Sugarite Canyon State Park
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manager's residence.The 40-stall barn once housed mules that were used in the coal mines. In the winter, many of the trails are open for cross-country skiing. Other winter activities include tubing, ice skating, and ice fishing. In Colorado, an additional 5,40Gacre tract has been set aside for recreational use lies just north of the park. About 2 miles north of the border, Sugarite (formerly Ra- ton) Ski Basin and lodge offer beginner and advanced downhill skiing. Wildlife abounds in SugariteCanyon State t\- t-__r Park. Visitors frequently see elk, mule deer, L--j + Sugarite canyon State Park ouaternary ffitatrs Facilities SugariteCanyon StatePark, once the site ffi Artificialfill (coatwaste piles) of a thriving coal-miningcamp, is one of the Most of the visitors to Sugarite Canyon Tertiaryand Cretaceous newest parks in the New Mexico State Park State Park are fishermen.Two lakes in the and RecreationDivision. It was established statepark, Lake Alice and Lake Maloya, are l-Tb-'lBasatt as a state park in 1985,but the canyon has stockedperiodically with cutthroatand rain- lTpclPoison Canyon Formation beena recreationalattraction in northeastern bow trout by the New Mexico Gameand Fish New Mexico for decades.Sugarite Canyon Department. A third lake across the border Raton Formation StatePark is locatedabout 5 miles northeast in Colorado, Lake Dorothy, is open for fish- Tru-upper unit (Tertiary) of Raton via NM-72 and NM-525 (paved). ing as well. Boatsare allowed on Lake Ma- Krl-lower unit (Cretaceous) The elevationin the park rangesfrom about loya, the largest of the lakes where a boat TrinrdadSandstone 5,900 ft to 8,400 ft. This heavily wooded ramp is available; however, gasoline-pow- mountain park has somethingfoi everyone ered boatsare prohibited. l- Kp-lPierreShate yearround. More than 55,000visitors in 1988 Other facilities in the park include nu- enjoyed activities ranging from hiking, merous hiking trails, interpretative trails y"." camping, picnicking, and fishing to cross- S"1..r!t ,oo through the ruins of the old settlement of -'7 country skiing. This is one of the few state Sugarite, two campgrounds with restrooms Riue, parks in New Mexico that allows seasonal and RV hookups, a group shelter, and the bow hunting. At the visitor's center,which visitor's center. The visitor's center is the ,/aoaa is located in the old U.S.PostOffice, manv newly restored Post Office of old Sugarite ^ Ruinsor buildinqs historical displays are under construi- (Fig. 1). A short distancenorth of the post of Sugarite tion,including a mockup of a coal mine. Trails office is a stonebarn and a house, now uti- R Mine are maintained through the ruins of the set- lized by the State Park and Recreation Di- tlement and past coal dumps and mines. vision as a shop and warehouseand the park ,r Adit FIGURE l-Restored Post Office, now the park visitor,s center. The coal FIGURE 2-View near Soda Pocket campground looking to the south down mines and ruins of the town of Sugarite lie behind the building. Sugarite Canyon. May 1990 Nat Mexim Geology { ol Barela j M€sa ;3 I r landslides prcn rc t { stles I -"i prcnrc srtes \ -u\\/ A-- 85p0* ;{ i \ I \ ; \ 3 l-t _4,, Y I .:Ttt i. \ ufper ,- flow .*, .j -1ii .it i ,,,1,,J Tb . ., l, -:l '... .' i a. .r; lforse za$.. t ._,- r.". \ --^- ,,1|"'$ro, f:1,ru landslides *ri prc Tb s{ +8153 I:,ke Nt( $t *-f ,x:$ij Bartlclt Mcsa +8128 Sug!rite ;'"3?,il3i,l'ot No1 landslides i i Tru '1r Meredrth ) Hartselt o Kp o ! a Tru o landslides &tutn K-T site FIGURE 3-Geologic map of Sugarite Canyon State Park (by C. H. Pillmore from Scott and Pillmore, 1989) New Mexico Geology May l99J coyote, raccoon, squirrel, chipmunk, and the Maxwell Land Grant consistedof about SugariteNo. 1 and 2 mines in 1901and 1902. small rodents. Mammals such as the gray 2,680 mi': by 7866 (Kelehea 1984; Pearson, Productionwas low during the first few years. fox, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, mink, 1961).Maxwell sold the grant to an English The Chicarica Coal Company began produc- badger, and beaver also live in the park. Nu- svndicate in 1870. and the Maxwell Land tion in 1910or 1911.The St. Louis and Rocky merous amphibians and reptiles are found Grant and Railway Company was formed Mountain Coal Company took over opera- in Sugarite. The visitor should be especially (Laurie, 1976). Anti-grant sentiment was tions in 1912.A railroad line, initially con- careful of rattlesnakes and scorpions in the basedon land-ownershipdisputes between structed in 1905to Lake Alice, was cut back ruins. Numerous species of birds including settlersand the company.In 1880,the com- to the town of Sugaritein 1911(Scott, 1986) the golden eagle