Tree Spring Trail is one of the most popular trails in the Sandia Mountains.
 
It’s moderate grade and relatively long length appeals to most people and families. The parking area is full most weekends. The trail’s name comes from a spring which used to flow from beneath an old tree stump. The spring is located on the right, about a half mile before you reach the parking lot. There is some old stonework around the spring, probably built in the 1930’s by the CCC.

The Ellis Trail descends north from the Ellis Trailhead parking lot at 10,270ft. It follows a wide clear-cut corridor, made in the late 1960’s, intended for a road down to Placitas. The project was halted by conservationists and local communities. Nature is slowly reclaiming the scar. No grading was done, so the open trail meanders up and down the undulating profile. After 2 miles, it intersects the 10k Trail at a Wilderness Boundary sign at 9,800ft.
 
The Trail is named after George and Julie Ellis, who homesteaded here from Kansas in the 1890’s. They both suffered from tuberculosis, and believed the New Mexico sunshine and dry mountain climate would be good for their health. They built a two story cabin for their five children and his mother, and stayed till his death in 1912.

This trail can be cross country skied in winter, but is often wind-blown and icy.

Service Road
This wide gravel road heads south from the Ellis Trailhead parking lot. It has very little elevation change in the 1 mile distance to the Upper Tram Terminal complex.
This trail is extensively used by beginner cross country skiers in winter. Sometimes it is groomed by the ski hill and frequented by skating skiers.