At 6,988 feet, Angel Peak is only a minor summit, rising just a little way above the high desert plains of northwest New Mexico, and sits in the middle of a rolling expanse of pastel-colored badlands, cliffs and dry washes, similar to the Bisti and De-na-zin wilderness areas 25 miles to the southeast. The region is peaceful, desolate and empty, well worth visiting for a few hours or staying overnight; most is protected as a BLM National Recreation Site which has an excellent free campsite on a promontory above the badlands.
Location: One reason for the lack of visitors may be the absence of signposts. The NRA is 20 miles south of Bloomfield and a few miles east of US 550/NM 44, reached by a graded gravel track, but there are no signs for southbound traffic and only one faded rusty notice when approaching in the opposite direction. The side track soon reaches the first overlook of the badlands, then passes a picnic site, then arrives at a campsite after 8 miles. The picnic spot has pit toilets, fire grills and sturdy concrete table and chairs beneath metal sun shelters - a great overnight stopping place, especially evocative at dusk since as well as views over the grey, green and purple banded badlands, the site is high enough to overlook many square miles of sagebrush-covered desert to the north and west, and at night the twinkling lights of far away Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield are clearly visible. The view extends to the San Juan and Ute Mountain ranges in Colorado, over 60 miles distant. Apart from the whistling of strong prevailing winds, the place is usually silent, disturbed only by faint but constant thumping from several compressors down below, part of oil and gas operations in this area. The campsite itself is also well situated though further from the cliff edge.
Hotels: The nearest towns with hotels close to Angel Peak are Bloomfield and Farmington.
Geology: There are no trails down from the rim at the picnic site, but several paths lead into the badlands at the end of the road, through little twisting ravines and to the Angel Peak summit. The badlands were produced by erosion of two strata; Kirtland Shale and the Nacimiento Formation, and also contain large specimens of petrified wood, here an attractive grey-bluish colour. The barrenness of the terrain is due to high soil alkalinity and poor drainage.
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