Chile Challenge is hosted by the Las Cruces 4WD Club and is a long-standing NM tradition. CC has some of the best rock crawling in the Southwest! While those wanting to go on scenic rides can definitely do that at CC, this event is power-loaded with opportunities for those who want to build their technical skills and take on some great challenges. The LC4WDC has a decades-long history of hosting some of the best hardcore rock crawling in the region. If you've never done CC, you gotta get your butt to it sooner rather than later!
CC is hosted out of Caballo Lake State Park, a little bit south of T or C. There are trails of every type for all levels of drivers and rigs. There are scenic desert drives all the way up to hardcore buggy crawls.
Camping reservations at Caballo Lake State Park can be made beginning April 2025. Click Here. There are already some folks planning to grab sites next to each other, in the "Riverside Pull Thru" area. As you get a site, leave a note in the Comments about where you'll be.
Truth or Consequences is about 20 minutes north on I-25 and has a variety of hotels and B & B's as well as some hot springs with lodging.
NM4W supports LC4WDC and NMOHVA with parts of this event so plan to attend and help us partner with this awesome sister Club!
Registration for Chile Challenge is now live - see the link below!
Check out some compilation videos by various folks, celebrating previous Chile Challenges!
by Rock Star Garage:
by Desert Mountain 4WD Club (Alamagordo)
by Raul Rios
by Crawl USA
Register for Chile Challenge here!
Trails run at Chile Challenge 2024 included:
Level 2: El Rio Grande
Level 3: Palomas Gap; Redhouse Mountain Loop; El Pedregal
Level 4: Rincon to Sparky's; Robin
Level 5: The Odyssey; Rattler; Scratch; Desert Wandering
Level 6: Apache Canyon; Batman; Lost Boys; Sidewinder (running it downhill; is a ton of fun!); Narrows
Level 7 - 7+: Sidewinder (running it uphill); Backstage Pass; Green/Cabin; Ol' Skool (killer boulder climb!); Back to Skool; Crystal Canyon (had to get winched up the gatekeeper, but got it done :-); Backstage Pass
Level 8: Shortcut/Last Chance; Godzilla; Brandon's Boulders
Level 9: Backstage Extreme; Minefield/Bone; Geronimo; Frametwister
Level 10: Can Opener/Warpath
Level 11: War Axe
*** UPDATE 2/4/2025 -> A NOTE ABOUT TRAIL DIFFICULTY AT CHILE CHALLENGE:
Recently, I have seen some chatter online about the Cruces folks rethinking the difficulty levels they have assigned their trails. A CrawlUSA episode in the last couple of months indicated that they were thinking of increasing the stated levels of some trails. (Scotty and Jason, the guys from this podcast, run these trails all the time and are frequent Trail Leaders at CC.)
I ran Ol Skool at CC 2024, at that time rated 7 to 7+. They ^^ mentioned Ol Skool, specifically, thinking out loud that it should probably be an 8 instead. It is a wicked fun trail, but makes you work for every success you squeeze out of it. I wonder about Crystal Canyon as well - there is one hell of a gatekeeper (about a 30' waterfall you have to get yourself up, over, and around) right at the beginning, holy cow.
If the LC4WDC states a trail is 7, it is a minimum 7. If they state an 8, don't doubt that rating. The Cruces folks are fairly hardcore rock crawlers, overall. When selecting trails for CC, please do your research online to see what information you can find on sites like Trails OffRoad or YouTube. Ask folks who have run the Caballo Lake area before, and consider what their rig setup is. If the Cruces folks say a trail needs a 3" lift and 37" tires, they mean it. Anything less and you will likely not make it home in one piece. There is a very good reason this event is chock full of the buggy folks!
:-) Mary Turpin
NM4W Trip Chair