New Mexico's riding splits cleanly into north and south. In the north, three roads do the work: the 84-mile Enchanted Circle loop around Wheeler Peak out of Taos, the 56-mile High Road to Taos through the Sangre de Cristo villages, and NM 4 across the Jemez Mountains past the Valles Caldera. In the south, one road matters more than the rest of the state combined — NM 152 over Emory Pass, 8,228 feet up in the Black Range of the Gila National Forest, and one of the great unvisited mountain roads in the country. You can ride all four in four days if you accept a long transit down I-25 in the middle.
Altitude is the whole story here
Almost everything worth riding in New Mexico is above 7,000 feet, and several of these roads spend hours near or above 9,000. The Enchanted Circle alone crosses Bobcat Pass at 9,820 feet and Palo Flechado Pass at 9,101 feet in a single 84-mile loop, encircling Wheeler Peak, which at 13,161 feet is the highest mountain in the state. That has practical consequences: afternoon thunderstorms build fast in July and August, temperatures swing enormously between valley and pass, and a naturally aspirated engine that felt fine in Albuquerque will feel noticeably flat at the top.
The other consequence is season. None of these roads has a formal winter closure, but the high passes get snow and the mountain villages sit high enough that ice on shaded pavement lasts well into spring. May through October is the working window, with late September and early October the best of it — the aspens turn, the monsoon has finished, and the roads empty out.
Top motorcycle roads in New Mexico
| Road | Length | What it is | End to end |
|---|---|---|---|
| NM 152 (Emory Pass) | 66.07 miles | Crosses the Black Range of the Gila National Forest at Emory Pass, 8,228 feet, with a vista at the top | US 180 in Santa Clara to NM 187 south of Caballo |
| Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway | 84-mile loop | National Forest Scenic Byway encircling Wheeler Peak; crosses Bobcat Pass and Palo Flechado Pass | Loop from Taos via Questa, Red River, Eagle Nest and Angel Fire |
| High Road to Taos | 56 miles | Winding state byway through Spanish land grant and Pueblo villages in the Sangre de Cristos | Pojoaque north of Santa Fe to Taos |
| NM 4 (Jemez Mountain Trail) | 67.95 miles | Paved end to end; climbs past Jemez Springs, skirts Valles Caldera, then hairpins down above Frijoles Canyon | US 550 at San Ysidro to NM 502 east of Los Alamos |
Open the Enchanted Circle loop in Google Maps — the full 84 miles out of Taos and back, ready to send to your navigation.
NM 152 and Emory Pass
Sixty-six miles from US 180 in Santa Clara, just outside Silver City, east to NM 187 south of Caballo. It starts unremarkably, passing Hanover and reaching San Lorenzo about ten miles in, and then it goes to work: the next 32 miles to Hillsboro carry it up and over the Black Range at Emory Pass, 8,228 feet, inside the Gila National Forest.
The climb is tight, continuous and largely unguarded, with switchbacks stacked on the western side and long views opening as you gain height. Emory Pass Vista at the top has a paved cul-de-sac, picnic tables, a grill and a pit toilet, and looks east over the ghost town of Kingston, over Hillsboro, and out to Caballo Lake and the ranges beyond. Overnight camping is not allowed at the vista. The Black Range Crest Trail leaves from there and runs the length of the range.
East of the pass the road drops through Kingston and then Hillsboro — Kingston nine miles west of Hillsboro, Hillsboro 27 miles west of I-25 Exit 63 — before flattening out for the last 17 miles to the interstate.
The road has almost no traffic and almost no services. Fill in Silver City or Hillsboro, and remember that a mechanical problem on the pass means a long wait.
The Enchanted Circle
Eighty-four miles that begin and end in Taos, made up of four highways: US 64 between Eagle Nest and Taos, NM 522 from Taos north to Questa, NM 38 from Questa through Red River to Eagle Nest, and NM 434 between Eagle Nest and Angel Fire. It is both a New Mexico Scenic Byway and a National Forest Scenic Byway, and the loop encircles Wheeler Peak.
Ridden counterclockwise from Taos, you run north on NM 522 to Questa with the Sangre de Cristos on your right, then turn east on NM 38 up the Red River valley — old copper, lead, silver and gold mining country — and over Bobcat Pass at 9,820 feet into the Moreno Valley. At the southern end of that valley sits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park. From Angel Fire, US 64 climbs west over Palo Flechado Pass at 9,101 feet and drops through the canyon of the Rio Fernando de Taos back into town.
It is short enough for a morning and interesting enough for a day. Taos, with its plaza and the Taos Pueblo World Heritage Site nearby, is the obvious base for northern New Mexico.
The High Road to Taos
Fifty-six miles between Santa Fe and Taos through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and the alternative to the Low Road, which runs along the Rio Grande in the valley. The state recognizes it as an official scenic byway, and the character is completely different from the Enchanted Circle — this is high desert, small farms, forest and a string of tiny Spanish land grant and Pueblo villages.
