Fall Colors in New Mexico

In the fall, New Mexicans and their visitors rejoice as the aspen’s quaking leaves turn their vibrant shade of gold. Now is the ideal time to witness this gilded spectacle throughout New Mexico’s high country, but you’d better get on your horse because timing is everything — the color is fleeting, lasting only about a week in most places. Unfortunately, it's difficult to predict when exactly the leaves will turn in any given location. The best strategy: Select your travel dates in advance, but not your destination. Then go wherever the color is.

We’ve included a few road-tripping routes below that have become fall-color pilgrimages for aspen lovers, but if your favorite jaunt is not included, be grateful: You’ll have it all to yourself.

The Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway: 
Taos, Questa, Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, and every stop in between, including Cabresto Lake, Mallette Canyon, and Midnight Meadows above Questa; Bobcat Pass above Red River, which descends into the high-alpine Moreno Valley, home of Angel Fire and Eagle Nest Lake and bounded by some of the most spectacular peaks in New Mexico; and Taos Canyon, between Angel Fire and Taos, filled with bike and hiking trails for those hearty souls who like to see their color up close.

Sunspot Scenic Byway:
Beginning at Cloudcroft, this 16-mile ribbon of asphalt, surrounded by aspens, winds south along the Sacramento Mountains. It ends in Sunspot, an apt name for a village with two famed national telescope observatories. To reinforce its connection to research of the heavens, the byway is designated State Road 6563, the light wavelength in Angstroms used by scientists to find active areas on the sun. Most visitors return via the same route to Cloudcroft, but it is possible to continue on south through the Lincoln National Forest to the small ranching community of Timberon. And don’t forget to take a side trip up Ruidoso. Ponderosa pines may be the main attraction, but they also make the aspen easier to spot.

Santa Fe National Forest Scenic Byway:
Where else can one shop for handmade Native American crafts under the shady portal of a 17th-century Spanish adobe capitol in the morning, then venture into a 13,000-foot aspen filled alpine wilderness that afternoon? When the aspen leaves burst into fiery gold and crimson in late September, the hillsides between Hyde Memorial State Park and Ski Santa Fe take on an almost ethereal, shimmering aura when angled sunlight filters through the quaking leaves.

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