This 84-mile loop takes the visitor though some of New Mexico’s spectacular high country. Much of the Byway traverses land formerly part of the Maxwell Land Grant, once the largest private individual holding in the western hemisphere. See ghost towns, ski resorts, and landscapes that have inspired artists from film Read more…
Constructed 1850. The High Road to Taos departs Santa Fe and climbs through picturesque mountain valleys home to some of New Mexico’s oldest settlements. Proceed through Pojoaque, Nambe, Chimayo, Cordova, Truchas, Trampas, Penasco and Ranchos de Taos onto the arts center of Taos. Some of the state’s most spectacular scenery Read more…
The area’s rural agricultural heritage and its connection to the historic Camino Real (17th to 19th centuries) provide it with the potential for noteworthy cultural landscapes. This cultural byway has significance not only for the South Valley community but for the Albuquerque region and state of New Mexico as a Read more…
The Corrales Road (6.7 miles; N.M. 448) passes through an area north of Albuquerque that has been farmed for 1,300 years. Nestled along the Rio Grande, the Village of Corrales has a much different feel from its big city neighbor. The byway is a leisurely route through the bosque (riparian Read more…
The Abo Pass Trail Scenic Byway (31 miles; N.M. 47 and U.S. 60) connects the El Camino Real National Scenic Byway and the Salt Missions Trail Scenic Byway. Start your journey in Belen, settled as a farming and railroad community in the Rio Grande Valley. Traveling southeast, the road crosses Read more…
Route 66 is a cultural icon of the automobile age. The whole route famously winds “from Chicago to L.A.,” crossing New Mexico from east to west. The Mother Route crosses through several MainStreet communities: Tucumcari, Albuquerque, Grants and Gallup. Albuquerque is a four-way crossroads of Route 66 in New Mexico, Read more…
The Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway is named for Geronimo, a famous Apache warrior. He was born Goyakla, meaning “one who yawns” in the 1820s near the headwaters of the Gila River. This would be in the Gila Wilderness area of Southwestern New Mexico today. He was born into the Bedonkohe Read more…
Stretching over 200 miles, the route has been of great importance to New Mexico for centuries. Today the byway connects multiple New Mexico MainStreet districts, traveling through Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences, Belen and Albuquerque. “In 1598, Don Juan de Onate led 500 colonists through the remote and unfamiliar country, Read more…
La Frontera del Llano Scenic Byway (the edge of the plains in Spanish) starts at Abbott, a place you’d think wouldn’t warrant a name if there weren’t a sign there to prove it. Most of the byway (NM 39) runs through Harding County, where cattle outnumber people seven to one. Read more…
“The 93-mile Trail of the Mountain Spirits winds around the southwest corner of New Mexico, back and forth across the forested Continental Divide, through the country’s first national wilderness area, the Gila, and past ancient cliff dwellings. Long known locally as The Inner Loop, especially among bicycle race fans, the Read more…
Constructed 1927. Historic Route 66 in Grants became known as Santa Fe Blvd. The highway has a long history with Grants, even as the community has seen boom and bust days due the uranium mining industry. The Grants area also grew crops, famously carrots, before industrial agriculture reduced the markets. Read more…
Constructed 1927. Historic Route 66 in Gallup is evident on the four-lane Historic Rt. 66 street and also on Coal Ave., one block south. The old highway split up into complementary one way routes from its origins. In few cities, can one experience as much of the original flavor of Read more…
The Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway passes through multiple New Mexico MainStreet communities. The historic trail had two routes over time: the Mountain Route that went through Raton with its important pass into Colorado; and the Cimarron Route, which cut across the eastern plains of New Mexico and passed Read more…