Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site Trails

Dog-welcoming Seminole Canyon State Park is a supawrb destination for spending some time outdoors, while learning about the geology of the area and the history of people who lived there thousands of years ago. Hiking the trails here are a pawsome way to experience this strikingly beautiful terrain.

Seminole Canyon State Park is a desert habitat, with cacti and scrub providing the only vegetation, although desert wildflowers appear periodically through the year. Wildlife abounds, especially birds who serenade as you walk. Snakes, lizards, mountain lions and other desert denizens make appearances from time to time, and the best strategy is to stand still or back away slowly to avoid confrontations. As park rules state: do not feed any wild animals that you may encounter!

Parking lots are provided near most of the park's trailheads, along with restrooms, picnic areas and shelters. Water is not provided, so it's impawtant to bring enough for you and your fur-baby. Scenic overlooks are everywhere and they afford viewing of wildlife, bird-watching and picturesque vistas of rivers and cliffs.

The Canyon Rim Trail is a pupular hiking excursion here, and is only accessible with a guide for a small additional fee. Please be aware that there is no route to the canyon floor. Stay on the marked trails for your's and Fido's safety. Interactive signage will tell you what you're looking at, including vegetation and markings in cliff faces that tell the area's story. Views of the Rio Grande are puptastic, as well as the creek at the bottom of Seminole Canyon, whose water comes only by springs  and rainfall.

The Presa Overlook Trail is only about a half-mile, but its overlook into both the Presa and Seminole Canyons is unfurgettable. The Canyon Rim Trail requires a challenging 900-foot climb, and it follows the rims of the Rio Grande Corridor, as well as Seminole Canyon's rim. Panther Cave is one of the places where you'll find pictographs of cats and people dressed as cats, and in the natural shelters that line the canyon walls. 

There's also the ADA Birding Trail, Middle Fork Trail, Rio Grande Trail, and the Windmill Nature Trail, so there are plenty of ways to travel in this puptastic park.

There is an abundance of rich history and sights of geological phenomenon at the Seminole Canyon, and a hike on one of its trails is a pawrfect way to see it all!