Visiting City Of Rocks State Park In Faywood, NM

Our final 10 days in New Mexico were spent in Deming. We didn’t pick Deming because of it being a hotbed of activity (it’s not), but because there was a hotel which was great value when using points, plus it put us within two hours of lots of places we wanted to visit.

One location which was a little closer to Deming than everything else was City of Rocks State Park. That’s about half an hour away in nearby Faywood, so I took a trip up there one afternoon.

About a mile before the entrance there was a gravel parking area on the left which was the trailhead for the Cienega Trail.

From what I could tell, there wasn’t going to be too much to see on the trail (although I might be wrong), so I gave it a miss and continued driving on to the park.

Within about half a mile or so the rock formations of City of Rocks State Park came into view. It was a little strange seeing what looked like a mini city rising up from the flat land around it (albeit with mountains in the background too!)

There was a park employee just outside the entrance of the park taking payment for entry. There was also a table with a leaflet about the park’s geologic history along with a map of the park.

At first I thought that the numbered locations on the map signified rock formations that perhaps had particular names, but in hindsight I think they might designate camping spots in the park.

The reason the employee was presumably set up at the entrance of the park is because the visitor center was closed at the time due to COVID (I visited on April 2, 2021).

Other than the Cienega Trail which I’d passed on the way in, City of Rocks State Park has two trails. There’s the Table Mountain Trail which is a 5.1 mile out and back trail which takes you to the top of Table Mountain and the Hydra Trail which is a 3.6 mile loop trail that takes you around the park and through the rock formations.

I decided to set out on the Hydra Trail which immediately passed by the Desert Botanical Garden.

The trail led up to a set of rock formations which were located further away from the main conglomeration of them in the park.

After walking around that set of formations, I changed my mind about walking the entire length of the Hydra Trail. We’d visited White Sands National Park the day before and I’d gotten too much sun. It was once again very sunny the day I visited City of Rocks State Park and it didn’t look like the trail included any shade in the foreseeable future and I didn’t have a hat on me, so I wasn’t keen on making my already red head a deeper shade of crimson.

Apparently there are some good opportunities to see wildlife on the trail, so it certainly sounds like it’s worth checking out the full Hydra Trail provided you’re prepared to deal with the sun.

I wasn’t feeling that though, so I headed back towards the main set of rock formations and headed along the trail that way.

City of Rocks State Park seemed like a fantastic place to go camping if you’re into that. It’s a very cool setting to set up camp because rather than camping on the perimeter, you get to set up camp among the formations.

Depending on the site you choose, the rocks and trees can provide some much-needed shade in the summer, as well as some protection from the wind and elements when the weather’s not as good.

The park has restrooms with water along with showers, although I think I remember seeing a sign there stating that the showers were closed due to COVID. If you’re considering camping there while the pandemic is still going on, it’d be worth calling City of Rocks State Park to check if that is indeed the case.

The park also has numerous picnic tables, grills and fire pits for you to enjoy.

The biggest draw of the park though is, needless to say, all of the rock formations.

City of Rocks State Park came about as a result of a volcanic eruption 35 million years ago. Over the subsequent millions of years, erosion of the volcanic rock led to the unexpected formations that have been left.

Another great feature of the park is that although there’s a path taking you through the rock formations, you’re allowed to leave the trail and explore the rocks for yourself. That makes it perfect for anyone who likes to go clambering over rocks and will certainly help ensure your kids end the day tired!

To get a better view of the park from above, I climbed up on top of one of the easier-to-ascend rocks to take this panoramic video of the area:

Due to its fairly remote location (City of Rocks State Park is about halfway between Deming and Silver City), the park is a great place to go stargazing thanks to the relative lack of light pollution. In fact, the park has the Gene & Elizabeth Simon Observatory where they hold stargazing events with telescopes.

The observatory has a lot of seating areas, as well as information boards dotted around providing information about planets, constellations, etc.

Final Thoughts

City of Rocks State Park seemed like it would be a great place to go camping, but it was also a nice place to visit as a quick day trip from Deming. It’s a pet-friendly park, although I didn’t bring Truffles with me the day I visited. She was exhausted from our trip to White Sands National Park the day before, so she stayed back at the hotel with Shae.

It’s a family-friendly place to visit and can be a particularly fun place for active kids to explore and climb.

City Of Rocks State Park Fees

At the time of my visit in April 2021, here’s what it cost to visit City of Rocks State Park:

Day Use

• Motor vehicles – $5 per vehicle
• Buses – $15 per vehicle
• Annual pass – $40 per vehicle

Camping (Day Use Fees Included)

• Developed sites – $10 per night
• Developed sites (electric) – $14 per night
• Extra vehicles at campsites – $10 per night per vehicle
• Electric hookup with ACP – $4 per night

Annual Camping Permit

• New Mexico residents – $180 per vehicle
  • Senior (62+) or disabled – $100 per vehicle
• Out-of-state residents – $225 per vehicle

Address

City of Rocks State Park, 327 NM-61, Faywood, NM 88034