The Billy the Kid Trail loops about 84 miles through Lincoln County, New Mexico, starting and ending near Ruidoso Downs.
The route is named for the outlaw William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, who took part in the Lincoln County War of 1878, a violent dispute between two rival mercantile operations fighting over an Army supply contract at nearby Fort Stanton. Billy escaped from the Lincoln County Courthouse in 1881 after killing two deputies, then was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett three months later in Fort Sumner, outside this loop but central to the region’s history.
Beyond the outlaw history, the drive passes through the Lincoln National Forest, between the Sacramento Mountains to the south and the Capitan Mountains to the north, along with Mescalero Apache land and sites tied to Smokey Bear, the real orphaned bear cub who inspired the wildfire-prevention mascot.
Most people cover the loop in a day, though Lincoln’s concentration of preserved buildings and the optional Fort Stanton detour make two days a more comfortable pace.
Route Details: Billy the Kid Trail
Ruidoso Downs to Hondo (20 miles)
The loop begins in Ruidoso Downs, home to the Hubbard Museum of the American West, which covers Native American, Hispanic, and pioneer history in the region alongside a collection of horse-drawn vehicles and Western art. Next door, the byway’s official visitor center offers maps and orientation before heading east on US-70, then north on US-380 toward Hondo, a small farming community along the Rio Hondo.
Hondo to Lincoln (15 miles)
Continuing on US-380, the road passes through San Patricio before reaching Lincoln, widely considered the heart of the byway and one of the best-preserved Old West towns in the country. The Lincoln State Monument manages 17 historic structures throughout the town, four open year-round as museums, largely representing 1870s and 1880s territorial adobe architecture. It was from the county courthouse here that Billy the Kid escaped in 1881.
Lincoln to Fort Stanton (detour, about 10 miles each way)
A signed detour on NM-220 leads to Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area, home to a 19th-century military fort built in 1855, later sold to New Mexico landowner Lucien Maxwell, whose son Pete Maxwell’s home was where Billy the Kid was eventually killed. The Fort Stanton Cave system, including the Snowy River formation, offers guided tours for visitors wanting to see below ground as well as above it.
Lincoln to Capitan (12 miles)
Back on the main loop, US-380 continues west to Capitan, home to the Smokey Bear Historical Park, which tells the story of the real bear cub rescued from a 1950 wildfire in the nearby Capitan Mountains who became the inspiration for the National Forest Service’s wildfire-prevention mascot. Smokey is buried in the park.
Capitan to Ruidoso Downs (27 miles)
The final stretch follows NM-48 south back toward Ruidoso Downs, closing the loop through more of the Lincoln National Forest’s mixed terrain, rugged canyons, pine woodland, and open grassland. Ruidoso itself, just before the loop’s end, adds a mountain-resort town feel with skiing in winter and horse racing at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack in summer.
Use the trip planner to build a day-by-day itinerary based on your available time and starting point. Since this is a loop, the planner’s route works equally well driven in either direction.
