Things to do / Travel Guide
Welcome to northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, where the desert is as wide open as a canvas by Georgia O'Keefe. The desert in this southwest region is haunting and colorful, with tremendous cliffs and promontories - just like O'Keefe's most famous paintings. As you'll surely find out, there's plenty more to see and do in this region than just Santa Fe and Albuquerque!
Land-based Activities in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado
So if you're searching for desert scenes, you won't be disappointed. For one thing, travel up to Great Sand Dunes National Park, where the largest and tallest American sand dunes rise up massively. The park is great for day activities, like climbing to the top of one of the peaks and then “surfing” back down again.
Vast swathes of the land throughout the region are covered with hard, desert plant life, like shrubs and chaparral. Many of these places are ideal for biking and hiking. Tent Rocks National Monument, covered with the teepee-like rock formations, is a favorite for hiking, as is Bandelier National Monument, which contains ancient and abandoned Pueblo settlements. Another natural beauty is Lake Catherine, close to Santa Fe. The glacier-created lake lies at timberline, dammed-up by a pile of oversized boulders, and surrounded by meadows of wildflowers.
Despite all the above, you'd be far from the truth to think that this region is one of only desert - the extensive national forests, the massive mountains, the flourishing rivers and streams - all contribute to make this region both beautiful and challenging for the fortunate outdoors-loving visitor. The forests in northern New Mexico impress in their own, Southwest, way. The resilience of the trees, the beauty of the aspen in particular, will inspire. You won't run out of things to do in Kit Carson National Forest, as it's loaded with hikes, fishing, and awesome geological formations. It's in this forest that you'll find Wheeler Peak, New Mexico's highest mountain, and Echo Canyon Amphitheater, the immense size of which is perfect for sending echoes.
To gain a different perspective, and see the land from that of the inhabitants of old, travel one of the region's trails by horseback. You can go on hair-raising rides up steep canyons in the desert highlands, or bask in the cool, alpine air within mountain valleys.
In a region like northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, where one vista always tops the previous one, a great way to tour is by bike. Ride alongside the rim of a canyon at the 700-foot-deep Rio Grande Gorge. This is a route even beginners can conquer, but if you want a tougher, more strenuous ride, head to Capulin Volcano National Monument. The ride features an 800-foot, three-mile climb to the top of Johnson Mesa, with ranches, deer, and conifer forests along the way. From the top of the cinder-cone bluff you can see snow-capped mountains and four states at once.
Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado boasts some excellent mountain climbing sites. The rocky mountain faces are sure to impress, such as that of Questa Directa. This route is up perfect granite, and it'll have you performing a variety of feats of gravity defiance, employing friction, dihedral, and crack climbing.
Water Activities in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado
You can't say you've really visited the region if you never take advantage of its rivers and lakes. These waters in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado are some of the States' great fly fishing havens. On these rivers, like the mythic Rio Grande, that wild and scenic river, and the Rio Chama, you'll have ample opportunity to reel in trout. On the reservoirs, as exemplified by the Abiquiu Reservoir, the bass are plentiful and plump.
With the wealth of tall, snow-capped mountains, the rivers and streams surge to comfortable levels every spring and summer. This, of course, is a boon for the kayaker. Whether you like whitewater kayaking and rafting, or sea kayaking, you're bound to find some pleasing waters in this region. The great Rio Grande river (literally, great great river river) is a varied river with rapids that reach Class VI (way to difficult for navigation of any kind), but also some of a very doable Class III. The latter begins after the Red River joins the Rio Grande.
Another tributary of the Rio Grande, southern Colorado's Conejos River, offers excellent if not swift kayaking. It's a rather secluded river, but with beautiful pine forests and remote wilderness areas to take in on the slower, wider sections, the Conejos River is prime kayak territory. You'll find plenty of people kayaking and fishing on the Heron Lake and the El Vado Lake. The former is only for kayakers, canoers, and anglers, while the latter allows motor boats; so you can also choose water skiing if such is your desire.
Are you up for some memorable mountain golf? The courses of northern New Mexico are at times merciless, often scenic, but always good places to play a round or two. Play through dramatic sandstone ridges at Black Mesa Golf Club, or up grassy knolls and down ridges dotted with juniper and pinon pine at Twin Warriors.
Adventure Travel in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado
World-class Rockies skiing carries over to southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, contributing to an abundance of skiing resorts. From Red River and Taos in the north to Sandia Peak outside Albuquerque, the region features unforgettable powder. Some of the highest runs start at over 12,000 feet!
Ready for something a bit more rowdy; a way to experience nature not quite the way nature ever intended? How about an off-road safari adventure tour up to the Blanca Peak Trail, with extensive viewing of the intimidating Blanca Peak. Or take a ride up in a hot-air balloon, to see the contours of the land as you imperceptibly drift over mountaintops and alpine streams. Enjoy takeoff but don't like the prospect of landing? Take the easy way down, skydiving!
Wherever you are in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, you'll be following in the footsteps of Native Americans and the Mexican explorers who still influence the region today. Georgia O'Keefe still haunts these grounds, from views of the Cerro Pedernal, her favorite mountain, to Ghost Ranch, where she spent many of her years. Come see what they saw by foot, bike, or kayak, in this wild wonderland of a region, a jewel of America's great outdoors.
Outdoor Recreation in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado
Outdoor-Sports-Recreation
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