Getting Oriented
Twenty miles northeast of Carlsbad, the Chihuahuan Desert flats of Eddy County break into more than 55,000 acres of stabilized dunes, cliffs, and arroyo-cut hills that the BLM's Carlsbad Field Office manages as an intensive-use OHV area. This is working land as much as riding country. Hackberry Lake sits in the Permian Basin oil patch, with private property and oilfield facilities mixed in with the public land throughout, so lease traffic shares the same county roads that reach the trails.
There are no day-use fees, the area stays open year-round with a 7-day camping limit, and two developed staging areas anchor the trail network, both with vault toilets and shaded picnic sites.
Trail Overview
What varies across those 55,000 acres is the soil under the wheels. Routes run shallow, rocky loam over the low hills, then drop into deep alluvial soil cut with pockets of sand, crossing small draws and following the bottoms of deep arroyos. The trail system packs in constant turns and steep hill climbs, and a separate sand dune complex holds the open riding. Nothing here demands a rock crawler; momentum, throttle control, and comfort in soft sand decide which lines go. The BLM's trail-system map shows the network and both staging areas.
The Desert Rough Riders Club runs its annual Carlsbad 100 Desert Race across more than 44 miles of the area's public land; the New Mexico Desert Racing Club posts schedules. Competitive events like it need a Special Recreation Use Permit from the field office, but ordinary riding requires no permit at all.
Points of Interest
- Hackberry Lake OHV Staging Area. The most-used entry point, reached from CR 222 (Shugart Road), with a vault toilet, an information kiosk, and 10 picnic sites under shade shelters. Toilets are accessible and the picnic tables sit on concrete pads.
- Hackberry Sand Dunes Complex. A second staging area serving the dunes, with a vault toilet, a group shelter, and 8 picnic sites.
- The dune complex. The area's open-sand centerpiece. Reaching the good bowls means riding across changing, drifted terrain shared with other machines.
- Carlsbad 100 course. More than 44 miles of desert race line threading the area's hills and draws, run competitively once a year.
Where to Camp
Camping is primitive and free, capped at 7 days. Both staging areas double as camps with vault toilets and picnic shelters; neither has drinking water or hookups. Quiet hours run 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., pets belong on a 6-foot leash, and fireworks and firearms are prohibited in the campground. For a developed campground with utilities, Brantley Lake State Park sits north of Carlsbad off US 285.
Tips for a Safe and Enjoyable Trip
- Watch for oilfield trucks and heavy equipment on area roads; the leases threaded through the public land are active, and the BLM tells visitors to ride with caution around them.
- Carry all the water the trip needs. None is available on site, and summer highs in this corner of New Mexico routinely pass 100°F.
- Rattlesnakes turn up in the warm months; give them room.
- Crest dunes and blind hill climbs slowly the first time. The back side is often steeper than the approach, and the dunes carry traffic in every direction.
- Check conditions and event dates with the BLM Carlsbad Field Office at 575-234-5972 before a long drive out.
Fuel and Water
Carlsbad, about 20 miles southwest, has the last fuel and supplies. Nothing is sold at the area, and the staging areas offer vault toilets only, with no drinking water. Top off tanks and water jugs in town.
Nearby
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park lies southwest of Carlsbad off US 62/180.
- Brantley Lake State Park, north of Carlsbad off US 285, has the closest developed campground.
- Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park in Carlsbad covers Chihuahuan Desert plants and wildlife.
- Sitting Bull Falls, a day-use waterfall site in the Lincoln National Forest, sits west of Carlsbad.
