We stumbled upon Geronimo’s Cave near Radium Springs, New Mexico purely by chance. Our new friends whom we met at White Sands National Park told us about some cool slot canyons and caves in the area. Since it was on our way home from our road trip to Carlsbad Caverns, we decided to check out the cave. Little did we know, it was such an exciting adventure. The trail and the cave were a lot more interesting than we thought!
Geronimo’s Cave Trail doesn’t have any trail markers or signages. To say that it’s close to civilization, it seems quite remote for that. But you could see houses and buildings from the trail. We’d also seen animal bones and freshly eaten animal parts on this trail. Therefore, make sure to hike with caution.
Note: Please make sure to respect this beautiful place and the surrounding areas. Always practice LEAVE NO TRACE. This means no loud music, no graffiti, no taking artifacts or fossilized items, and pack out what you pack in! Please help us protect this place for generations to come!
Stats
Where
Parking:
32.463861, -106.903278
Junction to go up the hill:
32.464039, -106.904628
Geronimo Cave:
32.456918, -106.918067
Parking
Big dirt field for parking
Restroom
There is no restroom
Fee
Free
Distance
About 2.5 miles R.T.
Elevation Gain
557 ft
Level
Moderate.
Time:
1.5 – 2.5 hours
Pet-friendly
You can bring your pet, but they have to be on leashed.
Ideal Time
The best times to visit this trail are December through April. There are no shades so it can get very warm during a hot day.
Weather
Video
Getting There
Geronimo’s Cave is located in the Robledo Mountains Wilderness Study Area, near Radium Springs, New Mexico. We put the coordinates for the parking area above. The parking area is just a big dirt field on the right. There aren’t any signages here so make sure to use the coordinates we provided above.
The Adventure
Crossing Over the River
After parking, we headed toward the tree line down to the Rio Grande River. Depending on when you’re doing this hike, you might have to cross over water. When we went, the river was bone dry. However, it might be flowing too much. If that’s the case, make your best decision whether it’s safe to cross or not. Once we crossed over the riverbed, we got a bit lost here. We were using the trail map on Alltrails and it got a bit confusing. What you want to do once you get to the other side of the river is to find the first opening in the tree line and cut across.
Getting to the Wooden Post
Once we left the dense tree cover, we got to a defined trail on the other side. From this trail, go right for about 50ft to a junction. At this junction, followed the smaller trail to go left, up the hill. You should see a pile of rocks, marking the way. And if you look carefully up the hill, you should see a wooden post, as seen in the picture below. This wooden post can blend in with the surrounding dirt so make sure to keep an eye out for it. If you find this post, you’re on the right track.
Along the Ridgeline
The longer we followed this small trail up the hill, the more it became defined. Once we got on top of the ridgeline, it was super easy to follow the trail to Geronimo’s Cave. The dirt trail runs along the ridgeline as it curves toward the mountain. This part of the trail is easy with a gentle uphill. The view was quite beautiful with the ocotillos dotted along the way. There weren’t any shades along the trail, but since we went later in the day, it was quite pleasant. Make sure you bring sunscreens if you’re attempting this hike.
As we mentioned above, even though we could see houses and buildings from the Geronimo’s Cave trail, for some reason, it felt quite remote. Maybe it was because we were the only hikers on the trail or the fact that we spotted multiple bones and animal body parts along the way. Either way, we didn’t take our time as we usually did and were extra aware as we hiked along.
Veering to the Right
From the ridgeline, we could see Geronimo’s Cave in the distance. It was quite small from here that we weren’t sure that that was it. About 0.8 miles, the trail veered right to head up the hill. At this point, the trail got a lot steeper and also rockier. After the steep hill, the trail curved around the corner and voila, we saw an opening in the rock.
Geronimo’s Cave
Once we got closer, Geronimo’s Cave became more impressive than we thought. It looked so tiny from far away that we didn’t expect much. The cave was pretty cool when we got closer. If you’re planning to explore the cave, bring a headlamp or flashlights. Apparently, you can go in quite a bit. However, once we realized that the cave’s walls were full of crawling spiders, we got out of there quite fast…
If you’re brave enough, feel free to explore to your heart’s content. Once you’re done, go back the same way you came from. As for us, due to the spiders, the potential big cat lurking and we were losing sunlight, we didn’t stay that long. Now, if you love cave, check out the Carlsbad Caverns! You won’t be disappointed. They have the Big Room self-guided tour and the ranger lead tour for the King’s Palace. Both are awesome!
These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
adventure gear
This is our favourite hiking shoes. We use them for canyoneering as well. Lots of traction. Vy’s version.
Dustin’s version for La Sportiva shoes
Make sure to use lots of sunscreens! We use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, Stream2Sea SPF 30.
Face sunscreen is also important. We love these tinted, organic All Good Organic Sunscreen Butter.
You should always bring plenty of water. Vy loves the Camelback L.U.X.E.
For shorter hikes, the Patagonia Women’s Nine Trails Pack 18L is perfect to hold water and your essentials.
If you want something lighter, we love the packable Patagonia Women’s Houdini® Jacket and Patagonia Men’s Houdini® Jacket
other things to bring
Always good to bring some snacks with you. For healthy and easy snacks, check out some of our recipes.
camera gear
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