Sep. 2—The newest attraction at Glorieta Adventure Camps is the “High Five Zipline,” a state-of-the-art zip line system. With more than a mile of cable, it offers riders a unique perspective of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
“You’re going over 40 miles an hour on some of the lines,” said camp Executive Director Anthony Scott.
The outdoor adventure-focused camp, on the eastern edge of Santa Fe County, had a rocky couple of years, including an 18-month closure. It is now back to its pre-pandemic numbers, Scott said, adding the new zip line system had a soft opening in April.
He thinks New Mexico’s combination of rich history, beautiful natural landscape and more temperate climate than neighboring Arizona and Texas means the region’s outdoor recreation industry is poised to take off.
“I think there’s tons of room for growth, and we’re excited,” Scott said.
Other business owners and state officials agree.
“It’s just the momentum that we’re seeing, and if you’re already in the business, you’re feeling very optimistic about it,” said Karina Armijo, director of the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Outdoor Recreation Division.
The state division was created in 2019, at a time when eight other states had a similar office. Since then, 15 more have been created.
Optimism about New Mexico’s outdoor recreation industry was captured in a survey the division conducted earlier this summer in partnership with endeavOR, an alliance of outdoor recreation businesses in the state. Of the 105 businesses surveyed in 21 New Mexico counties, nearly 70% said they anticipate growing over the next three years.
For Morning Star Sports — a retail store in Silver City that sells outdoor gear — growth is largely centered on trails, bicycles and career development.
Owner Lynn Mondello, 63, has lived in Silver City for more than 40 years and has run the business for 32 years. She opened a second location five years ago in Truth or Consequences that also services bicycles.
Increased awareness of the Continental Divide Trail passing through Silver City was pivotal, she said. Silver City is designated as a gateway community for the popular trail and sees up to 700 visitors yearly, she added.
Increased interest in biking also has presented opportunities.
Western New Mexico University has an outdoor program that has discussed starting a bicycle mechanics course, which Mondello said would help her business’s growth by developing young people’s interest in outdoor recreation as a career.
Other businesses that participated in the state survey identified trade program development as a need in the industry.
Armijo said meeting this need is in alignment with one of the Outdoor Recreation Division’s long-term goals: not only getting kids outside, but also exposing them to local careers in the outdoor industry. She noted the Outdoor Equity Fund, a grant program the division operates to boost “equitable access to the outdoors” for the state’s young people.
“We have great stories of kids who did the Youth Conservation Corps, and they go off to get a degree in biology, and because they love their community, they’re able to come back and say, ‘Oh, wow, I can be a biologist in New Mexico,’ instead of always thinking that they have to leave here in order to have a good career,” Armijo said.
Businesses also said they could use more support through funding.
“There are lots of grants available for nonprofit organizations, however, for-profit businesses cannot tap into that money,” said Ryan Dudgeon, 39, owner of a Farmington river rafting business called Desert River Guides LLC.
In the past few years, the Outdoor Recreation Division was able to administer a one-time outdoor marketing grant, funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, but it was primarily for nonprofits.
“We saw $1.6 million of ask, and we only had $840,000 to provide. So we know that if we were to have a grant similar to that, the need is out there,” Armijo said, adding if a similar opportunity became available again, she would be a supporter of opening it up to for-profit businesses, too.
Glorieta Adventure Camps was a beneficiary of one of those grants, which it used to create five miles of adaptive-friendly trails. Scott said he’s hoping to add e-bike tours of a trail that lies parallel to the historic Santa Fe Trail, which runs through the camp’s property.
“There’s a rich, rich history in this Glorieta Pass area — Civil War, Spanish colonial, the Indigenous people before that — and so we’d really like to highlight that,” he said.
Armijo noted many outdoor recreation nonprofits are started by business owners, and their nonprofit work often ends up benefiting their business and community through smart and well-rounded outdoor recreation growth.
Cliff Springs LLC owner Les Gaines, 67, of Grants began his trail construction and consultation business two years ago and steadily works with two nonprofits, Cibola Outdoors and Cibola Trail Alliance, which focus on supporting Cibola County’s outdoor recreation and developing multi-use trails.
Gaines’ business and the nonprofits have developed “a unique sustainability plan” for building trails that gives special attention to erosion and environmentally friendly construction.
Gaines said he and the nonprofits have partnered with Headwaters Economics, a Montana-based research firm, to measure trail visitation in Cibola and McKinley counties over the last two years using infrared trail counter technology.
“Headwaters Economics modeled trail use in the region and found nearly 83,000 visits to 140 miles of trails between March and August of 2023, equivalent to 4 in 5 residents using these trails in a six-month period,” the company’s website said.
Another benefit of collaborations between nonprofits and for-profits is the education, awareness and stewardship that both the Outdoor Recreation Division and businesses agreed are necessary for growth: Teaching people how to take care of the outdoors is equally as important as getting them outdoors.
“It’s a difficult balance … but of course, I think it should be the top of the list of how we take care of our lands and how we don’t abuse them,” Gaines said.
Armijo highlighted Enchanted Circle Trails Association, a nonprofit that received a grant from the division to expand its Adopt-a-Trail program, in which it partners with local businesses and organizations to maintain trails in Northern New Mexico and to help spread the message of what it means for the community to take ownership of the trail.
Businesses also have asked the Outdoor Recreation Division to help get the word out.
Armijo said the agency is prepared to support their marketing needs through one-on-one workshops and by connecting them with marketing businesses across the state.
Tourism Santa Fe Director Randy Randall, tasked with spreading the word about the city’s tourism opportunities, said outdoor recreation is a boon for the City Different.
Outdoor activities may not be the reason someone visits Santa Fe for the first time, he said, but after they come here and see how much the area has to offer, “it becomes a strong reason for a repeat visit.”
Armijo said she hopes to conduct the outdoor recreation survey every year to continue giving businesses a way to share their needs and concerns.
“We’re kind of growing with them, so as they’re seeing potential, we’re seeing potential. … I think outdoor recreation is having a really amazing moment, especially in New Mexico, and we’re ready to do what we think works best for the outdoor recreation industry,” Armijo said.
Mondello said, “I think it’s a positive place to put energy … not only for economics, but just for improving quality of life in New Mexico. … Why can’t we have both?”
Gaines said New Mexico residents who want to play a role can “get outdoors.”
He noted this will lead to improved well-being while boosting the local industry — in the form of a new pair of hiking shoes, a backpack, trail resources, a tour guide, a mountain bike and bike services.
Staff writer Carina Julig contributed to this report.