and wild turkey also can be pany went bankrupt and reorganizedunder and used to transport coal to Raton for do- seen. a group of Dutch investors.Ownership dis- mestic heat and to drive the train engines. Grassland meadows occur in places putes increased, erupting into the Colfax ln 1912. the mine on the east side of the throughout the canyon, on top of the mesas, County War. Finally, in 1887,the U.S. Su- canyon was opened. and on benches that formed on top of land- preme Court ruled in favor of the company. The Sugarite coal camp was establishedin slides similar to the one on the east side of The settlers, about 600 people with about 1908and was one of the last areas in the Bartlett Mesa where Soda Pocket camp- 65,000head of cattle, 3,600horses, 16,000 Ratoncoal field to be developed.Immigrants ground is located. The benches and slopes sheep,and 2,000goats (Pearson,1961), either from Europe and fapan settledin Sugarite, in Sugarite Canyon are covered with Gambel left or purchasedland from the company. which became known as one of the more oak, ponderosa pine, New Mexico locust; ju- Meanwhile, the town of Raton, estab- pleasant coal camps in the area with its niper and pinon pine (Fig. 2). A mixed con- lished in 1879,continued to grow. One of mountain settingand running stream.How- ifer forest is found in the wetter sites along the major concernsof the townspeoplewas ever, the population never exceeded1,000 north-facing slopes of the canyon and higher a reliable water supply. The Santa Fe Rail- people. The camp (Fig. a) included a mer- mesas. Douglas fir, white fir, ponderosa pine, road, at that time the largestuser of water, cantile store, schoolhouse, post office, and juniper and various shrubs grow in these built the first waterworks on Bartlett Mesa community center. Only the Post Office and areas where snow tends to remain longer. west of Sugarite Canyon and piped water the mule barn still remain intact at the site. Riparian vegetation is confined to the wa- into town. By 1891,additional water was re- After the coal mines closedinl942, the build- tercourses and includes cottonwood, willow, quired bv both the town and the railroad,so ings were either abandoned or moved to Ra- New Mexico locust, chokecherry and other Sugarite-Canyonwas selectedfor water de- ton. The railroad was abandoned in 1944 shrubs, and cattails. velopment.Lake Alice and laterLake Maloya (Scott, 1985), marking the end of another Sugarite is believed to be the anglicized and Lake Dorothy were added as reservoirs mining town in northern New Mexico. version of Chicarica, the original name of the for Raton'swater supply.The lakesalso sup- The City of Raton establisheda municipal canyon and adjacent mesa. Chicarica is de- plied the town with ice in the winter. The park in Sugarite Canyon, including the 5,400 rived from either the Spanish name, chicory, Raton waterworks project was one of the first acres in Colorado, in order to protect the for the wild endive plant growing in the can- systemsbuilt in the territory of New Meico watershed. Only the 3,600-acretract in New yon or from the Comanche or Ute name for and is still in operationtoday, supplying much Mexico (Fig. 3) makes up the state park; the a species of spotted bird which lived in the of Raton'swater. Colorado tract, including Lake Dorothy, is canyon (Pearce, 1965; Keleher, 79U). One of the main reasonsfor the presence currently part of the Lake Dorothy State of the railroad in the Raton areawas the dis- Wildlife Area administered by the State of History covery of vastquantities of coal.The Hartsell Colorado.Sugarite Ski Basin(formerly Raton a baseelevation of about 8,000 Folsom man and various Indian groups, mine (Fig. 3) was worked from 1894to 1899. Ski Basin),at 2 mi northeast of the border including the Apaches, Moache Utes, The Meredith mine was alsoworked prior to ft, lies about Jicarilla is and operated by descendants and Comanches, occupied and/or traveled 1900.The Raton Fuel Company opened the and owned through Chicarica Canyon, now known as Sugarite Canyon. Later, Spanish explorers, mountain men, trappers, and traders trav- eled through the canyon using this route through the rugged mountains separating the Rio Grande, Canadian, and Arkansas Rivers as an alternative to Raton Pass. However, settlement was slow in coming to Sugarite Canyon and the surrounding area because of Indian conflicts and land-ownership dis- putes between settlers and the owners of the Maxwell Land Grant. Extreme winter con- ditions and the rugged mountain terrain dis- couraged the first settlers. By the 1870's, most of the Indians were restricted to reserva- tions, and newcomers began to settle in the Sugarite area. Sugarite Canyon was once part of the Max- well Land Grant (Fig.