Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drive 51
Jemez Mountain Trail
This realm of canyons, mesas, and mountains has remained virtually undisturbed
forcenturies.ItrecallsanerawhenancientIndiansfirstcolonizedthere,thenyiel-
ded to the Anasazis, a long-extinct culture that built their villages into the cliff-
sides and led seemingly peaceful, simple lives.
Length:
About 170 miles, plus side trips
When to go:
Year-round. Higher elevations provide relief from the heat during the
scorching days of summer.
Nearby attraction:
Heron Lake State Park, 11 miles west of Tierra Amarilla via Rte.
95
Not to be missed:
FeastDay,heldAugust2andNovember12atJemezPueblo.Visitors
can observe traditional dances.
Further information:
New Mexico Tourism Department
1.
Jemez River Canyon
Looming like distant thunderheads, the Jemez Mountains darken the desert horizon as Rte.
44 curves northwestward past sunbaked hills. The ridges, rising as an unbroken barrier,
prove impassable until the road reaches San Ysidro, where the thin ribbon of the Jemez
River guides State Rte. 4 into the tree-covered mountains. In fewer than 10 miles, the land-
scape here undergoes a drastic change—from arid, rocky lowlands to the lush pine wood-
lands of Santa Fe National Forest. The transition is particularly evident at the Jemez River
Canyon, where the river and the road are hemmed in on both sides by high-climbing sand-
stone slopes. Shrubs and ponderosa pines claim the lower elevations, then yield their dom-
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