Skiing an Enchanted Circle

After skiing ​one of the southernmost US ski areas​, our ski travels took us north. We were eager to revisit New Mexico’s Enchanted Circle which is home to 3 ski areas.

Also, some friends recently purchased property near Santa Fe so seeing their land and catching up with them would be a bonus.

DAY 1: Tularosa to Santa Fe

After ​our southern New Mexico tour​ ended near Tularosa, we drove 3 hours north. We stayed a night at ​Santa Fe KOA Journey​ on the outskirts of Santa Fe in a community called Cañoncito.

This KOA has wonderfully hot and clean showers. On top of that, they make pizza on-site and deliver it to your rig.

If you go: Water availability might be limited due to freezing temperatures, so call ahead if you need access to water.

Santa Fe KOA Journey is only 50 minutes from ​Ski Santa Fe​.

DAY 2: Juniper Family Campground at Bandelier National Monument

Our friends weren’t quite ready to visit with us yet, so we took a sidetrip to ​Bandelier National Monument​ only about an hour away in Los Alamos.

Our first time in New Mexico during the 2019/20 season, we skied at Pajarito, only 20 minutes from the Juniper Family Campground in Bandelier.

Back then, we were still doggie parents. While dogs are allowed in the campgrounds at Bandelier, they aren’t allowed on any hiking trails. So we skipped camping in Bandelier and slept in Pajarito’s parking lot instead.

This time, we would skip skiing at Pajarito since it’s not included with the Ski Cooper or Indy Passes that we have this season. But we would dedicate 24 hours to visiting Bandelier.

We camped at ​Juniper Family Campground​ and only saw evidence of one other camper. It was the same way back in 2020.

The views from the campground aren’t anything spectacular. However, immediate access to hiking trails is what makes this camping location special.

After settling into our campsite, we hiked the 2.2-mile Tyuonyi Overlook Trail. It forms a loop around the mesa with a spur to an overlook of Frijoles Canyon. Across the canyon you can see the San Miguel Mountains, and I think we could see Ski Santa Fe much farther away looking east.

If you go: Many amenities are unavailable between October and mid-April so it’s more like dry camping at Juniper.

Bathrooms are closed for the season, there is no running water, and the dump station is shut down. Campsites including their driveways might not be snow free. However, dumpsters are available.

AT&T cell service worked decently well for us, but you might find cell service to be unreliable overall.

DAY 3: Cliff Dwellings at Bandelier National Monument

The next morning, we were ready to explore the best parts of Bandelier that include significant evidence of Ancestral Pueblo people. The most interesting cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, and other sites all reside at the bottom of Frijoles Canyon.

From Juniper Family Campground, there are two ways to get there.

The easy way is a 10-minute drive to the Visitor Center at the bottom of Frijoles Canyon.

The harder way is hiking the Frey Trail that descends 550 feet over 1.5 miles to the canyon floor and meeting up with the 1.4-mile Main Pueblo Loop Trail.

The hiking option would be significantly more difficult because the shuttle that would normally take us back to the campground does not run during winter. We would need enough energy to hike up and out of the canyon after a day of exploration. We also didn’t know if the trail would be too muddy or icy.

Since we had never been to the main part of Bandelier, we decided to drive and park at the Visitor Center to make sure we had all of the information needed to make the most of our day. A ranger was able to give us a better idea of trail conditions and confirm the plan we had in mind was a good one.

Starting at the Visitor Center, we hiked close to 4 miles which included the following trails:

• ​Main Pueblo Loop Trail (1.4 miles)
• ​Frey Trail (about 1.2 miles from where it meets the Main Pueblo Loop Trail to the mesa and back down again)
• ​Alcove House (1 mile)

​Here is a basic map that shows all 3 trails.

I loved climbing stairs and ladders into cliff dwellings and imagining what it was like to live there so long ago.

Bandelier is one of the most memorable national monuments that we’ve visited in the past year.

If you go: Trails in Bandelier can be very snowy, muddy, and icy in the winter, so go prepared. If there is a lot of snow, don’t hike past the point where the trail is no longer obvious to you. Turn around!

Also, the canyon walls limit the amount of direct sun you get within Frijoles Canyon. For the warmest experience, it seemed like 10 am to 3 pm was the best time to stay out of the shade.

Don’t forget your America the Beautiful Pass or be ready to pay an entrance fee.

After finishing our sidetrip to Bandelier, we drove back and stayed another night at Santa Fe KOA Journey.

DAY 4: A day with friends and mules

I was excited to visit with friends, but I didn’t know we would learn all about how to hitch up mules to a wagon.

What an involved process! There are so many details that must be executed successfully to ensure the safety of the mules, wagon riders, and driver.

Mules are sweet animals, and I enjoyed getting to know them and immersing myself in some pet therapy.

By this summer, our friends intend on offering lessons in driving mules as well as wagon rides. If they get around to it, I’ll let you know.

