beautiful views of Galisteo Basin," Santa Fe County project manager Dan Anderson said when the county announced the newest piece of the Santa Fe Rail Trail this spring.

He was talking about hills. The tracks run straight, and the hills along them do not. The same stretch also ran into a problem the topography had nothing to do with. Part of it was graded onto land the county didn't hold, because a 1985 map showed the railroad corridor as twice as wide as it actually was in places. That error took months to fix. Fixing it cost $19,000. As of early October 2026, the trail is fully open again.

If you walk, bike or ride the Rail Trail from Eldorado, the reopening matters for a simple reason. The trail exists because of easements, and its newest section only goes all the way through because one more easement was signed after it was built.

The segment, in plain numbers

Segment #6 picks up where Segment #5 ends at Spur Ranch Road and runs south to the new Cerro Alto Trailhead on US 285.

• Length: 1.78 miles, built to Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards
• Climb: about 400 feet of elevation gain, with the grade held to a maximum of five percent the whole way
• Surface: crusher fines, per the county's bid specifications
• Trailhead: Cerro Alto, 28531 US Hwy 285 in Lamy, with ADA parking, room for horse trailers and a concrete gathering area
• Getting in: the turn for the lot comes right after the railroad tracks on the southbound side of 285

Instead of a masonry block wall, the county stacked boulders to stabilize the slope, which keeps the cut looking like the hillside around it. The trail was graded wider than usual to meet ADA requirements, and the disturbed ground on either side is being reseeded. Shade structures and picnic tables are listed as possible future additions "as funding allows," so for now, bring your own water and shade.

The county held the ribbon cutting at Cerro Alto on April 7, 2026.

How a trail gets built on someone else's corner

The Rail Trail has always depended on permission. The county's history of the corridor reads like a list of permissions.

1. 1997. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway grants the county its first easement along the tracks.
2. Mid-2000s. A second easement follows.
3. 2009. The New Mexico Department of Transportation grants the county a "permanent" trail easement inside what everyone understood to be a 200-foot railroad right of way, formerly owned by Santa Fe Southern Railway.
4. Winter 2025–26. Contractors grade Segment #6 inside what they believe is that corridor.
5. Early 2026. NMDOT tells the county that parts of the right of way in Segment #6 are only 100 feet wide.

According to an NMDOT spokesperson quoted by the Santa Fe New Mexican, the discrepancy started with a 1985 map. That map was later used instead of other property descriptions when the land was deeded to the department. A county spokesperson called the 100-foot width an "anomaly," since railroad rights of way generally run 200 feet.

The land involved was small. It was a corner of a ranch in the Lamy area, where a fence had been knocked down during grading. The county acknowledged the error, closed the affected portion of the trail while a resolution was pending, and opened talks for a public trail easement.

What it cost, measured against what it built

The county's first offer was $4,200 for the corner. The final payment was $19,000. The follow-up report said the payment reflected attorney fees, surveying costs and fence replacement. County officials confirmed the figure. The county commission's September 29, 2026 agenda listed "Real Property Acquisition or Condemnation for Santa Fe Rail Trail, Segment 6" for executive session, and the New Mexican's follow-up ran on October 3.

Compare that with the cost of the segment itself. Segment #6 was paid for with a $678,128 federal Department of Commerce grant, a $500,000 Outdoor Recreation Trails+ grant from the state's Outdoor Recreation Division, $371,397 from the Lodger's Tax Fund and $1,641,055 in capital outlay general tax funds. That adds up to roughly $3.19 million for 1.78 miles plus a trailhead. The easement came to about six-tenths of one percent of that. It was the smallest line item in the project, and it was the one that kept the trail from being continuous.

"There's not many situations where that would happen, so I don't know if we can learn much from this, except that maybe we should check more," County Commissioner Hank Hughes told the New Mexican.

The corridor still belongs to a working railroad

The trail doesn't have this corridor to itself. It follows the historic ATSF line, which the county describes as still in use, and anyone on the trail may see a train go by. Sky Railway runs excursions between the Railyard and Lamy. Its current owners bought the former Santa Fe Southern equipment in 2020 and relaunched service in 2021.

Responsibility for the trail is split, too. The City of Santa Fe manages the stretch from Railyard Park to the I-25 overpass near Rabbit Road. Santa Fe County manages the remaining 12.5 miles south to Lamy. The trail also ties into the east-west Hondo Trail system, which the county says connects toward the 599 Rail Runner depot through the Community College District.

The trail doesn't reach Lamy yet, either. The county says one major segment is still to be built, from Segment #6 to the Lamy Train Station, which would make the Rail Trail a "depot to depot" route. For now, the official south end is Cerro Alto. That last link will cross the same corridor that produced the 1985 map problem.

Where open space gets decided closer to home

Next week Eldorado has its own open-space conversation, about land that's even closer to home. On October 15 at 5:30 p.m., the ECIA Open Space Management Committee is holding a Listening Town Hall at the Community Center Ramada. The committee wants members' questions and concerns about the greenbelts, the Preserve, wildfire, erosion, restoration and process. The October Vistas newsletter says it's a listening session, not a decision-making meeting, meant to help the committee understand "the values that should guide future recommendations."

The greenbelts and the Rail Trail raise the same practical question. Someone has to know where the edges are, who holds them, and who maintains what's inside them.

A fall calendar along the line

Here's how the trail, the train and Eldorado's calendar line up for the rest of the season:

Sky Railway's calendar is the place to check for any November departures, which weren't confirmed when this was written.

Before or after a walk, the Agora Shopping Center at 7 Avenida Vista Grande in Eldorado has two places to eat. Eldorado Coffee Corral, in Suite D6, serves coffee, pastries, breakfast and bagels Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fable Restaurant & Market in the same center serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Its market sells house-made food, produce and grab-and-go dinners. In the other direction, Legal Tender in Lamy has live music on its calendar into December.

Segment #6 was held up because a 1985 map didn't match the corridor's real width, and the kind of right-of-way question behind that delay can also come up on rural land around Santa Fe. If you own acreage along a railroad, highway or trail corridor, or you're thinking about buying some, Michael Sanford is glad to walk the boundary with you, pull the surveys and go through the recorded easements before anything is signed. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.