Courtesy photo

BY SETH GAYNER
White Rock

Los Alamos has a remarkably active mountain biking and cycling community. For many of us, Valles Caldera is one of the reasons we live here. That’s why the National Park Service’s new General Management Plan deserves our attention.

Under the plan, bicycles will lose access to South Mountain, San Antonio Mountain, the Northwest Rim (VC10/VC11), Indios Creek (VC13), South Valle Toledo (VC09)  and North Valle Toledo (VC14).

These aren’t simply a few miles of singletrack. Many are remote roads or road-like routes that provide access to parts of the Caldera that are otherwise difficult to reach by bicycle. Gravel riders and bikepackers in particular use these roads to explore the backcountry.

This also needs to be viewed alongside the closure of the old pipeline road. The former nine-mile pipeline corridor through the northern Caldera is now closed to all recreational use—including hiking, biking, equestrian use and motor vehicles—as the NPS restores the corridor. That restoration may have legitimate environmental objectives, but it also removes an important way to travel through the northern Caldera.

Now additional bicycle access is being removed from other remote routes.

The NPS says these bicycle restrictions will diversify recreational opportunities and reduce potential conflicts among hikers, equestrians and cyclists. But the agency’s own 2023 annual report described equestrian use as “light,” with just 35 people receiving free equestrian permits that year. Cyclists generally don’t need an individual permit, so there isn’t an equivalent bike count. That makes it reasonable to ask: where is the Valles Caldera-specific evidence showing that significant conflicts on these particular routes justify eliminating bicycle access?

The NPS points to new or relocated trails as offsets. But new mileage isn’t necessarily a substitute for lost access. A new trail in Valle Grande doesn’t replace the ability to ride into a remote part of the Caldera that is now closed to bikes.

Cyclists did raise these concerns during the planning process. Public comments specifically asked that northern bikepacking routes and wider roads remain accessible to bicycles.

None of this means every route must remain open to every user. Restoration, wildlife, safety and legitimate conflicts all matter. But before eliminating established bicycle access, the NPS should demonstrate that the restrictions are necessary and that less restrictive alternatives aren’t adequate.

For the Los Alamos mountain biking and cycling community, this isn’t just about losing a few trails. It’s about whether bicycles will remain a meaningful way to experience the breadth of Valles Caldera—or whether, one route at a time, some of the best places to ride are simply becoming inaccessible.

We should be paying attention.

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