Abandoned Record
About Riley
Riley is located in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Settled in 1892, it is situated about 20 mi (32 km) north of Magdalena, New Mexico, on Cibola NF road 354 and is a habitated ghost town.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Riley, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Riley is
Historic maps
7 historic USGS maps cover Riley
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1954 Socorro sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Socorro sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 Riley sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1962 Socorro sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1979 Magdalena sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1985 Riley sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1995 Riley sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Riley
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our New Mexico index.
- Magdalena17.8 mi S · Socorro
- Kelly20.5 mi S · Socorro
- San Antonio38.1 mi SE · Socorro
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "Riley": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "Riley, New Mexico": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q115433697.
- USGS GNIS 923658.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).