jemez trail national scenic byway

This drive is well worth a detour off of I-25, north of Albuquerque. We began at the Coronado State Monument and drove Route 4 North through Jemez Springs to White Rock, then on to Santa Fe. The scenery changes from red rocks to pine forest. The views are amazing. Some of the best we've ever experienced. There are trails and campgrounds along the route, but if you go in January, you'll find them closed. We were a little disappointed that the Coronado State Monument and the Jemez State Monument were both closed for the season, but that did not detract from the drive. Gillman Tunnels are a few miles up 485 (a left turn off Route 4 North). Don't miss these tunnels that were blasted through the rock. The views of the canyon along the drive are worth the trip. Beyond the tunnels the road is closed to vehicles, so you'll need to turn around.

I loved, loved, loved this scenic by-way. So beautiful and so much to see. The Soda Dam, Jemez Historical Site... so much. I cannot recommend this byway too highly.

We did this scenic drive from Los Alamos down through Bandelier and San Ysidro on our way to Albuquerque. If you are in the area, definitely take the time! Beautiful scenery with several points of interest to stop and explore. We didn't have a lot of time, so we visited the Valles Caldera, Soda Dam, passed Battleship Rock and took a brief detour to see the Gilman Tunnels.

Take your time driving around in this area. There are loads of photo opportunities, including the meadow where there used to be a mountain, before the volcano blew thousands of years ago! We saw elk at sunset. Magical.

We took the long way round from Albuquerque to Bandelier National Monument, taking the Jemez Trail Scenic Byway, and it was worth the extra time spent. In fact it is probably worth your while spending an entire day on this trip learning about the geography and history of this part of New Mexico. The drive was a relaxing one as traffic was minimal and the views impressive. I was glad i wasn't the driver that day allowing me to enjoy the passing scenery.Drive north from Albuquerque on I-25 then onto Rte. 550 to San Ysidro. Take NM state road 4 and head northeast (right) to drive to the Jemez Pueblo, the Red Rocks, Jemez Springs, the Jemez State Monument, Soda Dam, Battleship Rock, Jemez Falls, and onward to the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Clearly, there is a lot to see and to on this drive.The caldera is a useful geologic starting point from which to view the area. This was a supervolcano that formed and erupted 1.5 million years ago and has kept erupting until 50,000 years ago. The caldera formed by the collapse of the land at the center of this massive volcano leaving the remnants of the volcano as a almost-circular rim. The caldera is almost 14 miles wide, and the grasslands at the bottom support herds of elk. This is NOT a dormant volcano; there are several resurgent lava domes within the caldera, the largest being Redondo Peak at 11, 253 ft in height. There are other signs of geothermal activity such as hot springs and fumaroles. The volcanic eruptions laid down thousands of feet of ash over the millennia known as "tuff" The valleys and canyons of the area radiate from the caldera having been carved out by rivers and streams. In contrast, the red rock formations so prevalent early in the drive are sandstone, or sedimentary rock, and are far more ancient having been deposited in ancient bodies of water many millions of years earlier.NM Road 4 ran along one such valley, driving parallel to the Jemez River. The vegetation along the banks of the river was lush, a start contrast with the surrounding desert landscape. We drove past the Jemez Pueblo which is not open to visitors. We took time to explore the Jemez State Monument, the site of a old Pueblo community - Giusewa - and a Spanish mission. Little remained of the 500-year old pueblo but the thick stone walls of the mission church (San José de los Jemez, founded in 1621) and buildings were impressive even in their ruined state. The mission and pueblo did not last long as the community moved downstream to the current location of the Jemez Pueblo. It was definitely worth our while spending an hour or so to learn about the history. There is a small $3 dollar entrance fee. Further along we came upon an interesting whitish rock formation on the right of the road. It had diverted the Jemez river to a degree and forced it to run over the end of the formation as a small waterfall. This was Soda Dam. The There was no formal parking lot but the should was wide enough for us to park on. This dam was made of multicolored rock created by a hot spring; calcium carbonate dissolved in the hot water precipitates out forming limestone. The term "soda" came from the fizz of carbon dioxide being released from the depressurized water as it emerged from underground. We heard no fizzing during our brief exploration. We wandered around and on top of the dam. The travertine formation had interesting texture of ripples and layers. Streaks of thermophilic or heat-loving algae painted the dam in streaks of green.We drove up to the Valles Caldera but unfortunately had no time to explore there as we wanted to devote the rest of the day at Bandelier National Monument. The aspen had already started to turn yellow at higher altitudes providing additional beauty to the scenery

This is a great drive with many great stops, so relax, slow down and enjoy. We drove between White Rock and Jemez Springs. There are many places to stop and visit so best to plan a whole day.