DAY 5: Breakfast in Santa Fe, Traveling to the Enchanted Circle, and Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (Orilla Verde)

We spent the last minutes with our friends over breakfast in Santa Fe where they introduced us to Tune-Up Cafe.

We were most excited for breakfast burritos, but my favorite ended up being the huge slice of moist carrot cake that I took to go. I savored it for two nights because it was so big.

With full bellies, we drove an hour north toward the Enchanted Circle.

The Enchanted Circle in New Mexico is a scenic byway that creates a circle around Wheeler Peak using a series of highways, including Highways 64, 522, and 38. For a visual, check out the driving tour.

Wheeler Peak is the tallest in the entire state at 13,161 feet.

The Enchanted Circle is a worthy scenic drive, but my favorite part is that it connects 3 ski areas – Angel Fire, Red River, and TAOS.

We skied Angel Fire for the first time in February 2020, and it would be our starting point upon returning to the Enchanted Circle.

Since we have Ski Cooper passes this season, and Ski Cooper participates in Powder Alliance, we get 3 days of skiing at Angel Fire.

We wanted to stay at Angel Fire RV Resort only minutes from the ski area as we did years ago. However, rates have gone up significantly. Over $100 per night!

We like staying at RV parks, most especially for showers, and Angel Fire RV Resort has some of the best. But we can’t justify more than $100.

We decided to give Rio Grande del Norte National Monument a try instead, even though it would mean a 1-hour commute to Angel Fire. Most campgrounds in the national monument are open year-round and start at $5 per night.

There are two major camping sections at Rio Grande del Norte – Wild Rivers Recreation Area (north) and Orilla Verde Recreation Area / Lower Gorge (south).

Orilla Verde is closest to Angel Fire, so we stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center in Pilar to get more information.

Visitor Center hours are limited in the winter, and we were fortunate that the woman working invited us in just 5 minutes before she was scheduled to close at 2 pm. She was dedicated to making sure we had every detail for a successful camping experience.

We were so grateful that she shared a printed map of all the campgrounds and hiking trails in Rio Grande del Norte, as well as their descriptions. The interactive map on the BLM site isn’t nearly as helpful.

Orilla Verde has 6 campgrounds. (7 if you count the Petaca Campground which is currently closed). We checked out the first 4 as you drive up NM-570 just minutes from the Visitor Center.

We chose a site at the Arroyo Hondo Campground with a great view of the Rio Grande and access to a vault toilet and dumpster.

Rio Bravo Campground, a short drive from Arroyo Hondo, offers $1 showers (4 quarters) for anyone paying to camp within the national monument.

However, the shower curtains were filthy, and the floor in each shower each had its own shade of colorful, unidentifiable fluid. I can normally suck it up, but I wasn’t feeling very tolerant that day.

Kyle didn’t seem as turned off so maybe the men’s side wasn’t nearly as bad, but Rio Bravo’s showers are now in my top 3 most disgusting showers.

If you go: There is no AT&T cell service in Orilla Verde, and I doubt any other carrier offers service. However, Starlink worked great at Arroyo Hondo.

DAY 6: Skiing Angel Fire and Harmony Taos Farm

We were super happy with our timing as Angel Fire received a few inches in the morning just before and after the lifts started spinning. I was worried about it being a dust-on-crust type of day, but the older layer underneath was forgiving.

Angel Fire’s website mentions camping near the base area. However, I was pretty sure it was strictly a summer amenity.

Regardless, I decided to ask about camping at the ticket window in hopes that we wouldn’t have to drive after our ski day. The woman I spoke to wasn’t sure of the rules and suggested we look for signs.

Green Lot has a sign that says “NO CAMPING IN LOT”.

We also found the summer camping area that Angel Fire’s website mentions, and it was a solid field of hardened snow about a foot or so deep. We would not be overnight camping at Angel Fire.

After our ski day, we drove 40 minutes to Taos Youth & Family Center for showers. I was feeling extra tired and kind of dreading another hour of driving for cheap camping at Wild Rivers, and another 45 minutes to Red River for skiing the next morning.

So instead, I booked a last-minute stay via Hipcamp at Harmony Taos Farm only 5 minutes from downtown Taos and only 50 minutes to Red River.

I’m so glad I did because the showers (not often offered by Hipcamps) were more luxurious than the family center, and we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset view of Wheeler Peak from our campsite.

If you go: To get to Harmony Taos Farm, you’ll travel narrow dirt roads littered with potholes. You might even encounter muddy sections on the final stretch to this Hipcamp, which could be intimidating to an inexperienced driver in a two-wheel-drive.

Rough, narrow dirt roads are not uncommon throughout much of Taos. They are not specific to Harmony Taos Farm.

As soon as you venture off of the main highway, there are many unpaved roads. Low-hanging tree branches, other encroaching vegetation, and twisty turns make it a little difficult for oversize vehicles when passing other vehicles, but not undoable.

When you’re taking suggestions from your GPS, pay close attention to where it’s guiding you. I’d stick to main thoroughfares instead of shortcuts through neighborhoods. Or in the case of Harmony Taos Farm, take the straightest path you can find.

