Those are some great pics. Looks like a very fun and colorful trip to say the least. Is the majority of that stretch curvy?
Alpine Roads: Jemez Mountains, Northern New Mexico
Went for a nice day ride up through the Jemez Mountains (pronounced Hey-Mez) this past Thursday. From Santa Fe and back it was just over 200 miles on the day. A few photos:
![Road Asphalt Highway Thoroughfare Road surface]()
Just over the next ridge in this photo is the location of the most recent wildfire in the Jemez... now contained, with just a few hotspots remaining.
![Road Asphalt Mountain pass Highway Mountainous landforms]()
Bridge over Fenton Lake... currently very low water levels, due in part to fire fighting helicopters drawing water from the lake.
![Natural landscape Body of water Nature Wilderness Natural environment]()
Fenton Lake, one beautiful alpine lake.
![Plant Flower Vegetation Wilderness Meadow]()
Fenton Lake.
![shortleaf black spruce balsam fir Larix lyalliiSubalpine Larch Tree lodgepole pine]()
Rock outcroppings above Fenton Lake.
![Road Tree Thoroughfare Asphalt Natural landscape]()
Road made for a CBR250R.
![Text Font Commemorative plaque]()
Info sign for the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
![Sky Blue Natural environment Cloud Ecoregion]()
Valles Caldera (and next two photos).
![Sky Mountainous landforms Highland Hill Mountain]()
Rocky Mountain Elk favor this area for grazing.
![Sky Mountainous landforms Highland Plain Natural environment]()
Taken from another roadside overlook.
Just over the next ridge in this photo is the location of the most recent wildfire in the Jemez... now contained, with just a few hotspots remaining.
Bridge over Fenton Lake... currently very low water levels, due in part to fire fighting helicopters drawing water from the lake.
Fenton Lake, one beautiful alpine lake.
Fenton Lake.
Rock outcroppings above Fenton Lake.
Road made for a CBR250R.
Info sign for the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Valles Caldera (and next two photos).
Rocky Mountain Elk favor this area for grazing.
Taken from another roadside overlook.
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It is very much a twisting, curvy road... from the town of Los Alamos on the north end of the mountain range, to Fenton Lake on the southwest end it's about 60+ miles of nothing but right, left, up, and down scenic road made for motorcycles. At times the CBR250R seems like it's on an amusement park roller coaster ride.
There are a couple really fun sections that are best described as sort of like a big sweeping corkscrew turn, more than 200 degrees from entrance to exit. Speed limits along the road range from 35 to 55 mph, so it's perfect for a small displacement sport bike... some tighter corners, where you might only be actually carrying 20-25 mph through the apex, feel absolutely fast at that speed. To me, it's roads like these where the CBR is in its element... top speed means nothing up here, you just can't use it.
Yeah, for me it's every bit as much about the surroundings on my travels through these Rocky Mountains, as it is about riding high altitude roads.
I can promise you this Michael, that I will never post up any Ride Reports with photos of 500 mile per day, super slab interstate freeways... not my style. When I head out for a ride, I seek out the back roads and the roads less traveled, where you still need to use a good 2/3's of the tire tread despite not riding over aggressively.
Sounds like a ton of fun. Thanks for sharing. It's definitely a place is like to go to should I ever get any riders willing to take a road trip that far. My father, brother, and I have been trying to plan a ride from San Diego or Palm Springs to Carlsbad Cavern what seems like forever now, just can't get schedules to mesh.
Seeing pics like that makes me wanna push the NM trip more.
Seeing pics like that makes me wanna push the NM trip more.
Sounds like that would be a great motorcycle road trip. I'd recommend considering that one for later in the summer, or even better, early fall when the daytime high temps are a lot more tolerable... the desert southwest is pretty brutal this time of year (and for the next few months).Sounds like a ton of fun. Thanks for sharing. It's definitely a place is like to go to should I ever get any riders willing to take a road trip that far. My father, brother, and I have been trying to plan a ride from San Diego or Palm Springs to Carlsbad Cavern what seems like forever now, just can't get schedules to mesh.
Seeing pics like that makes me wanna push the NM trip more.
I'm looking at late July/early August to load up the CBR and my XR400R in the truck with all the camping & riding gear, and head up to southwest Colorado for a long weekend of road & off road riding. Set up a little base camp at a National Forest camp site outside of Ouray, Colorado and just go ride from there... it doesn't get much better than that.
I agree with you 100%.I can promise you this Michael, that I will never post up any Ride Reports with photos of 500 mile per day, super slab interstate freeways... not my style. When I head out for a ride, I seek out the back roads and the roads less traveled, where you still need to use a good 2/3's of the tire tread despite not riding over aggressively.
Very nice trip.
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