Pajarito Trails Initiative Briefing Sheet

 

Mission Overview

The Pajarito Trails Initiative (pajaritotrails.blogspot.com) is an effort by Places & Spaces Los Alamos to foster a collective identity and better promote the extraordinary trail systems and outdoor-focused activities on the Pajarito Plateau and in the eastern Jemez Mountains. The initiative recognizes that this landscape is a mosaic of different jurisdictions and focuses on six interconnected trail systems in the area: Los Alamos County, LANL, the Santa Fe National Forest (on the Plateau and in the eastern Jemez), Bandelier, Valles Caldera, and Pajarito Mountain Ski Area.

Strategies & Key Projects

We are pursuing our mission through four core strategies: Collaboration, Stewardship, Connectivity, and State/National Recognition.

● Pajarito Trails Series (Collaboration, Connectivity, & Stewardship) The Series is a primary vehicle for engaging stakeholders—including event/activity hosts, recreation groups, land managers, and businesses—to develop a cohesive identity. By creating a unified identity and calendar for trail-related events and activities, we aim to support individual event/activity marketing, reduce scheduling conflicts, and foster a stronger sense of local stewardship while giving the community a one-stop calendar of outdoor happenings. This effort envisions transforming a collection of separate activities into a recognizable, year-round outdoor culture.

● National Recreation Trail (NRT) Designation (National Recognition) This project seeks official NRT designation for the Los Alamos County Trail System. This project is a vanguard that is intended to inspire the other trail systems. Designation provides federal recognition, improves eligibility for recreation grants, improves local appreciation for what we have, and can boost visitation from National status.

● The AllTrails Partnership (Stewardship) PSLA has established a formal partnership with AllTrails.com to utilize the platform as a proactive stewardship tool. This project involves correcting and enhancing AllTrails data in our area of interest to influence visitor flow, protect sensitive resources, and provide accurate trail-condition information across the Plateau's jurisdictional mosaic.

● Regional Connectivity (Collaboration, Connectivity, State Recognition, & Stewardship) We are actively developing an application for a formal connection between our local trail system and the Rio Grande Trail, integrating the Pajarito Plateau into the broader state-wide trail infrastructure. Rio Grande Trail Background - Rio-Buckman Reach Application(Draft) Application

● Sky Island Circuit (Connectivity) Development of an ArcGIS StoryMap that tells the unique historical, ecological, and topographical story of our area landscape And suggest that we have a “circuit” of equal stature to more famous “circles.”