DAY 7: Red River and Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (Wild Rivers)

I think the Red River Ski & Summer Recreation Area resides in the most beautiful section of the Enchanted Circle.

We drove through the town of Red River back in 2020, but our ski pass at the time didn’t include any days at the ski area.

So Red River was one motivation for buying a Ski Cooper pass this season. Both ski areas participate in Freedom Pass, and Freedom Pass gives you 3 ski days at each participating resort.

We’re so happy for our introduction to Red River. It might only have 209 skiable acres, but with a 1,600-foot vertical drop, I think it skis bigger than it sounds. Two of their lifts go from bottom to top, so it’s easy to earn vertical.

Plus, it’s uncrowded, so you’ll have many runs all to yourself. However, a tip from Ken, a Ski Burrito reader: Don’t go during Texas and Oklahoma spring break!

We only spent a day at Red River because most of the advanced trails were closed. They probably needed at least another foot of snow for proper coverage.

Red River doesn’t allow overnight RV camping, and their website is very clear that the town doesn’t allow it either.

While there are a couple of RV parks in town that are open year-round, we decided to explore Wild Rivers instead since we skipped it the night before.

Unlike Orilla Verde that is down in the canyon along the Rio Grande, Wild Rivers sits above it on the canyon rim.

There is a loop road that starts with the Wild Rivers Zimmerman Visitor Center and passes by 5 campgrounds and two scenic overlooks.

After completing the Wild Rivers loop road and checking out all of the scenic overlooks and campgrounds, we chose the El Aguaje Campground for our stay that night. It was only $7 and we didn’t share the campground with anyone.

While camping next to the Rio Grande in Orilla Verde was beautiful, I loved being at Wild Rivers more. It’s hard to beat the mountain, canyon, and river views from the mesa. Plus, I like having more hours of direct sun.

If you go: We found an open campground that was much closer to Red River than Wild Rivers – Goat Hill Campground. It was only 15 minutes west of the ski area on NM-38.

We didn’t stay because AT&T cell service was spotty. There were a lot of trees which would likely make our Starlink unusable, and with so much shade, our house batteries wouldn’t charge using our rooftop solar panels. The vault toilet was also locked.

Goat Hill’s scenery was also a lot less exciting than Wild Rivers.

While we had no trouble driving through Goat Hill, the campground is unpaved. Depending on recent precipitation, you might need 4WD.

DAY 8: TAOS and New Mexican Food

OpenSnow was telling us that a storm was blowing in, so it was time to decide where we wanted to make fresh turns.

After a day each at Angel Fire and Red River, we chose to spend the incoming powder day at Angel Fire since they had the most terrain open. However, if all their advanced runs had been open, we would’ve picked Red River because their trails seemed steeper.

We needed to kill a day while waiting for the storm, so we decided to check out TAOS.

People seem to absolutely love TAOS for their dry snow, steeps, and low crowds. Sadly, we haven’t skied there yet because we’ve been staying away from passes like IKON and Mountain Collective for now.

From the base, we couldn’t see much of the skiable area, but the front looks terrifying for any beginner or intermediate. The visible runs all appeared to be advanced and were icy with thin coverage.

We also checked out the Gila Monster Lot where TAOS offers overnight RV parking.

Apparently, it used to be free to park overnight, but recently they started charging $30-$45 per night, you must book a reservation, and nightly stays are limited to Thursday through Sunday this season due to “on-going projects”. Not sure what that means exactly.

Seems kind of pricey for unlevel sites that are very intimate with the neighbors and limited amenities (portable toilets and trash receptacles). But I’d say it’s worth it if you want to wake up slopeside on a powder day.

After taking a peek at TAOS, we drove down to Taos (the town) for grocery shopping and a late lunch. We wanted to try local New Mexican food, so we picked Orlando’s.

To get a sampling of what they offer, I ordered the combination plate which includes an enchilada, taco, and either a tamale or chile relleno. I chose the chile relleno. The combo also comes with beans and posole.

The cheese in my enchilada was not melted, and my taco’s beef was on the dry side.

However, I think the chile relleno was the best I’ve ever had aside from homemade. It was crispy, even after being smothered in sauce, and the chile itself had a good kick. I would definitely go back for the chile rellenos.

We were ready for showers again, so we went back to Harmony Taos Farm for the night.

DAY 9: Powder Day at Angel Fire

Our last full day in New Mexico was spent in The Steeps and gladed runs at Angel Fire on a powder day.

Surprisingly, our last run on Glory Hole was the best. Completely untouched aside from a sweep by ski patrol.

We went back to El Aguaje Campground for one more night before crossing over into Colorado.

Recap of New Mexico

I love New Mexico for:

• Greater doses of sun and blue skies during winter
• Friendly locals that are eager to share the most special parts of their state
• Cheap camping
• Uncrowded ski areas
• Exploring cultural sites

Disappointments:

• Skipping Ski Santa Fe because day tickets pushing $120 is outside of our budget
• Local driving habits like excessive tailgating and honking