The byway starts at Pojoaque, where US 285/84 meets NM 503, and runs to Nambé Pueblo. Seven and a half miles in it turns onto NM 98, Juan Medina Road, and crosses open rolling high desert before dropping into the green farming valley of Chimayó, where most people stop at the Santuario. From there NM 76 climbs into the mountains proper through Truchas, which sits on a ridge with the peaks behind it, and Las Trampas, where the San José de Gracia church was completed in 1776 and is now a National Historic Landmark. NM 75 carries the route into Peñasco, near Picurís Pueblo, before it drops toward Taos.
Two notes. The road is narrow through the villages, with livestock, dogs and parked cars in the lane, so this is a 35 mph road much of the time whatever the sign says. And the pueblos are living communities, not attractions — Picurís asks that visitors get permission before photographing anywhere on pueblo land.
NM 4 across the Jemez
Sixty-eight miles from San Ysidro on US 550 east to NM 502 beyond Los Alamos, and the main artery of the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway. Unlike several other back roads in northern New Mexico, it is paved for its entire length.
Out of San Ysidro it passes through Jemez Pueblo and Jemez Springs in the red-rock canyon of the Jemez River, then climbs steeply into the Jemez Mountains and the Santa Fe National Forest, skirting the southern boundary of Valles Caldera National Preserve — an enormous grass-floored volcanic caldera that opens up on your left with no warning. Jemez Falls, a 70-foot drop, is a short walk from a turnoff. The eastern descent is the technical part: a series of hairpins with views down into Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument before the road reaches the junction for Los Alamos.
Speed limits are mostly 50 or 55 mph, which the curves do not support. This is also fire country — the Cerro Grande and La Mesa fires both burned across this highway — so expect burn scars, and expect closures during active fire seasons.
Fuel, weather and the practical stuff
Fuel. The northern byways are fine — Taos, Questa, Red River, Eagle Nest, Angel Fire, Española and Los Alamos all have pumps. NM 152 is the problem. There is nothing usable between Silver City and Hillsboro, which is more than 50 miles across a mountain range. Fill before you start, not after.
Monsoon. July and August bring near-daily afternoon thunderstorms that build over the high country from about one o'clock. They are violent, brief and produce hail and flash flooding on the pass roads. Ride mountain sections in the morning during monsoon season and be somewhere else by mid-afternoon.
Cold. A 40-degree difference between a Rio Grande valley morning and a 9,800-foot pass in the wind is normal. Carry more layers than the forecast implies, because the forecast is for a town at 6,000 feet.
Surface and wildlife. Expect gravel washed across the road at every arroyo crossing after a storm, frost damage on the passes, and open-range cattle on the unfenced sections. Elk are common in the Jemez and around the Moreno Valley at dawn and dusk.
Fire closures. Forest roads and sometimes the highways themselves close during high fire danger. Check the Santa Fe and Gila national forest notices before committing to NM 4 or NM 152 in a dry summer.
Gear notes for high-altitude New Mexico
Altitude and heat do more to your tires here than the corners do. Riding from 4,500 feet near Caballo to 8,228 at Emory Pass in an hour, or from a 95-degree valley to a windy 9,820-foot pass, moves your pressures in both directions on the same day. Our tire pressure guide explains how much that actually costs you in grip and wear, and a valve-cap TPMS sensor reports it live rather than leaving you guessing at the vista pull-off. The second issue is coverage: the Black Range, most of the Jemez and long stretches of the High Road have no usable signal, and a stalled streaming map at an unsigned village junction wastes real time. Download the region and run it on a bar-mounted riding system so the phone stays in your jacket. The JADO S6 puts navigation and live tire data on one screen with front and rear cameras recording, which is worth having on unfenced range roads where a cow can be standing in the lane past a blind crest. We build one of these, so weigh that as you read.
FAQ
What is the best motorcycle road in New Mexico?
NM 152 over Emory Pass if you want the best pure riding road — 8,228 feet, continuous switchbacks through the Gila National Forest and almost no traffic. The Enchanted Circle is the better all-round day out because it loops, has services and takes in Wheeler Peak.
How long does the Enchanted Circle take?
Three to four hours for the 84 miles if you stop, less if you do not. It is a loop from Taos, so it fits neatly into a half day with a long lunch in Red River or Angel Fire.
Is the High Road to Taos better than the Low Road?
They do different things. The High Road climbs into the mountains through Chimayó, Truchas and Las Trampas and is far more interesting to ride; the Low Road follows the Rio Grande in the valley and is faster. The usual answer is to ride one each way.
When is the best time to ride northern New Mexico?
May and June before the monsoon, then late September into October for the aspens. Midsummer works if you ride the passes in the morning and are off them before the afternoon storms build.
Do these roads close in winter?
There is no formal seasonal closure on any of them, but Bobcat Pass, Palo Flechado Pass and Emory Pass all get snow, and shaded mountain pavement holds ice. Treat November through April as conditional and check state road conditions the morning you ride.
