Hidalgo County hosts the southernmost trailhead for the National Historic Trail, 82 of the most rustic miles of the journey, and a town nearly every thru-hiker visits twice: Lordsburg. Located on the ancestral lands of the Chiricahua Apache, Janos, and Ópata (Tegüima-Eudebe-Hoba) people in New Mexico’s beautiful bootheel region, travelers through Hidalgo County can experience the Chihuahuan Desert and the Big Hatchet Mountains. The mountains that rise out of the dry desert of the bootheel are known as “sky islands,” because their cooler, high altitude landscape creates ecological islands that are home to an array of plants and animals very different from those in the surrounding desert. The terrain is home to an array of animals, including mountain lions, javelina, and bobcats. 

With a history of farming, ranching, and mining, the county maintains a Southwestern feel today. With five main towns – Animas, Cotton City, Lordsburg, Rodeo, and Virden – the county has a population of under 5,000 people, less than two people per square mile. Today, visitors to the region can enjoy bird watching, hiking, and visits to two ghost towns.