We didn’t finish exploring the Capulin volcano and hiking one of its trails until 5pm, which was when this national monument closed with no overnight camping options. Fortunately, Sugarite Canyon State Park was only 33 miles away and near to our planned route of travel.

It was Saturday night, so of course the campground was full up, but there was an overflow parking area that allowed camping overnight, so we nabbed one of those. Not ideal, but truly this was a convenient stopover with water and hot showers to boot, a real treat for us. Our plan was just to spend the night, but being a cool, wooded retreat from the New Mexico heat, with two lakes and lots of trails, we decided to extend our stay.

The next day, I asked Rusty to take a short hike with me to Alice Lake, where I hoped we could relax in the shade for the afternoon. But on the way we began to see interpretive signs telling the history of the area. It turns out that this canyon was formerly a thriving coal mining community. So much for our relaxing lakeside afternoon as we transitioned to exploring the trails up and down the canyon walls, marveling at these old ruins and the stories they told.

At its peak in the 1920s, the “town” of Sugarite had a two-room school, a theater, a telephone line, a boarding house, a physician, a justice of the peace, church services and a music teacher. A clubhouse served as the center of activity during the cold winter months, with sponsored cultural programs, a soft drink bar and pool room. There was also the company store, the Blossburg Mercantile Company, where miners (who were paid not in dollars but company script) bought essentials.

At one point, it was said to have had a population of over 500 residents, many of whom hailed from Eastern Europe, Italy, Greece, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Mexico, and even Japan. Though these laborers and their family were surely some of the poorest of U.S. immigrants at that time, this remote little community must have been an amazing place with so many ethnic groups represented.

The remains of many of the buildings dot the mountainside, along with pieces of old cars, metal washtubs, and chimneys. After several decades of coal mining, the community dwindled rapidly through the depression and following years, with many residents moving to the nearby town of Raton. The coal mines began to shut down for good in 1941. In 1944, the railroad that moved the coal and even the post office ceased operations.

Drawn into Sugarite’s history, we stayed another nights and found more trails to hike around Little Horse Mesa at Lake Maloya, right on the border with Colorado. With beautiful overlooks of the lake and canyon, this hike was breathtaking, and gave us quite the workout too.

Sugarite Canyon State Park, we discovered, is one of northeastern New Mexico’s best-kept secrets. A place where the grasslands of the Great Plains meet the forests of the southern Rocky Mountains, it was the perfect destination before heading to the Rio Grande del Norte, where we would begin another adventure!