The former mining community of Hagen has a significant amount of building walls, fountains and adobe ruins are visible from the road, unfortunately Hagen is on private Ranch land and the access road is gated (bring binoculars or a telephoto lens).

Hagan is about 10 miles west of Highway 14 on Puertecito Road (a dirt road taking off from village of Agua), 2.8 miles south of Golden.

Originally Hagen owes its existence to Coal and the mine opened in 1902, in the early years about 60 hardy souls lived near the mine.  When the railroad finally reached Hagan in 1924 (after several false attempts) the population had grown to 500.  Beyond mining, the town produced bricks and supported local cattle ranching.  Hagan began to die when the coal thinned out in the early 1930s, with the post office closing in 1931.

Note: The dirt road beyond Puertecito is truly "Dirt" and when it's wet (rain or snow) it turns to "Mud" and is in-passable west of  Puertecito unless you have a high clearance 4WD vehicle.

Not much is left of Coyote, mother nature has worked overtime to recover what the miners in the early 1900's attempted to build.  All that is left are crumbling foundations and adobe shells.  Currently Coyote is located on private Ranch land and is only visible from the road (bring binoculars or a telephoto lens).

Coyote is about 12-13 miles west of Highway 14 on Puertecito Road (a dirt road taking off from village of Agua), 2.8 miles south of Golden.

Coyote was founded in 1904, two years after Hagan, by miners working the Sloan Mine. The prospect of a railroad spur linking the community and nearby Hagan to the Santa Fe line on the Rio Grande river helped keep the town going. Unfortunately, the town's people watched multiple rail projects die and before it reached Hagan in 1924, Coyote had died itself and became a ghost town.  Ironically, the rail roadbed (which is still visible west of town) came within 1/2 mile of this deserted community.

Note: The dirt road beyond Puertecito is truly "Dirt" and when it's wet (rain or snow) it turns to "Mud" and is in-passable west of  Puertecito unless you have a high clearance 4WD vehicle.

Dolores and the Ortiz Mine Camp (sister mining communities) are located in the Ortiz Mountains.  Dolores is on private property, with no access. At the end of County Rd 55, south of Hwy 14 between Madrid and Cerrillos, you will find the Ortiz Mountains Educational Preserve, a Santa Fe County Open Space with docent led tours during the summer. Tours include moderate to strenuous Hikes, Birding, Plants & History of the Ortiz Mine Camp and are arranged by Santa Fe Botanical Garden.

New Mexico was experiencing its own Gold Rush in 1829, before California and Colorado rushes.  The rush started in Real de Dolores (now known as Dolores).  Oral history claims the camp at its height was between 2,000 and 4,000 souls. In 1833 quartz was discovered and the mining focus changed, in the 1840's the decline of Dolores had begun and mining shifted to new finds in the San Pedro mountains to the south.

The New Mexico Energy, Minerals & Natural Resource Department is working on a "Safeguard Project".

Waldo is down the Santa Fe mainline to the west of Cerrillos, all that is left are crumbling Coke Ovens and Foundations of Buildings.  Unfortunately, the ruins are losing their battle to the cottonwoods, but Waldo is worth the visit.

Waldo was the starting point of the Cerrillos Coal Railroad which delivered bituminous coal from the Madrid mines to Waldo's Coke Ovens.  The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company's ovens were built in 1892 and shut down for the last time in 1954.  Between 1918-1924, the facilities were used for Zinc Oxide processing and Waldo served it's final role of providing water for Madrid (150,000 gallons a day).

Named for Henry L. Waldo, then chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, the town eventually had a population of about 125.

Experience Waldo's (Coke Ovens) in the Video Gallery.