Selected Mountain Biking Trails
In New Mexico

Road Apple Rally
Farmington
The Road Apple Rally is run in October on the outskirts of Farmington. The basic trail round trip is 28 miles. From Main Street go north on Pinon Hills Boulevard 1.7 miles to College Boulevard. Take College north 0.8 miles to the trailhead at Lions Wilderness Park. The route goes north ashort ways, then it turns west on dirt roads. After crossing Glade Road it breaks north again until you're about 4 miles from the start. The trail then becomes 10 miles of single track paralleling Glade Road through a number of whoop-de-dos before it intersects with NM 573, turns east for a mile of pavement and then heads back to the start.

West Rim Trail
Near Taos
The West Rim Trail follows the top of the 700-foot-deep Rio Grande Gorge near the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on US 64 between Taos and Tres Piedras. The trail begins at the rest area on the west side of the bridge and is well suited for beginners, presenting a fairly flat trail with small hills. Most of the trail is pretty smooth but there are stretches of loose basalt. Ride early during warm weather: there is no shade. 0.5 miles north of NM 567 is the end of the trail at a parking area on the edge of the gorge. The round trip is 18 miles. If you really want to get the feel, continue on to the state road. It's paved on top but not down into the gorge. Follow the wash-boarded gravel from the rim to Taos Junction Bridge at the northern edge of the Orilla Verde National Recreation Area in the bottom, 3 miles and 700 feet down.

Elliott Barker Trail
Carson National Forest
The Elliott Barker Trail pullout is on US 64, 1.5 miles west of the Angel Fire Highway. The first couple of miles are uphill and challenging before it levels out (gains elevation more slowly) and runs south through beautiful stands of fir and aspen. At 3.5 miles is Apache Pass, at 6 miles are the meadows of Valle Largo. Next is FS 70 and Osha Pass, then Little Garcia Park. After passing Osha Peak and crossing Trail 164 at 11 miles, the Barker Trail ends at FS 153 at almost 12 miles. The round trip is 23 miles through some of the most beautiful valleys and forest in New Mexico.

Sandia Foothills
Albuquerque Open Space
This is an area with a good mix of beginner and intermediate single tracks lacing the green space on the east side of Albuquerque in the Sandia Mountain foothills. Much of it is well packed but there are sandy and rocky places. Maps of the entire system are available from the Albuquerque Open Space Division or from local bike shops.

Grants - Continental Divide
Grants
The Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon has cyclist-runner-skier-snowshoers going up and down Mount Taylor. However, the Grants - Continental Divide Trail starts in a municipal parking lot on Santa Fe Avenue in Grants and heads west and south. Ride west on Santa Fe Ave. about 1.5 miles before turning south on NM 53. Shortly you'll be travelling along the lava flow that is El Malpais National Monument and Conservation Area. Slowly, 1,200 feet in 23 miles), you'll climb to the El Malpais National Monument information center. Another 3 miles of mederate climb brings you to the Continental Divide. The round trip is 55 miles.

Valle Grande
Jemez Mountains
Valle Grande is one of the world's largest calderas. With trout streams wending their ways through volcanic cones and warm springs bubbling up everywhere, you know you're in a hot spot on Earth's surface. The trail begins in the parking lot beside the Los Alamos Fire Station on NM 501, just west of Diamond Drive. Follow NM 501 6 miles west to NM 4, turn west and climb 2,500 feet in the next 4 miles before entering the Valle Grande itself. Continuing west, you will slowly lose elevation. At the Redondo Campground is a water stop and turn around. Round trip is 48 miles.

Raton - Capulin Volcano National Monument
Colfax County
Start in a public parking lot on First Street in Raton. Follow First Street north and turn right under the railroad tracks. Then go east on NM 72. At about 10 miles you begin the 800 foot - 3 mile climb to the top of Johnson Mesa. The mesa is pretty flat and is littered with cinder cones among the ranches. Descend east into Folsom (about 38 miles from Raton), turn right on NM 325 and go 6 miles to Capulin Volcano National Monument. The round trip is 90 miles along the western end of the Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway.

Another option is to go 6 miles east of Raton on NM 72 and then turn north on NM 526. This goes through Sugarite State Park, past Lake Maloya and up to the Colorado border at Lake Dorothey State Wildlife Area. Round trip: 25 miles.

Manzano Meander
Central NM
Beginning at Four Hills Shopping Center at the junction of Central and Tramway on the east side of Albuquerque, this trail passes along the eastern flanks of the Manzano Mountains through Land Grant villages almost 200 years old. Take NM 333 seven miles east to Tijeras, turn south on NM 337 and climb Cedro Canyon. You'll pass through Cedro, Miera, Escobosa, and Chilili over the next 20 miles. Round trip from Albuquerque to Chilili is 55 miles. You can also go another 10 miles to the intersection with NM 55, turn west and go the 3 miles more to Tajique. This makes for an 80 mile round trip.