Chihenne Ranch -

Adventures in the High Mountains of New Mexico

Chihenne Ranch is located in the beautiful foothills of the Black Range near the Gila National Forest. Elevations on the ranch range from 6500 feet at the ranch house to over 8500 feet at the tops of the mountains. Chihenne Ranch is located 30 miles west of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico near the historic mining towns of Winston and Chloride. Chihenne Ranch is a working cattle and horse ranch of over 12 1/2 square miles. Grassy open and tree covered slopes overlook deep rocky canyons with the Cuchillo Negro creek running through the middle of the ranch. Once an ideal hunting ground and refuge for Pueblo and Apache Indians alike the area offers a unique insight into the western American primitive past. the ranch is rich in archaeological history with a series of Indian sites spanning the Mogollon pueblo time period. Numerous examples of ancient rock art decorate the canyon walls and rock shelters on the ranch. Besides the ancient Mogollon Indians calling this area home from at least 1630 A.D. the Black Range was the home of the Chihenne (sometimes spelled Tchihenne-'Red Paint People) or the eastern Chiricahua Apaches. In the 1850's the leader of this band was Cuchillo Negro (Black Knife) for whom the creek and local mountain range was named. Besides being rich in Archeological history the ranch is dotted with numerous turn of the century gold and silver mines that can be visited to see a glimpse of the area's past heritage.

A visit to the Chihenne Ranch is fun for everyone. We have a beautiful lodge type ranch house to accommodate all of our visitors and guests. Chihenne Ranch offers 4 types of ranch experiences:

A resident summer camp for campers age 8 through high school.

We are Sorry that the Black Range Camp will NOT be held in 2025.

Hopefully we can look forward to next year.

A week long high adventure Cavalcade Camp for Scout and Church groups, which usually includes horseback riding, cattle roundups, cattle branding, mine exploring, off road trips, Indian site visits, etc.Come for a week.

This is the part of Chihenne Ranch that provides an opportunity for our visitors to experience life on a working cattle ranch. We offer Indian site visits, excellent hiking, gold and silver mine visits, 4-wheel off road trips unsurpassed panoramic scenery, visits to ghost towns and much more. Go back a century in time but still be able to maintain at least some of our modern conveniences.

Twenty fourth Annual Chihenne Ranch Labor Day Trail Ride for 2025