Wild game, game birds, and fishing attract visitors at all times of the year, while the golden hues of the aspen in the autumn tempt artists and photographers to record on canvas and film nature’s fall colors. A trip just before the winter snows to the aspen country of the Santa Fe National Forest is a must. Ranger stations are located at Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and Pecos.
An Izaak Walton along the Pecos river
West of the Rio Grande are the Jemez Mountains, which form the Jemez Division of the Santa Fe National Forest. The Jemez country is a favorite area for fishermen and hunters. For the sturdy hiker and picnicker, there are hundreds of fascinating points to visit and peaks to climb. Capulin Peak, Dead Man’s Peak, Nacimiento Peak, and Cerro Pedernal are a few of the exciting ones. The Jemez country contains the San Pedro Parks Wild Area, northeast of Cuba where San Gregorio Lake is waiting for the fisherman or hiker willing to walk or ride horseback. This section abounds in unique geologic formations—Battleship Rock, Tent Rocks, Teakettle Rock, to name a few.
Eighteen developed camping and picnicking areas welcome the visitor to the Jemez Division. Youth groups also favor the Jemez for their summer camping. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, YMCA, and others have camps adjacent to the Santa Fe National Forest. Timber production, wildlife habitat management, livestock grazing, and watershed protection are among the activities of the Jemez Division, while visitors and travelers enjoy the forest, the streams, and the unique scenery. Ranger stations are at Jemez Springs, Cuba, Espanola, and Coyote.
Cibola National Forest
A mountain playground for people who live or visit near U.S. Highway 66 is Cibola National Forest, with headquarters in Albuquerque. Embracing the Sandias, Manzanos, and Gallinas Peak areas east of the Rio Grande in central New Mexico, this Forest also includes most of the mountain ranges in the west-central section of the state, the San Mateo Mountains, with 11,389-foot Mount Taylor, and the Datil, Magdalena, and Zuni ranges.
Outdoor recreation is the fastest growing use of the Cibola National Forest and more than a million visits are made each year to this popular Forest. The name is a Zuni Indian word, pronounced SEE-bo-lah, meaning buffalo. Buffalo may have roamed the Cibola in years past, but today’s big game animals making the Cibola their home are the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, antelope, and bear. Game birds include turkey, grouse, quail, and dove; spring and fall migrations of ducks and geese use the Cibola as a resting place. There are 18 campgrounds with 249 family units and 14 picnic grounds with 382 family units scattered through the vast domain of the Cibola National Forest.
Sandia Crest in the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque is a goal for many travelers. Here on this 10,678-foot mountain top, there is a breathtaking view of the middle Rio Grande Valley and the Estancia Valley—a jet age view of nearly 10,000 square miles. The visitor stands on rocks which in eons past were under the sea, as indicated by fossils found on the peak. Recent recreation developments have been made at the Sandia Ski Area where a new 7450-foot double chair lift will carry 700 riders an hour on a 1650-foot vertical rise to the restaurant and upper terminal on Sandia Crest. A tramway ascends the west face of the Sandias to meet the Ski Area chair lift at the Crest.
The fabled Manzano Mountains rising above the plains to the west of State Highway 10 and south of U.S. Highway 66 are fast becoming a haven for the camper, picnicker, or sightseer willing to follow secondary roads to find the perfect spot to enjoy the forest. Capillo Peak, 9368 feet high, Mosca Peak, Cerro Blanco, and Manzano Peak lure the mountain climber. Legends surrounding the old Spanish communities of Tajique, Torreon, and Manzano are exciting campfire stories after a day spent exploring the high country.