I was nearing the end of my day, looping around New Mexico north of Albuquerque, when I arrived in Santa Fe. As usual, the city was crowded and difficult to drive around, and since I had seen it all before, I decided to try something different. I thought I’d drive up to the Ski Santa Fe area, in the mountains above the city, just to see what I could see.
The truth is, it wasn’t worth the drive. Most of the road is heavily forested, and even though it’s only about 16 miles from the city, it’s a steep climb, around a lot of curves (which you’ll see in the Drivelapse video, down the page). I only found a couple of overlook spots.
This is the limited view from the Aspen Vista Picnic area. A bit further…
… and there’s a slightly better view at the side of the road, just before you arrive at the ski area.
Click on the image for a larger version.
The panoramic view is nice, and through the haze you can see Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Sandia Peak, along with some other mountains. A scratched-up interpretive sign helps you sort out what you’re seeing:
Click on the image for a larger version.
From this viewpoint, I drove on to the ski area. The road dead-ends here, looping around and sending you back the way you came.
Here’s the time-lapse, dash-cam video of the drive from downtown Santa Fe to the Ski Santa Fe area:
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