Visitors Guide Contents See Scenery
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
And All the Reasons You Came to New Mexico Visitors Guide Contents See Scenery . 4 Sandoval County’s scenic sights See History . 12 Historic monuments and museums throughout Sandoval County See the County . 17 Tours to our scenic and historic areas that can take a day or a week depending on your time to enjoy See Outdoors . 18, 22 Camping, hiking, fishing, mountain biking, winter sports, golf, soccer, wilderness escapes See Our Bounty . 27 From wineries to farmer's markets, sample our bounty See Cultures . 30 Pueblo de Cochiti, Jemez Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo, Sandia Pueblo, Pueblo of Santa Ana, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Zia Pueblo Lodging . 35 Motels, B&B’s and RV camping available in Sandoval County For an up-to-date calendar of events please visit our website: sandovalcounty.org or call 1-800-252-0191. Unless otherwise noted, all photos in this guide are from Elliot Madriss ©2010. Funding provided by Sandoval County and the New Mexico Department of Tourism. Produced and published for the Sandoval County Department of Tourism by Legacy Media, Inc. Copyright © 2010. All rights reserved. Every effort has been made to include accurate information in this guide. Sandoval County and Legacy Media, Inc., make every attempt to ensure the accuracy of this guide, but assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. 3 New Mexico Tourism Department, Mike Stauffer Valles Caldera National Preserve See Scenery Sandoval County offers travelers four scenic byways so beautiful and historic, they’ve attained state and national recognition. ombine El Camino Real, Historic Route 66 and Corrales Road scenic byways into a single day trip. From the north, start with C El Camino Real, merge with Historic Route 66 in Algodones and connect via Alameda Blvd. in Albuquerque to the Corrales Road Scenic Byway. Or, tour the “Crown Jewel of Scenic Byways”— the Jemez Mountain Trail. Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway The Jemez Mountain Trail is one of eight scenic routes in New Mexico designated as a National Scenic Byway, an honor given to only 125 routes in the nation. It begins in the Village of San Ysidro, the only surviving settlement of the original seven “Pueblos de los Jemez” formed under the Spanish Crown. Hwy. 4 follows the course of the Jemez River to the towering mesas of the Cañon de San Diego and Jemez Pueblo. Continue north to the spectacular crimson-colored formations known as Red Rocks. 4 Jemez Falls Soda Dam Farther north, Hwy. 290 leads to the ranching and winemaking community of Ponderosa. Or, stay on Hwy. 4, taking Hwy. 485 to the Gilman Tunnels, which were blasted out of rock in the 1920s to allow logging train access along the rushing Guadalupe River gorge. Return to Hwy. 4 and continue on to the quaint Village of Jemez Springs, nestled amid high, volcani- cally layered mesa walls and dotted with restaurants, Lauren Herman galleries, inns and natural hot springs. CRS - Certified Residential Specialist Continue on to historic Jemez State Monument. GRI - Graduate of Real Estate Institute Further along Hwy. 4 is Soda Dam where a buildup of e-PRO - Certified Internet Professional mineral deposits has formed a unique and spectacular natural dam that blocks the Jemez River. The settle- La Puerta Real Estate Services, LLC ment of La Cueva marks the intersection of Hwy. 4 and Placitas, NM 87043 Hwy.126. Office: 505 867-3388 Mobile: 505 239-8526 To the east lies Valles Caldera National Preserve, Direct: 505 867-7476 Fax: 505 213-0565 the third largest volcanic caldera in the world and the Website: http://LaurenHerman.com first land management trust in the nation. Continue on mailto:[email protected] to the cliff dwellings at Bandelier National Monument and the City of Los Alamos, the birthplace of the Nuclear Age. 7 West of the La Cueva intersection is Fenton Lake State Park. From April until the first snowfall, enjoy this scenic drive to the Town of Cuba, a gateway to the beautiful Santa Fe National Forest near Cebolla Canyon. Call the Seven Springs Fish Hatchery for more information, 575-829-3740. El Camino Real National Scenic Byway El Camino Real ("the Royal Road") follows the Rio Grande from the U.S./Mexico border to Santa Fe and for 300 years was the Southwest's main road for travelers. Portions of the road followed the Rio Grande Pueblo Indian Trail, in use since before the arrival of the first Spanish explorers. Two great stops along the way, on I-25, exit 242 Gilman Tunnels Travel on Hwy. 313, which is also Route 66, through Algodones, the Pueblo of Santa Ana and the Town of Bernalillo, and make a stop at the Sandoval County Visitors Information & Event Center. 