Local color
Get ready for the flashiest time of the year in New Mexico
To many outsiders who don’t know better, the only colorful part of the New Mexico landscape occurs in the beginning of October when the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in is its inflated glory.
But splashes, dashes and full mountainsides of color can be found in nearly every nook and cranny of the state.
It starts right here in the Albuquerque area, where a cruise over the Rio Grande can be alive in the golden hues of towering cottonwoods lining the bosque.
A relaxing stroll along the trails that meander through the bosque from Corrales to the South Valley, weaving through the trees and scuffling through the carpet of leaves, is an easy way to get a close-up encounter with the magic of nature.
The Sandias, too, provide an ongoing and changing landscape of color as the yellows pockets of aspen gradually change from on high to down lower as the season progresses, said Heather Briganti of the New Mexico Tourism Department.
“So many visitors fly into Albuquerque and move on, but the Sandia Mountains are an incredible place to see the leaves changing,” she said. “You can see them changing from top to bottom.”
Albuquerque offers a unique way to grasp the view in the Sandia Peak Tramway (sandiapeak.com), Briganti said.
Cruising 2.7 miles from the base to near the peak, the tram provides a perspective that’s hard to match, she said.
Also near Albuquerque, Fourth of July Canyon is a rare and resplendent collection of maples that turn all shade of fireworks red, said Jim Glover, owner of Once a Day Marketing and an avid hiker.
“It’s oak and maple rather than aspen, and that’s very cool,” he said. “We went there with a group, and I got some great pictures of people throwing the leaves around and just having fun.”
The hiking is gentle up the east side of the Manzanos, but whether you are taking a short stroll, a longer hike or simply rolling through the graded dirt roads, the area is a magnificent collection of colors, he said.
For people who like to see the fall changes from the comfort of their cars, Briganti recommended the Turquoise Trail — N.M. 14 from Tijeras to Santa Fe — and the Enchanted Circle, through Taos, Red River and Angel Fire.
“The east side of the Sandias, the landscape is so different so you get a different color scheme,” she said of the Turquoise Trail. “And there are some really fun spots along the way to get green chile cheeseburgers and funky art.”
To the north, “The Enchanted Circle is always a big hit for fall colors,” Briganti said. “You go through some of New Mexico’s most beautiful country for scenery. These are areas that are beautiful on their own, and add in the fall colors and it’s just spectacular.”
For people who want to get right into the midst of the scenery and don’t mind a little bit of effort, the Big Tesuque/Windsor trails just outside of Santa Fe are a nonstop experience of aspens delivering shade from lime to lemon-lime to full-on lemon, Glover said.
“My partner, Marianne (Tenenbaum), and I call this time of year the yellow season,” he said.
One of their favorite spots is the Rim Vista Trail outside Chama near Ghost Ranch. Not only is it a serene drive through the forests, but the trail, which is about five miles round-trip, leads to an overlook of the Chama River Valley, with colors exploding from the rocks and trees, Glover said.
Driving through the Jemez Mountains also is a worthy endeavor, especially with children, because not only are the hills alive with the quaking aspen mingled with evergreens, but there are many picnic areas and campgrounds that make excellent impromptu stops where kids can get out and scramble around on short hikes and river splashing.
“It’s spectacular, gorgeous,” Glover said. “It’s not hard hiking, but you’re in the midst of the cottonwoods and aspens as you get higher. There are little sub-hikes — Battleship Rock and Jemez Falls waterfall. There’s the Valles Caldera. It’s a great drive.”