New Mexico: Santa Fe & Taos Biking

Day 1

Meet your Trip Leaders (the folks wearing Backroads T-shirts) after breakfast at 9 a.m. at The Inn of the Five Graces in Santa Fe. Please eat breakfast beforehand and arrive with your biking gear in a daypack or small bag so you can change after lunch.

Shuttle to Taos 2½ Hours
Taos Blueberry Hill Route 14 Miles (500-foot elevation gain)

Welcome to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment! After meeting, we shuttle from Santa Fe to Taos and the Millicent Rogers Museum to see an impressive collection of Southwestern art. It is said that the combined communities of Taos and Santa Fe have more art museums and galleries than Paris. After visiting the museum, we spread out in a grassy area with a view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains for a signature Backroads picnic lunch.

Before setting out on the warm-up ride, your Trip Leaders fit your bike and give a brief talk on biking techniques and safety. Then pedal near the western edge of town on a winding route to Blueberry Hill Road, enjoying great views of Taos. If you don’t feel like biking, shuttle into Taos for a leisurely stroll around the plaza. Be sure to step into the Old County Courthouse to see the Depression-era murals by early Taos artists.

This evening we get acquainted during a wine reception at the hotel before heading to Lambert’s to savor exquisite dishes prepared by chef Ky Quintanilla, whose creative blends of French and Southwest cuisine will surprise and delight.

Lodging: Casa Benavides

Day 2

Questa Route 62 Miles with Shuttle (5,000-foot elevation gain)
Shorter Option: Memorial 45 Miles (2,800-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: Enchanted Circle 85 Miles (7,000-foot elevation gain)

Today is your chance to tackle all or part of the famous Enchanted Circle, a scenic byway that curves around the base of 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak. Spin into the Taos River Valley and Carson National Forest before beginning a slight but steady climb to the top of Palo Flechado (9,107 feet). After a steeper two-mile stretch, you’ll crest a peak before letting loose on a quick winding descent through aspen, spruce and fir forest. Continue through broad grassy Moreno Valley on a mostly level path lined with picture-perfect homes and snowy mountain views. After passing the Angel Fire ski area, you’ll see the DAV Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a good spot to refuel with your packed lunch. The Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel was the first structure built to honor Vietnam Veterans in the United States. Back on your bike, return the way you came or ride out of the valley, into the hills and over Bobcat Pass. After the climb, get ready for the 2,000-foot downhill to the town of Red River, a former gold–mining camp set in a valley surrounded by the Sangre de Cristo peaks. From here, rolling but tough hills lead back to Taos and the welcoming Casa Benavides. If you’re considering the full Enchanted Circle option today, keep in mind that it’s an extremely challenging route that maintains a 7,000-foot elevation and includes two steep mountain passes. (The few Backroads guests who complete it describe it as the most challenging ride of their lives.)

This afternoon, time permitting, feel free to visit the Taos Pueblo, an American Indian community that’s a National Historic Landmark and World Heritage site. The Pueblo is home to 150 full-time residents whose allegiance to tradition is evident in the lack of running water and electricity in their homes and businesses. (Please note: Once in a while, Taos Pueblo closes its doors to visitors—without any warning—to tend to Pueblo business.) Tonight you’re on your own for dinner in Taos; a wonderful variety of restaurants are within walking distance of the inn.

Lodging: Casa Benavides

Day 3

Chimayó Route 51 Miles with Shuttle (3,860-foot elevation gain)
Shorter Option: High Road 33 Miles with Shuttle (2,420-foot elevation gain)
Shuttle to Rancho de San Juan 30 Minutes

This morning we pedal into northern New Mexico’s mountain villages. The demanding ride puts your legs to the test with some serious elevation gain and several rolling hills. But don’t let that intimidate you! A shuttle is available to the top of U.S. Hill (8,390 feet). Shortly after you set out, you’ll climb 18 miles to a spectacular viewpoint above Apache Canyon. From here, bike along a series of hills through the laid-back communities of Las Trampas (7,380 feet) and Truchas (7,910 feet), where Robert Redford’s Milagro Beanfield War was filmed.

Continue to Chimayó, a tiny village established after the Spanish re-conquest of New Mexico in 1680 and renowned for its talented weavers. The most impressive woven rugs and clothing are at the family-owned Ortega Weaving Shop, which displays examples of nine generations of craftsmanship. Our ride concludes at the Santuario. This 19th-century adobe church is one of the most revered places in the Southwest. Because the ground where the Santuario sits is thought to have miraculous healing powers, you’ll likely see pilgrims in a dimly lit back room kneeling over an opening in the floor, scooping the holy dirt out, and rubbing it on their arms, legs and faces. Crutches and leg braces discarded by the cured line the walls. In addition to its remarkable textiles and sacred land, Chimayó is also known for its chilies. Consider picking up some varieties of molido, the powdered form of the chili, to create your own version of authentic northern New Mexican cuisine!

