Catwalk National Recreation Trail

In the late 1800s, a mill was built near the mouth of Whitewater Canyon to process ore from mines in the mountains above, and it needed a steady supply of water. To get it, workers ran a pipeline up the narrow, twisting canyon, and to maintain the pipe where it clung to the sheer walls, they built a catwalk beside it, a precarious plank-and-metal walkway high above the creek.

The mill and the little town of Graham that grew around it thrived for a time and then faded as the ore played out, leaving the canyon quiet again. The original pipeline is gone, but the idea of the catwalk survived, and in the twentieth century the route was rebuilt as a recreation trail so that visitors could experience the drama of the canyon the old pipeline crews once knew.

The trail begins in a shady picnic area at the canyon mouth and quickly enters the narrows, where the walls rise close on either side and the metal walkway takes over, bolted to the rock above Whitewater Creek. In places the catwalk hangs right over the rushing water, and the spray, the echo, and the cool shade make it feel worlds away from the dry country outside.

The built walkway is not long, and it is manageable for most visitors, though the steel can be slick with spray and the footing demands attention. For those who want more, the trail continues beyond the constructed section into the rougher terrain of the Gila high country, where it climbs into wilderness far from any handrail or crowd.

Whitewater Canyon is a narrow, steep-walled slot, and that same beauty makes it prone to flooding. Heavy rains in the mountains above can send walls of water and debris roaring down the canyon, and floods have damaged and rebuilt the Catwalk more than once over the years. Because of this, it is essential to check that the trail is open before making the drive, and never to enter the canyon when heavy rain threatens.

That volatility is part of the canyon's character. The rushing creek that makes the trail so lovely is also the force that carved the narrows and that reshapes them still. Visitors who come when the water is running clear and the trail is open get to walk through a landscape that is always, slowly, remaking itself.

The Catwalk sits on the edge of the vast Gila country, a wild region of forested mountains, hot springs, and deep canyons that includes the first designated wilderness in the United States. Glenwood, the small village at the canyon's foot, makes an easygoing base, and the surrounding country rewards travelers who want to slow down and explore the back roads of southwestern New Mexico.

Spring and fall bring the most pleasant weather for the canyon, mild and clear, while summer is hot outside the canyon but cool within it, tempered by the shade and the creek, though it also brings the monsoon storms that raise the flood risk. Winter is quiet and can be cold in the shaded narrows. In any season, an open, running Catwalk is a memorable walk.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.