Santa Fe National Forest Scenic Byway
New Mexico Scenic & Historic Byway 14 mi in New Mexico.
About the Santa Fe National Forest Scenic Byway
The byway originates in downtown Santa Fe at the oldest public building in America – the Palace of the Governors – and loops 15 miles through an aspen-evergreen forest to the Santa Fe Ski Basin. En route, vast vistas of amber-tinged badlands, azure mountains and abundant opportunities to hike, bike, ski, camp, picnic or snowshoe make this byway a refreshing break from Santa Fe's cultural deluge.
The road jogs through Hyde Memorial State Park , where the massive stone-and-log Hyde Park Lodge recalls fabled Old World hunting castles. For campers who prefer the comfort of civilized digs, the park offers seven electric sites in addition to group shelters, picnic areas, trails and 50 developed campsites. Trailheads, picnic areas and campgrounds beckon travelers into the backcountry, where aspen meadows and sparkling waterfalls could lead one to forget this is the high desert – if not for the vistas of the Arroyo Seco badlands beyond. Winter snowfall lures snowshoers and cross-country skiers to backwoods trails and downhill skiers and snowboarders to the groomed slopes of Ski Santa Fe , where chairlifts rise 1,650 vertical feet to Tesuque Peak at 12,000-feet elevation.
New Mexico Tourism Department's own description, in its words. Byway page on newmexico.org.
Designations: New Mexico Scenic & Historic Byway, National Forest Scenic Byway.
Camping along the byway
- Mile 7 · on the roadBlack Canyon Campground (Santa Fe National Forest, NM) · Forest Service · 36 sites · reservable
- Mile 8 · on the roadHyde Memorial State Park · State park · 50 sites · reservable
- Mile 12 · on the roadBig Tesuque Campground · Forest Service
- Mile 12 · 2.8 mi offPecos Canyon State Park · State park · 33 sites · reservable
- Mile 14 · on the roadAspen Basin · Forest Service
Public campgrounds within 5 miles of the road as the crow flies, in order along the byway; each one's page has its facts, season and weather by month.
About this page's facts
The line is the Federal Highway Administration's scenic byways layer (HEPGIS, a snapshot of 2022-06-24, a US government work), cut at the state line and simplified for the map; the length is the line's. The designation is the program's own: the national tiers from FHWA's America's Byways roster, the rest from the layer's designation field. Road conditions, closures and seasonal gates change: check the agency's own page and the state's road conditions before you go.