Backpacking near Albuquerque

November 17, 2007 12:05 PM

Best place to go backpacking within a two-hour drive of Albuquerque?

Warmer / lower elevations are better (the temperature is supposed to drop ten degrees this week -- lows in Santa Fe around 20 degrees F. Santa Fe is at 6500 ft. or something, and the mountains around it are much higher).

But feel free to share anywhere good. I might be willing to handle some cold to be somewhere really great.

Thanks for any suggestions you have!

posted by salvia to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

About an hour drive to the NW will take you up to the Jemez mountains. It will be cold, but you can plan to stop at the San Antonio hot springs on your trip. If they have already closed the road up there for the winter, this will be particularly nice to hike into.

Nothing else springs to mind within a 2 hour drive, but there's an REI store in Albuquerque. I'm sure they would have some ideas for you. There's tons of public lands around Albuquerque, so there are lots of options.
posted by yohko at 1:35 PM on November 17, 2007

I'd recommend going up to Taos, which has beautiful mountains to hike in, though snow may be a challenge at this time of year (and I know it is > 2 hours - about 2 1/2).
posted by gnash at 3:43 PM on November 17, 2007

It's not as beatiful this time of year but it is lower and warmer. Bosque del Apache makes for a nice day hike. They are currently holding their Festival of Cranes.
posted by GregWithLime at 6:16 PM on November 17, 2007

I love the area around Tent Rocks.
posted by Nelson at 8:42 PM on November 17, 2007

Sangre de Christo Mountains - just don't go too high. There are plenty of hot springs, waterfalls, etc.
posted by Pants! at 11:14 PM on November 17, 2007

There is also El Malpais near Grants. Nice volcanic hiking and good caves there as well, although some are only open at certain times of the year due to protected bat species.
posted by langeNU at 10:07 AM on November 20, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. We ended up planning a three-day trip into the Bandelier Wilderness -- then my friend got sick. So instead, we went to the museums, then did some car camping. The Albuquerque Natural History Museum has some pretty good stuff.
posted by salvia at 1:45 AM on November 24, 2007