Our destination and home for the next two nights is the luxurious Rancho de San Juan, a stylish resort set on 225 acres of high desert. Be sure to bring your appetite to dinner at the inn’s award-winning restaurant.

Lodging: Rancho de San Juan

Day 4

Shuttle to Ghost Ranch 45 Minutes
Chimney Rock Hike 3 Miles
Longer Option: Kitchen Mesa 5 Miles
Ghost Ranch Route 33 Miles with Shuttle (1,500-foot elevation gain)
Shorter Option: Abiquiu 14 Miles with Shuttle (500-foot elevation gain)

The day is yours to explore Ghost Ranch— ―O’Keeffe Country.‖ The Spanish, believing the 21,000-acre property was haunted, called it El Rancho de los Brujos (or ―Ranch of Witches‖). Either because of the spirits or despite them, painter Georgia O’Keeffe was drawn to Ghost Ranch and in the early 1940s, bought seven acres here to call home. One look at the chiseled rock formations rising from the desert and you’ll understand why. Just outside Santa Fe, the views are dominated by the flat-topped Cerro Pedernal (Flint Hill), as well as Abiquiu Lake and the Chama River Valley, depicted in many of O’Keeffe’s paintings. Today Ghost Ranch offers museums, hiking trails and educational programs that tell the story of northern New Mexico.

After shuttling to the ranch, we hike to Chimney Rock, following the edge of the Colorado Plateau, with its colorful waves of exposed bedrock layers. You can also visit the ranch’s two excellent museums: one dedicated to anthropology and the other to paleontology. The Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology houses the articulated fossils of the Coelophysis, a small carnivorous dinosaur that lived over 205 million years ago. They were discovered at Ghost Ranch in 1947; no other fossils of Coelophysis have been discovered outside of New Mexico.

After a delicious picnic lunch, hop on your bike and ride past Abiquiu Lake along the Charma River Valley back to Rancho de San Juan, where you can enjoy some downtime, perhaps with a massage. (Spa services are not included in the trip price; appointments should be made with the hotel at least two weeks in advance. Please see accommodation sidebar for hotel contact information.) Other afternoon options include hiking up a nearby cliff face to see amazing petroglyphs and visiting an unusual sandstone shrine carved by a local sculptor. Another fabulous dinner awaits you at the hotel.

Lodging: Rancho de San Juan

Day 5

Shuttle to Tsankawi 1 Hour
Bandelier Loop 31 Miles (1,810-foot elevation gain)
Tsankawi Ruins Hike 1.6 Miles (200-foot elevation gain)
Shuttle to Santa Fe 1 Hour

We shuttle into the foothills of the Jemez Mountains to start a short hilly ride through the outskirts of Los Alamos. Our picnic and afternoon hike take place at the Tsankawi Prehistoric Ruins, part of Bandelier National Monument. This ancient mesa-top city was inhabited until the end of the 16th century. Carved from the region’s soft volcanic tuff, the ruins once stood three stories tall and housed an advanced agricultural society for more than 150 years. At that time, farmland covered the valleys, where piñon and juniper thrive today. From our lookout point, take in the expansive views of the Pajarito Plateau and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

This evening we settle into the luxurious Inn of Five the Graces. Designed around a series of peaceful flower-filled courtyards, the inn is an ideal retreat for the last night of our trip. Stroll to the plaza, just blocks away, or relax with a massage before dinner. (Spa treatments are not included in the trip price. It’s a good idea to schedule appointments well in advance of the trip.) Tonight we toast our week together over an outstanding meal at Santacafé, renowned for its nouveau-Southwestern fare.

Lodging: The Inn of the Five Graces

Day 6

Santa Fe Loop 14 Miles (500-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: Ski Basin 32 Miles (3,400-foot elevation gain)

If you’re an early riser in search of one final challenge, tackle the Ski Basin out-and-back route, which includes a 3,400-foot elevation gain. If not, hop on your bike a little later and enjoy views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez and Sandia Mountains on a ride through Santa Fe’s outlying neighborhoods. (Gaze at those distant peaks and congratulate yourself for conquering some of them earlier this week!) Continue pedaling to Canyon Road, one of the oldest roads in the United States, once part of a 13th-century American Indian trail leading from the lower Rio Grande Valley to Taos. Today the historic byway hosts an active community of artists and craftspeople with shops, galleries and restaurants lining the street. After soaking up the local color, we sit down to a farewell lunch at The Pink Adobe, located next to The Inn of the Five Graces.