Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / New Mexico / Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Winsor Trail to Lake Katherine and Spirit Lake

Pecos Wilderness, Santa Fe National Forest (Winsor Trailhead, Santa Fe Ski Basin)

The Winsor Trail leaves the Santa Fe Ski Basin parking lot, about 10,250 feet up, and is one of the quickest ways into the Pecos Wilderness. New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors calls it “one of the easiest access methods” to the wilderness. The overnight that most people make of it is a trip to Lake Katherine, below Santa Fe Baldy, with Spirit Lake as a quieter alternate or a loop.

The Santa Fe to Taos Trail’s 2018 account counted at least 20 people at Lake Katherine on arrival, so expect company in summer.

The hike

From the north side of the ski basin lot, the trail climbs steeply for about the first half mile to the wilderness boundary fence, where Backpacker says to sign the logbook. The Albuquerque Sierra Club guide counts about 600 feet of climbing in the first 0.7 mile, then a gentle descent. Skip the unofficial Raven’s Ridge path along the fence.

Stay left at the junction known as the Y; the right branch, Trail 403, leads to Nambe Lake. Just past it, the trail crosses the Rio Nambe, and the Sierra Club guide notes several more branches of the river around mile 3.6. Backpacker mentions a shortcut to La Vega meadow, which it calls a popular camping spot; one 2018 account reports cattle there.

Puerto Nambe, a high meadow about 4 to 4.3 miles in, is where the Winsor Trail meets the Skyline Trail #251. The Santa Fe to Taos Trail guide describes it as large, flat, and exposed, with no water. From here there are two choices. Right on the Winsor Trail leads over a high point near 11,095 feet and down to Spirit Lake, about 5.7 to 5.9 miles from the trailhead. Left on the Skyline Trail climbs switchbacks to a saddle with views of Santa Fe Baldy (12,522 feet, according to Backpacker), then drops steeply to Lake Katherine, just above 11,700 feet and about 7.4 miles from the trailhead.

Backpacker’s version links the two: down from Lake Katherine along Winsor Creek to rejoin Trail 254, past Spirit Lake, and back to Puerto Nambe. It warns that the turn toward Spirit Lake is easy to miss on hard-packed dirt, and the Santa Fe to Taos Trail guide says the route near Lake Katherine is rocky and faint in places.

The Santa Fe Baldy summit is about 1.1 miles from the saddle, according to the Santa Fe to Taos Trail guide, which flags lightning as the concern. Backpacker advises starting early and staying off exposed ground in summer afternoons.

From Lake Katherine, the Skyline Trail continues east toward Stewart Lake and eventually Pecos Baldy Lake.

Tips

Camping

No wilderness permit is needed, and Pecos Wilderness rules on Forest Service pages prohibit camping or campfires within 200 feet of a lake or 50 feet of any trail, stream, or river, limit stays to 14 consecutive days, and cap groups at 15 people and 15 stock. The Winsor Trailhead has no restrooms or potable water, per the Forest Service. A 2018 account on the Santa Fe to Taos Trail site recommends hanging food; it says a canister isn’t required. Santa Fe National Forest fire restrictions were lifted July 28, 2026; check for new ones.

Inside Intel: Backpacker singles out a shelf just past the Winsor Trail junction near an old, dead-end trail toward Lake Katherine as “a favorite overnight spot,” and suggests camping well away from Winsor Creek. The Santa Fe to Taos Trail guide says the far side of Lake Katherine is quieter, and its 2018 account found at least 20 people at the lake and advises claiming a tree-sheltered spot early.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Frost season below Santa Fe Baldy:

Lake Katherine sits above 11,700 feet, where clear nights get cold well before the aspens turn. See which sleeping bags testers rate for warmth.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.