The Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the north of the state are crossed by routes used since Spanish colonial times, or even earlier by indigenous people. These are the highest passes in the state and are a land of cool forests even in the summer. As you go south historic passes become more and more wide shallow gaps between alluvial fans, reaching up to dessert mountain ranges. But even in the land of large private land grants, trails and dirt roads reach up high into the mountains. In New Mexico you don't have to stop cycling summits in the winter. The south has large climbs that are snow free for at least the largest part of the winter.

The tables below currently contain 16 passes, including 6 unrecogniced summits