119 Bell Lane, Bernalillo, NM 87004 • 505-867-1600 www.hiexpress.com/bernalillonm Route 66 Historic National Scenic Byway Popular memory evokes images of a highway lined with diners, motels and roadside attractions catering to postwar travelers headed west. The Sandoval County section of "the Mother Road", however, reflects the original purpose of the “Main Street of America,” to provide isolated rural communities with a major 107 N. Camino del Pueblo, Bernalillo, NM 87004 • 505-771-7000 thoroughfare and access to urban centers. www.daysinn.com/hotel/10838 8 9 Before 1938, Historic 66 meandered north, around the Sandia Mountains to Santa Fe and then turned south through Sandoval County to Albuquerque. At that time, the road was part pavement, part gravel, and part washboard dirt. Route 66 changed its course in 1938 when engineers built a new stretch of highway through the Sandia Mountains to Albuquerque. Immerse yourself in historic rural communities. From I-25, exit 248 and travel the El Camino Real along Hwy. 313 heading south to the Town of Bernalillo. Bernalillo is home to several historic buildings including the County’s El Zócalo Complex, which houses the Visitors Information Center in the 1874 convent. The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Call Sandoval County Visitors Information Center, 1-800-252-0191. Visit the Inn at Rio Rancho and experience “Resort Style without the Resort Prices” Corrales Our Dedicated and Professional Banquet Staff would like to offer Unique Wedding Packages to fit all price ranges and budgets • Customized Linen Packages and Floor Plans Corrales State Scenic Byway • Diverse and Delicious Menus • Intimate Outdoor Courtyard Nestled in the Rio Grande Valley, the Village of to hold your Bridal Shower Corrales offers a 7-mile stretch of old-style New or Ceremony Mexican charm. • Discounted Room Rates Corrales has been the site of irrigated agriculture for for Groups more than 1,300 years. From April through November, Contact Sara Heffern, the weekly Grower’s Market and the October Harvest Banquet Coordinator Festival showcase the agricultural roots of Corrales. 505-892-1700 505-507-7081 (Cell) Stay on the main road and visit one-of-a-kind shops, [email protected] historic buildings and restaurants or take a stroll through the nearby Rio Grande Bosque Preserve. From I-25 take the Alameda exit 233 heading west then head north on Hwy. 448. Or, from Hwy. 550 head south on Hwy. 528 then east on Hwy. 448. Call the Village of Corrales, 505-897-0502 for information. 1465 Rio Rancho Drive SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 www.riorancho-inn.com 10 11 Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument See History From the ancient to the phenomenal, Sandoval County has a multitude of offerings. G Bandelier National Monument, East of La Cueva on Hwy. 4, is the site of extensive 12th-century pueblo cliff dwellings. Visit Anasazi ruins or explore the varied terrain of back-country trails. Call 575-672-0343. G Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, one of the newest national monuments in the United States, is managed by the Bureau of Land Management in partnership with Pueblo de Cochiti. Take I-25 north to exit 259, follow the signs to Forest Road 266. Call the Bureau of Land Management, 505-761-8768. G In 1540, Spanish explorer Coronado, on a quest for the Cities of Gold, stopped at what is now Coronado State Monument. A mile northwest of Bernalillo on Hwy. 550, the ruins of the Pueblo of Kuaua feature a self-guided trail meandering through the ruins. Call 505-867-5351. G One mile north of Jemez Springs on Hwy. 4 is Jemez State Monument, the prehistoric site of the Pueblo of Giusewa featuring the early 17th-century ruins of the mission Church of San Jose de los Jemez. Wander through the excavated mission ruins and marvel at the construction of six- to -eight-foot thick walls. Call 505-829-3530. 12 Bandelier National Monument New Mexico Tourism Department,Tourism Mexico New Dan Monaghan Casa San Ysidro G In the Village of Corrales, visit Casa San Ysidro. The restored Spanish colonial hacienda was built in the 1870s on property that was a portion of the 1704 Township of Alameda Grant. The building is currently home to a collection of rare Hispanic New Mexican artifacts. Call 505-898-3915. G Just off Hwy. 550 between Bernalillo and Santa Ana Pueblo is the historic Delavy House. The house contains more than 1,000 photographs depicting Sandoval County from 1880 to 1980 and genealogical information. Call 505-867-2755. G In Rio Rancho, just off Hwy. 528 near the intersection of Hwy. 550, the J&R Vintage Auto Museum offers more than 15,000 square feet of display area filled with restored automobiles, including a 1907 Brush and 1913 Model T. Call 505-867-2881. G At the Intel Museum in Rio Rancho you can learn how a computer chip is designed and see detailed exhibits centering on the Pentium processor.