La Cueva Rock Shelter

The La Cueva Rocks Trail is a 0.4-mile-long trail one-way leading to an archeologically significant cave. This trail is located in the Organ Mountains Wilderness Area near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Parking for is located at the La Cueva Picnic Area, off the east end of Dripping Springs Road. There is a $5 day use fee for the Picnic Area.

The trail is relatively easy with some rocky sections. The trail provides nice views of the La Cueva Rock Formation and the Organ Mountains. The trail ends at La Cueva (The Cave), a shelter area under the La Cueva Rock Formation. You can enter the cave and see the black soot on the ceiling from thousands of years of campfires. The shelter has been used since nearly 5000 BC and around 100,000 artifacts have been recovered from the site. In the 1860s, the cave was reportedly home to Giovanni Maria Agotini who was known as "El Ermitano," the Hermit.