An oasis amid dusty tablelands, it is the tallest of the mostly rolling San Mateo Mountains. Anglo settlers christened it Mount Taylor after Gen. Zachary Taylor. The area is hardly the most remote in the state. Roads and a cluster of radio towers form part of the view from the top. But its low levels of use, its unusual terrain and the sheer scope of its views make Mount Taylor one of the nicest dayhikes within driving distance of Albuquerque.
Few people use the trail to the top of Mount Taylor.
The trail is not blazed, but it is well-defined throughout. It begins at about 9,200 feet in a cool grove of aspens whose trunks are scarred with decades of names. The path lifts up immediately into the forest, and after about half a mile descends into a green meadow pocked with cow pies. In mid-May, water was trickling through a rivulet that is apparently fed by Gooseberry Spring. The cow pies suggest that, if forced to drink this water, you should treat it first.