NM-65 starts out at the northwest corner of Las Vegas’s plaza as Hot Springs Boulevard, but past the hot springs becomes Montezuma Street as it reaches the community of Montezuma. At the west end of this community, less than half a mile west of where Armand Hammer Drive joins Montezuma Street (NM-65), Skating Pond Road veers off to the southwest of NM-65. A dam was constructed on Gallinas Creek just south of this wye in the 1800s to create a pool deep enough to allow ice to form and be cut;  recreational skating was a byproduct, and the pond behind the dam became known as Montezuma Ice Pond or Montezuma Skating Pond. Particularly after the dam was lowered in the early 1990s, silting caused the pond to become too shallow for thick ice to form and allowed increasing amounts of riverine vegetation such as willow to grow in the upper pond area as well as along the north bank. As plans were developing to deepen the pond by dredging, a severe 2022 forest fire upstream resulted in such large masses of ash and debris washing downstream that a floating boom was installed at the pond mouth to prevent damage to infrastructure east of the dam. 

The boom remains and the creek channel is confined to the south, from where high cliffs rise abruptly. The pond, surrounding vegetation, and cliff faces may be examined from a small dirt parking area at the dam. Steps lead down to the water’s edge above the dam, but use these at your own risk – they do not appear to be maintained. Due to the creek’s importance as a municipal water source, the City of Las Vegas has run a chain-link fence between the creek and Skating Pond Road, beginning a short way above the pond, preventing stream access. Approximately a half mile from the dam, the fence closes off the road and access to not only the creek on the south but the pine forest to the north. Land on the north side of the road, opposite the creek side, between this closure and the dam, is private property. 

Birders can confidently include for this hotspot observations made along Skating Pond Road from the closed city gate to immediately below the dam.

Peregrine Falcon

A beautiful pond located just beneath a steep, gorgeous mountainside. The pond was once a key location for Ice production throughout the entire southwest. In the past, people did not have refrigerators to store and make ice. Instead, they used ice chests, ice boxes, or what is now known as coolers with ice to keep food cool and fresh.

A company made a dam in the river which then led to sending water to homes and fire hydrants in Las Vegas. The railroad later arrived in the 1800s and built a track from Las Vegas to Montezuma Castle. The pond froze allowing hundreds of men to become employed in ice cutting.

​Montezuma was not only an ice production pond but also known for ice skating during its winter months. The deposition of sediment in the pond has rendered it more shallow. One result of this is that the pond no longer freezes in the winter.