Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
It’s starting to feel more and more like summer, a time that’s ripe for weekend getaways. And if you’re like me and enjoy the “hidden treasures” of our state, here’s one you might enjoy: Mills Canyon in Harding County.
It’s tucked away in the grasslands of northeastern New Mexico, in the most sparsely populated county in the state. The park is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and includes one of the most rugged stretches of the Canadian River in northeastern New Mexico.
It’s within the Kiowa National Grasslands, where the Canadian River runs some 1,000 feet below; an old dirt road winds for about two miles down to the magnificent bottomlands below.
You can get there on foot or on horseback, but to drive it I’d recommend a four-wheeler or a motorcycle. It’s a steep and rough road, top to bottom.
The canyon gets its name from Melvin Mills, an entrepreneur in the late 1800s who homesteaded this river bottomland and planted several orchards and vegetable gardens. More than 14,000 trees with all kinds of fruits and nuts, as well as vegetable gardens filled with melons, tomatoes, grapes and more, were planted so he could sell the produce to nearby settlements, including Roy and Springer.
For vacationers and travelers who came to or passed through his settlement, Mills built a hotel. His enterprise was a few miles south of the Santa Fe Trail’s Cimarron Cutoff, and visitors often rode in on a stagecoach to enjoy the fruits and vegetables of his labors.
For several years his enterprise thrived, but a flood in the early 1900s wiped out his operation.
Like most rivers that flow through New Mexico, the Canadian is generally shallow and tame, but as Mills learned the hard way, it can flood quickly with the monsoon rains that come during the summer months.
Mills died in 1925 but the remnants of his hotel, as well as the fruit- and nut-bearing trees in the heyday of his development, can still be found.
Despite its underwhelming publicity, Mills Canyon is a great place for those who enjoy the flora that grows in the grasslands above and the bottomlands below.
Blue grama and buffalo grasses meet ponderosas and piñons that break through sandstone boulders and cliffs as you make your way into the canyon. You’ll also find a variety of wildflowers on display closer to the river.
According to the Forest Service, a survey done in the 1980s found nearly 500 species and varieties of plant life thriving in this area of the country.
This rustic habitat also includes plenty of wildlife, including deer, pronghorn antelope, mountain lions, black bear and rattlesnakes. So be careful in your explorations.
Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:
