Los Alamos Canyon Rim Trail follows the edge of the mesa for 2.5 miles, with bridges and overlooks for peering into the canyons. Walkers and bicycle commuters frequent the paved trail, which begins near downtown and heads out among piñon and juniper for views over the Río Grande Valley to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The paved, one-mile Malpais Nature Loop tours through the blackened rock of a lava flow in the Valley of Fires Recreation Area, near Carrizozo, meandering among creased rock slowly being repopulated by yucca and frequented by birds, including cactus wrens and golden eagles.
La Llorona Trail is part of a network that circles the city of Las Cruces. The 4.8-mile paved path shadows the edge of the Río Grande from Run Along Road through newly renovated La Llorona Park and Calle del Norte. It has been designated an official section of the Río Grande Trail, the planned 500-mile trail that traverses the state.