Palisades Sill
Palisades Sill is a historic site in New Mexico, at a recorded elevation of 2,342 m. Wheeler Peak stands 4,011 m to the west, 15 miles off. The nearest named place is Palisades Picnic Area, a picnic site less than a tenth of a mile away. Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway passes 6.5 miles off.
The story
Cliff in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States.
Wikidata Q49469955, matched on coordinates and name (365 m apart).
What the record says
- Elevation
- 2,342 m
- Inscription
- These spectacular cliffs are cut by the Cimarron River through ingeous rock known as a sill and composed of of the rock type monzonite which was emplaced some 40 million years ago as these Southern Rocky Mountains were being uplifted.
How to reach it
- 6.5 mi off the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway
- 12.3 mi off the Santa Fe Trail, National
- 27.8 mi off the High Road to Taos
- 28.3 mi off the Wild Rivers Back Country Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Base Camp View · 11 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Green Mountain: 2.8 mi
- Tolby Peak: 3.6 mi
- Cimarroncito Peak: 3.9 mi
- Touch-Me-Not Mountain: 4.0 mi
- Comanche Peak: 4.0 mi
- Cimarron Canyon State Park: 1.8 mi
- Cimarron Canyon Historical Marker: 2.3 mi
- Eagle Nest Marker: 6.4 mi
- French Henry Mill: 7.0 mi
- Stern Post Office (ruins): 8.6 mi
- Cimarron Canyon State Park: 0.1 mi
- Gravel Pit Lakes: 1.2 mi
- Cimarron Canyon Wildlife Area: 1.6 mi
- Enchanted Eagle Park: 6.3 mi
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial: 10.3 mi
- T-Rex Track: 10.8 mi
- Homebound Ampitheater: 12.0 mi
- Welcome Wagon: 12.6 mi
- Covered Wagon: 12.6 mi
- Cimarron Santa Fe National Historic Trail Interpretive Plaza: 13.2 mi
- Eagle Nest Visitor Center & Gateway Museum: 5.9 mi
- Villa Philmonte: 12.5 mi
- Old Aztec Mill Museum: 13.0 mi
- Kit Carson Museum: 17.1 mi
- Little Red School House: 17.9 mi
- Eagle: 6.3 mi
- The Wonders of Discovery: 12.4 mi
- Tipi: 13.1 mi
- Native Art: 24.7 mi
- Cimarron Canyon State Park: 0.8 mi
- Eagle Nest Wildlife Management Area: 5.1 mi
- Eagle Nest Lake State Park: 5.7 mi
- Palisades Picnic Area: 0.0 mi
- La Vinateria: 24.2 mi
- Palisades: 0.2 mi
- Betty's Bra: 9.8 mi
- Crooked Creek Spring: 7.9 mi
- Apache Spring: 11.8 mi
- Salto Del Agua Waterfall: 21.4 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 16.9 miles of Palisades Sill. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler Peak | W 275° | 4,011 m | 14.7 mi |
| Mount Walter | W 276° | 3,996 m | 14.6 mi |
| Old Mike Peak | W 272° | 3,989 m | 14.1 mi |
| Simpson Peak | W 273° | 3,953 m | 14.6 mi |
| Lake Fork Peak | W 273° | 3,929 m | 16.3 mi |
| Red Dome | W 273° | 3,868 m | 13.2 mi |
| Kachina Peak | W 276° | 3,804 m | 16.4 mi |
| Lew Wallace Peak | W 268° | 3,779 m | 13.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
The recorded facing catches the sunrise.
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:05 | 18:39 | 19:13 |
| June solstice | 05:43 | 19:45 | 20:23 |
| September equinox | 06:49 | 18:25 | 18:59 |
| December solstice | 07:10 | 16:09 | 16:49 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 22 | 26 | 34 | 40 | 49 | 57 | 62 | 60 | 54 | 43 | 32 | 23 |
| Precip in | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Eagle Nest, 6 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap element node/12186196999
Take the scenic way to Palisades Sill.
Byway plans around your taste, mapped places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.