San Mateo Mountains (Socorro County, New Mexico)

Evidence for human use of district lands date back 14,000 years to the Paleoindian period providing glimpses into the peopling of the New World and megafaunal extinction.

[3] Outlaw renegades Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch and notorious Apaches like Cochise and Geronimo have ties to the San Mateos.

"[4] Famous for defying relocation orders in 1879 and leading his warriors "on a two-year reign of terror before he was killed," Victorio is at least as highly regarded as Geronimo or Cochise among Apaches.

Stories of depredations by the Apache Kid, and of his demise, became so common and dramatic that in southwestern folklore they may be exceeded only by tales of lost Spanish gold.

[6] While some mining activity, involving gold, silver, and copper, occurred in the southern part of the range near the end of the nineteenth century,[1] the prospecting/mining remnants are barely visible today due to collapse, topographic screening, and vegetation regrowth.

[3] The range is home to mountain lion, black bear, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, goshawk, and wild turkey and contains several thousand acres of critical habitat for the threatened Mexican spotted owl.

There are four developed campsites in or near the San Mateos, including the Springtime, Luna Park, Bear Trap, and Hughes Mills campgrounds.