La Cueva Picnic Area Civilian Conservation Corps Structures
The La Cueva Picnic area in the Cibola National Forest.
On the way up NM Rt 333 to explore the pocket communities of Evergreen Hills & Tierra Monte, we passed the La Cueva Picnic Area & had to stop. What catches the eye is the rounded riverstone house that overlooks the North Sandia Heights neighborhood below. The maybe 400sqft structure was built sometime in the 1930's, & is complimented by numerous also-as-old stone picnic tables scattered in little flat nooks around the hill. It's a cool area to explore.
From the US Forest Service:
The La Cueva site is full of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) history & is listed in New Mexicos Registry of Historic Places.
There are stone picnic tables (seen below) and structures built by master stoneworkers during the 1930's, to blend seamlessly into the existing landscape. You will soon discover a rock pavilion (above) that is hidden by the trees, plus other small structures sprinkled throughout the site. Keep your eyes open for picnic tables, vault toilets and fire places that are tucked away in nooks and crannies, throughout this site.
The CCC was an early New Deal program begun by President Roosevelt in 1933 and continuing through 1942. During the great the Depression, The Civilian Conservation Corps employed local young men, all across the nation, to work on projects that would build up and improve states and national forests and parks.
Albuquerque, the Sandia Mountains, and New Mexico gained facilities that are still in use and enjoyed today. The structures you see in the La Cueva Picnic Site are almost 90 years old!
