About Balsam Glade Picnic Site
Nearby Activities & Attractions
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Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Reviews (6)
What Guests Are Saying
The Balsam Glade Picnic Site offers a beautiful and enjoyable experience for families, with ample shade and picnic tables perfect for celebrations. Visitors appreciated the clean facilities and available amenities like grills, enhancing their outdoor activities. Overall, it’s a great location for hiking and picnicking, making it a popular spot for repeat visits.
What Guests Are Saying
The Balsam Glade Picnic Site offers a beautiful and enjoyable experience for families, with ample shade and picnic tables perfect for celebrations. Visitors appreciated the clean facilities and available amenities like grills, enhancing their outdoor activities. Overall, it’s a great location for hiking and picnicking, making it a popular spot for repeat visits.
Review Summary
Patricia E
September 4, 2024
We had a great experience, for both adults and children. We went on a hike to explore with toddlers and young children. It was a lot of fun. Then at the site it was beautiful with tables and shade, we could have not asked for a better place to celebrate a birthday. We took little plastic shovels and sand toys, the little ones had a blast.
Will definitely do this again.
Cynthia A
July 15, 2024
At the suggestion of the park ranger’s station, I printed a confirmation of my reservation in case our party came across individuals already set up on site. We found some young adults there and let them know we were going to be using the site as reserved and they packed up their things with no fuss. Our friends and us had a wonderful time! Our pup enjoyed being out in nature and there was a grill available for us to make s’mores. We did our best to pack in, pack out anything we brought. The site was clean when we arrived and ready for use. We will definitely plan another outing in the future.
John E
June 4, 2023
Reserved the covered area at this site for 5/28/23. I was a bit worried when I was informed that no notices were going to be put up to inform others that the site was reserved. In today's world, this could have caused some grief. So, we got there earlier than we had originally wanted to make sure we wouldn't have to have a confrontation with another group.
When we got there, two rangers were busy cleaning up the site for our arrival! Quite the great service! They were quick and super friendly, which set our day off great! The rest of our mini family reunion was fantastic!
I highly recommend this site for a day gathering in the Sandia Mountains. I just wish they would put up a reserved notice when it gets reserved. After all, the rangers were there cleaning up, so it really wouldn't have been a big deal for them to post an official reservation notice on the board next to the pavilion. It would go a long way in easing tensions, because in today's world, you just don't know about who you are going to meet out there.
Bernadine D
September 11, 2022
Scenery and walking trails were beautiful and refreshing
Jorge P
August 1, 2022
access to water will be nice
Jonathan B
January 17, 2020
Had our wedding here on 10-6-19 beautiful spot to get married at!
Location Balsam Glade Picnic Site
Address:
Sandia Ranger District, 11776 Hwy 337
Tijeras, NM, 87059
United States
From Albuquerque, drive east on I-40 to Exit 175. Continue north on NM State Road 14 for another 6 miles to Highway 536. Turn west onto NM State Road 536. Balsam Glade is approximately 7 miles up State Road 536, about one mile past the base of the Sandia Peak Ski area.
Balsam Glade Picnic Site is accessible via I-40, approximately 10 miles to the north, and NM-337, which connects to local roads leading to the picnic area.
Latitude & Longitude: 35.2136 / -106.407
Elevation: 2647 feet
Policies & Rules
General
- To ensure an enjoyable stay for the next visitor, please make sure to place ALL trash in the trash cans provided and leave the site as clean as you found it.
- It is recommended for visitors to make a reservation at least 48 hours in advance to give staff notice to prepare the site prior for your arrival. If reserved within 48 hours of arrival, site preparations will be subject to staffing availability.
- Accessible vault toilets and bear proof trash receptacles are provided. Please use appropriate containers for food and garbage. Food Storage Keeping You and Bears Safe More about Bears and Food
- Please do not park in front of any gates. They must be accessible at all times.
- Each reservation comes with ten (10) day use parking passes which should be validated by visibly displaying proof of reservation on the dashboard of vehicles by printing the reservation confirmation ahead of time. Any vehicles associated with the party but exceed the limit (10) or do not possess valid proof of reservation confirmation will be subject to the $5 day use fee. Any questions call the Sandia Ranger Station beforehand at (505) 281-3304. Sandia Ranger Station is open Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
- Prevent bug kill. Obtain firewood near your destination and burn it on-site: Don't Move Fire Wood
- Additional dispersed picnic sites, which do not require a reservation, are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- For more information about the Cibola National Forest & Grasslands:Cibola National Forest & Grasslands
- Water and electricity, firewood /charcoal are not available at the site. You may notice water spigots at this site, however, the water lines were retired in the mid 2000s due to difficulties with freezing pipes, therefore, bring your own water.
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Last updated: June 5, 2026
