Taos, NM — North-central New Mexico has become one of my new favorite riding destinations, offering mountains, high desert, and several scenic byways.
Riding north from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, you’ll want to ride Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway; then you can take either the High Road to Taos Scenic Byway, or the River Road (sometimes called the Low Road to Taos), which takes you along the Rio Grande. I took the River Road going north, and the High Road coming back.
North of Taos, the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway is an 85-mile loop that takes you through the Sangre de Cristo mountains. It offers curvy roads and great scenery. I took the above photo near the beginning of Enchanted Circle, just as the road gets twisty as you enter the mountains.
For info on North Central New Mexico: www.newmexico.org/region/north-central/
Albuquerque tourism: http: www.itsatrip.org
Taos tourism: http://taos.org
New Mexico tourism: www.newmexico.org