Topo map USGS South Baldy (NM) Elevation 3,287 m Mountain range Magdalena Mountains | Easiest route road Prominence 1,159 m Parent range Magdalena Mountains | |
Location Socorro County, New Mexico, U.S. Similar Manzano Peak, Chicoma Mountain, Whitewater Baldy, Salinas Peak, Santa Fe Baldy | ||
South Baldy is the highest point of the Magdalena Mountains in central New Mexico, in the United States. It is in the Magdalena Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest, about 9 mi (15 km) south of Magdalena and 18 mi (30 km) west-southwest of Socorro. It lies just north of the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and near the future site of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer.
Map of South Baldy, New Mexico 87825, USA
South Baldy can be accessed easily from the dirt road leading to Langmuir. Alternately, it can be accessed by trail from below. From a campground in Water Canyon (accessed from the northeast side of the range), a trail follows Forest Road 406 and then Trail 10 up Copper Canyon to the main crest of the range, where it joins Trail 8, the North Baldy Trail, which follows the crest. A short hike south on this trail and a little off-trail ascent leads to the summit of South Baldy.
The peak is the site of an annual mountain bike ascent race up the Langmuir Road as part of the Tour of Socorro.
While not of exceptional height for New Mexico mountains, South Baldy is surrounded by low terrain, and hence is a highly visible landmark and the sixth most topographically prominent peak in the state.