Chamisa Trail in Albuquerque, NM

Chamisa Trail is one of the non-gated villages inside High Desert, the master-planned community on the Sandia foothills east of Tramway Boulevard at Academy Road. Its covenants were recorded in the late 1990s, during the buildout run by High Desert Investment Corporation, the company the Albuquerque Academy board formed in 1991 to develop the land. The village sits on the community's network of arroyo walking trails and bike paths, which lead to the Michial Emery Trailhead and the Forest Service routes above it. Owners belong to the High Desert Residential Owners Association, which pays for a round-the-clock security patrol and looks after the shared open space.

The ground under High Desert was once part of the Elena Gallegos Land Grant. Albuquerque Academy came away with the acreage in a 1982 purchase and land swap involving the U.S. Forest Service and the city, then formed its development company in 1991. The last lots sold in 2004, and in 2011 the developer signed the remaining rights and authority over to the homeowners association.

Membership in the association is not optional, and HOAMCO administers it. Assessments fund the security patrol, road maintenance and upkeep of the common areas. Chamisa Trail is represented by two voting members with two alternate seats, and the village keeps its own supplemental declaration and design guidelines layered on the community-wide covenants.

Three east-west paths thread the arroyos: Spain Trail along Spain Road, Academy Trail along Academy Road, and Blue Grama Trail, which runs east to Pino Park. Bike lanes on Cortaderia, Imperata and High Desert Street tie them together, and a paved path runs the length of Tramway Boulevard on the western edge.