Middle Fork Casa Falls - DougScottArt.com

Middle Casa Falls

...is 35’ high…!!! …and it is a wonderful hike destination, three and a half miles one way, all on Trail 266.

This 25 footer is a few hundred yards farther upstream…

…and another fine 25’ falls about mile above...

See photos of other nearby Middle Fork Casa Creek waterfalls at the bottom of this page

beta facts:

name- Middle Fork Casa Falls

height- 35 feet high

elevation- 9800 feet

GPS coordinates- ±35°59.848’N 105°29.349’W

flow- a fine perennial trout stream

season- May thru Oct… earlier is best flow… but you may have snow

accommodations- none – Pecos Wilderness

ownership- public – Santa Fe National Forest

access- 3.5 miles on Trail #266

nearest town- Mora is about 15 miles east of here

fun fact- you will see no road signs telling where you are or where you’re driving... I’m told the locals use these for firewood

essay bro:

Middle Fork Rio de la Casa is an extra nice waterfall hike because of the luxury of having Trail 266. It takes you all of the way from your wheels to the falls. Middle Fork is the only one of these “waterfall-filled” Rio de la Casa Forks that does have a trail. The GPS cords for the trailhead is ±36°00.930’N 105°28.307’W

Take County Road B028 from Cleveland, NM to County Road B029. When B029 ends, continue straight on Forest Road 113 to Walker Flats (see map below). This is where the going will get sketchy as I’m told that the locals in this area use forest road signs for firewood… so, you will likely have to go by feel from here. But the good thing is that you are close. Walker Flats is on my topo map below. Please right-click-save-as to have your own updated and correct topo map. Forest Road 113D (see map below) is now good enough for vehicles that are not four-wheel-drive. Lower Casa Trailhead is clean, wide and open. I have had no trouble of any kind leaving my car parked here. This is where I begin my Rio de la Casa waterfall hikes.

This Trailhead is the “blockade” for several old and discontinued forest roads. Take my topo with you and read it carefully as you hike, for there are very few signs here. In your first hundred yards an old road bed heads up the hill to your right. Take your left fork here. Then in another short hundred yards or so, two old roads fork again… as you can see on my topo map below. Take your right-hand fork here. For about a mile and a half, Trail 266 is an old forest road. Check your gps, because Trail 266 turns to your right to become a single-track trail here at gps: ±36°00.196’N 105°27.881’W.

Years ago what used to be Trail 266 became blocked by No Trespassing signs. This new trailhead – “Lower Casa Trailhead” has become the access point for the general public. The “Old Trail 266” and the “New” Trail 266 join at 9186’ elevation and gps point: ±35°59.788’N 105°28.302’W. The “old” Trail 266 is quite wide here. The “new” Trail 266 is narrow here. The forest service has installed a small “arrow” on a post that points back up Trail 266 towards your car. …when you reach this trail junction you are 1.3 miles from Middle Casa Falls.

Middle Casa Falls are not marked in any way. You must know when you are there. One good thing is that you can hear it. It is maybe 40 feet off the trail at gps point: ±35°59.848’N 105°29.349’W. Here you will find this beautiful waterfall pouring down into a deep narrow ravine. This is a wonderful place with amazing beauty. I will return here time and time again.

Solid granite, canyon walls mount up to 1600 feet overhead above you. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see a photo of New Mexico’s “Half Dome.”

Enhanced USGS topo map NORTH IS UP