FR150 summit: Santa Fe Ski Basin
FR150 leads to the top of Santa Fe Ski Basin without going
through it. Combined with trails in the ski area it can be
made into a loop ride that reaches one of the highest
points around Santa Fe. This can be made into a
substantially longer ride, when combined with a
combination of paved and dirt roads that start near Santa
Fe. This is an 8 shaped ride, that doubles back on itself.
But the distance duplicated in approach and descent is
less than a mile. For me the major attraction of this ride
is the huge difference in landscapes from dessert arroyos
in the valleys to rounded alpine peaks at the top.
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01.(7010ft,mile00) START-END SOUTH:
Paseo de Paralta, Santa Fe; route turns right up
NM475 shortly afterwards.
02.(7830ft,mile04) intermediate high point
03.(7520ft,mile05) intermediate low point
04.(8810ft,mile09) Hyde Memorial Park camping area
05.(9790ft,mile13) turnoff down Pacheco Canyon is on
left; profile continues straught.
06.(10010ft,mile14) FR150 takes off on right;
profile goes right
07.(11960ft,mile20) TOP: electronic site avove Santa
Fe Ski Basin
08.(11780ft,mile20) end of road; continue on ski
area trails; profile to next point is approximate.
Less steep routes are possible.
09.10560ft,mile21) pick up NM475 at Santa Fe Ski
Basin lodge
10.(100010ft,mile24) same as point 6; Continue
straight down NM475
11.(9790ft,mile25) same as point 5; this time go
right, down towards Pacheco Canyon
12.(8900ft,mile27) stay left for Pacheco Canyon
13.(7210ft,mile33) START-END NORTH: jct NM592 -
rte76, north east of Tesuque
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 Approaches
From South. The ride begins in Santa Fe on Paseo de
Peralta, which is a sort of ring road around the old colonial
core of the city. On its southern end the turnoffs following
NM475 to Hyde Memorial State Park are well signed. The road
begins to climb steeply through new adobe style housing
developments with entrance gates designed to impress upon the
passersby that the people behind them have given the
developers a substantial amount of money. Traffic on this
initial stretch is heavier than on the rest of the road and
there is no shoulder. As the road climbs an early crest, the
housing developments recede further into the dwarf evergreen
forest and traffic thins out. A short drop and the climb
begins in earnest, now in a thick forested canyon with no hint
of where the top might be. Many feet of altitude higher, the
mountain road passes a picknick area named Aspen Vista. A park
bench is situated strategically to take in the first vista
since climbing above the sea of houses on the outskirts of
Santa Fe.
Here FR150 (closed to motorized traffic) starts a
moderately steep climb to a transmission facility above Santa
Fe Ski Basin. The forest opens once to show the Manzano
Mountains as a flat cutout to the south. Another forested
section and finally the road climbs above tree line, enters
the ski area, and reveals a 360 degree panorama on top. A
lake, a short distance below the ridge line on the west side
is the surprising alpine extreme, visible on this ride.
From North. (described downward). Rather than
returning down the same way, it is possible to take a right
fork ( when facing downhill ) at the top onto a service road
for the ski area. The road traverses to the northern end of
the ski area, then switches back and merges into a variety of
trails on the ski runs. The paved parking lot can be seen from
several spots along the way, so the time required for this
this route can be estimated. If any snow is found on the route
it will be on the north facing runs, even if there isn't a
speck of snow on the summit. This section involved a lot of
walking in my case. But somebody with more skill and bent on
riding every inch of the way, I am sure would have no problems
never getting off the bike. From the ski lodge the route
follows a lazy descent down the paved road back past the Aspen
Vista picnic area, but then shortly afterwards turns off onto
unpaved FR101 down Pacheco Canyon. The turnoff is not signed
and can easily be missed. From here it's what seems like an
eternal descent through a forested canyon. The transmission
facility on the top of the mountain is now a set of marbels on
matchsticks, seen between branches and twigs that divide the
sky into a pattern shaped like broken glass. The first section
of FR101 is rocky, followed by a smoothly surfaced but deeply
furrowed section perfect for a fast descent, while keeping
away four wheeled vehicles, followed by more rocks.
There is great difference in landscapes on this ride, but
it doesn't happen gradually. It happens in one abrupt step,
when the road suddenly exits the forest and emerges onto a low
ridge above the badlands of the geological Rio Grande
staircase. Surprisingly the ride continues through picturesque
badlands, partly being turned to more exclusive housing
developments. The final part of the descent is paved and
merges onto the Tesuque road.
Tours
Dayrides. (MTB+paved): An 8 shaped ride beginning at
Hyde Memorial State Park on NM475, traversing the southern and
northern approaches as described, then continuing to Santa Fe
along the mountains, and returning back up NM475 to the state
park, measured 50 miles with 6300ft of climbing in 5:4 hours,
using a VDO MC1.0 cycle computer (m3:07.11.7). This includes a
couple of miles of getting lost in the maze of housing
developments between Tesuque Road and Santa Fe, many of which
are loops or dead ends, and are useless from a cyclist's point
of view.
pictures: pic1, pic3: FR150 top; pic2: lower Pacheco Canyon
back to New
Mexico's Summits and Passes by Bicycle
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