We drove this byway from San Ysidro to White Rock and found it to be one of the best drives we have taken while in this part of New Mexico. The fall colors in the southern section were especially beautiful when viewed against the red rocks in the canyon leading up to La Cueva. We didn't encounter much traffic behind us to make us feel pushed, as some have commented, but that may be due to it being off season. The short hike down to Jemez Falls was nice, passing through a forest of Ponderosa Pine along the way.

This twisting but well-maintained road makes the drive between Albuquerque and Bandelier National Monument/Los Alamos. We like to take the quick route north (I-25 to Santa Fe, then 285 to 502), explore Bandelier, then wind back on Highway 4. Be sure to pull over at Valles Caldera National Preserve, a sweeping valley, very green during summer monsoon season. It's a popular habitat for elk and other wildlife. The byway provides access to dozens of hiking trails, as well as to hot springs, waterfalls and the Jemez Pueblo. Watch your speed going through Jemez Springs, and refrain from imbibing at one of the local bars (which seem to date from "Easy Rider" days) if you plan to get back on the road.

All of the pueblos we wanted to see were either closed or too far away. We looked in our Dummies book and found this as an alternative. We had a wonderful, low key day. It was a short drive from Albuquerque. We visited the Coronado State Monument and were lucky enough to see a lecture about how all of the parts of plants were used by local Native Americans. We drove through the Zia Pueblo. Then we continued on to Walwatowa Visitor Center. The scenery was breath-taking...lots of red rocks like Sedona. We also went to Jemez Springs and saw the remains of an old Spanish church and learned about the Spanish takeover of the area. We had a nice lunch in a local very friendly restaurant. It was the best day of our vacation and the souvenir shopping was also good.

First off I have to agree with another reviewer regarding watching your speed. The road almost smells of possible speed traps bringing in much needed income. That said, just do a bit below the posted limit. Anytime I am on this road and see another in my mirror I pull over and let em go. I simply WILL NOT be rushed on this drive. I even had nuts passing me in a hail storm going downhill at that windy section N of Battleship Rock.It is without doubt one of the most beautiful drives west of the Sandias and I have driven most of the roads. The fact that some of my most viewed and faved photos on Flickr are from this hgy says it all I guess.It's going to be interesting to see what takes place with this talk about rerouting it around Jemez Pueblo. I can see the pueblos reasons but it may end up biting them in the rear as far as retail sales go.

This is a very attractive drive through glorious scenery, with abundant things for the outdoors-oriented traveler to do along the way. I've done it literally hundreds of times, and I never get tired of its beauty. However, you need to remain on the alert when driving this route, because there are several hazards that can rise up and bite the unwary motorist. Weather is an obvious one; it's largely in high country and significant snow can happen early in fall and well into spring. Another is the presence of both wildlife and bad drivers along the road. A particularly aggravating "hazard" is the presence of frequent radar traps, exacerbated by the fact that there are multiple jurisdictions and frequent, erratic changes in speed limits, particularly in the western half of the route. The usual caution "stay within the speed limit and you won't have a problem" doesn't apply here, alas, because the fact is that many drivers do exceed the speed limit, sometimes severely. Staying within the speed limit, while generally wise, creates not merely frustrations but outright road hazards when the speed demons go screaming past you. (Do it anyway.) All of this said, I still recommend this route strongly; just be careful when you're driving it.

Looking for a day-long adventure through northern New Mexico? Try a loop-drive along Highway 4 through the Jemez mountains along this National Scenic Byway. Ancient landscapes, multi-cultural history, vistas and stopping points all along the way.

What a wonderful drive if you can take the time. The colors and the beauty of the surrounding mountains and landscape is amazing. There is a visitors center at the beginning which was very informative. There are many stops along the way for picture taking. Well worth the drive

Love the Jemez Mountains. This is a great day trip if you are visiting the area. Beautiful scenery, great photo ops. Don't forget to visit Pajarito Mountain, the sleepy amazing ski hill in the Jemez Mountains. Have lunch at the cafe.

If you find time to do nothing else in New Mexico, you have to do this road trip. From Santa Fe it is a full day trip, especially if you keep stopping to take pictures like I do!The first part of the trip from Santa Fe to Los Alamos is ok, nothing spectacular, but OK. After Los Alamos it just keeps getting better. Stunning rock formations, wonderful vistas, winding roads, rivers, lush vegetation .....The Caldera at Valles is amazing, the scenery and Jemez Springs is jaw dropping. Look out for little side roads and explore, we did and saw some scenery that most people miss. Road tunnels cut through the mountains, stunning colors on the rocks ..... Well worth the effort. A trip that should to be missed......