My husband and I are taking a long-awaited trip to see beautiful New Mexico in mid-april. Have a tentative itinerary planned out, trying to see a lot without stressing ourselves out also! Don%26#39;t mind driving, just want to see the most we can in our week. Here goes...
Sat: arr. in Albuquerque around noon, spend time touring Old Town and seeing the sights there
Sun: depart Albuquerque (we%26#39;re early morning people), drive west to Indian Petroglyph Monument, short hike there, continue west to Gallup where we%26#39;ll spend the night. Would like to see El Morro on the way.
Mon: Drive NW to Chinle, then west to Hubbell Trading Post. Back to Chinle, spend night at Canyon de Chelly. Maybe do short rim-walk or drive rim.
Tues: Spend whole day on jeep tour of Canyon De Chelly, stay there again.
Wed: Drive to Four Corners, eventually arrive at Santa Fe. What to see on the way (Aztec Ruins?) Stay Santa Fe.
Thurs: Tour Bandelier, then back to Santa Fe to explore town (we%26#39;re not big shoppers, more into the culture and history) Stay at Santa Fe again
Fri: Leave Santa Fe, drive east to Ft. Union, then SW to Sandia Peak, take tram ride and explore area, stay at Albuquerque.
Sat: Depart Albuquerque for home (BOO!)
I know that this sounds like a lot, but as I said we are early morning people and just love to get-up-and go. Any help or suggestions with this schedule would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
April Itinerary, please review!
OK - My two cents worth. :-)
Saturday - On Mountain Road, (along the north side of Old Town), take in the Albuquerque Museum of History an Art first. In an hour it will give you an excellent introduction into the rich, multi-cultural patchwork of Albuquerque, and the surrounding area that you will be exploring. I%26#39;ll recommend Little Anitas ';New'; Mexican restaurant if you%26#39;re staying in the Old Town area for dinner. Rio Grande Blvd @ Mountain Road.
Sunday - (I too like early starts on the highways.) There are two areas of Petroglyph National Park...the ';south'; area has more petroglyphs,that are easy to see. You might want to take in Acoma, the ';Sky City,'; atop it%26#39;s mesa just south of I-40, an hour west of Albuquerque...the oldest, continuously inhabited village in the U.S.
Leave I-40 at Grants, and drive past the El Malpais lava flows, El Morro, and on to Zuni Pueblo. Backtrack seven or eight miles, and drive north to Gallup on NM-602. This is a very scenic side-trip.
Monday - Sounds good.
Tuesday - Ditto
Wednesday - If you keep this schedule, you%26#39;ll miss Mesa Verde National Park, the gorgeous mountains north of Durango to Silverton, and Chaco Canyon off U.S. 550 between Bayfield, and Bernalillo (just north of Albuquerque on I-25). That would be a shame. Aztec is worth seeing if that is your only option. If there is a ';1/2 day'; jeep tour in Canyon de Chelly, you could go on to Mesa Verde, and Durango. I can%26#39;t over emphazize, that the 60 miles up to Silverton from Durango is some of the Rockies finest scenery. The cliff dwellings at MVNP are something else also. Chaco Canyon is the best of all, with numerous above-ground ruins. Personally, I would choose Chaco over Canyon de Chelly if it were one or the other. If you, or other contributors would not, that is fine with me. We%26#39;re all just expressing our opinions afterall.
Thursday - ';I'; would be checking out US550 from Durango up to Silverton, and back...then Aztec Nat. Mon. if on a short schedule...then south to Santa Fe, skipping Chaco Canyon :-( , and Bandelier. I especially recommend the Museum of International Folk Art in S.F....it%26#39;s unique.
Friday - Leave Santa Fe early, then up to Taos/Taos Pueblo (1 1/2 hours), and back to Santa Fe for 2-3 hours...then drive the ';Turquoise Trail'; (NM-14) into Albuquerque. Sandia Peak Tramway for the sunset, and city lights coming on below. (I%26#39;m leaving out Ft. Union. Hard for me to do, since I%26#39;m a Santa Fe Trail buff myself, but compared to other things to see, its 180 mile roundtrip from Santa Fe may not be worth it on this trip.)
You are coming back again aren%26#39;t you? :-) OK, now it%26#39;s time for others to disagree with me. ';Wherever'; you decide to travel, you%26#39;ll know you%26#39;re not in New Jersey anymore ';Toto!'; I could say, enjoy your trip, but even more, I hope you%26#39;ll enjoy the ';experience!';
One last FYI: April can be very windy, with dust storms. Try to be outside mornings, inside afternoons, if you happen to encounter one.
April Itinerary, please review!
I also agree that if you have the time around Durango, the drive to Silverton, and even further to Ouray is spectacular. Portions of this road are steep and narrow, but very driveable. If you have the time, then Chaco is a must. If you do only one ancient site, this would be the one I recommend. Just remember, you have 13 miles of gravel road after leaving US 550. Take lunch or snacks as there is only the Visitor Center with some vending machines, and the only drinkable water in the Park.
While in Albuquerque, if you have the time, the Pueblo Cultural Center is quite good. A nice museum, frequently dancing by some of the Pueblo people, a gift shop and a good restaurant. If you do Old Town, I would recommend Church Street Cafe, for some good New Mexican Food. And, just remember, after you visit New Mexico you will want to and you will come back; you won%26#39;t be able to stay away.
Here%26#39;s my input... there is so much to see in the area that you will need to plan another trip!!
Sat: Arrive ABQ. See Old Town area and visit the Pueblo Cultural Center. www.indianpueblo.org . Stay near Old Town.
Sun: Visit Petroglypn Nat Mon early, then on to Acoma Pueblo for a tour and possibly lunch. As mentioned above, head south from Grants through El Malpais Nat Mon and then west to El Morro and Zuni Pueblo. Make it to Gallup for the night. We enjoy staying at the El Rancho Hotel, a historic Route 66 hotel. Earl%26#39;s is a fun restaurant.
Mon: Drive to Hubbell Trading post via Window Rock as it is located before you get to Chinle. You may also want to visit the Hopi Mesas which are close by. Then drive on to Chinle for the night.
Tues: Spend whole day on jeep tour of Canyon De Chelly, stay there again. This sounds like fun.
Wed: This day is a long day of driving. 4 Corners monument is a quick visit. I too would recommend stopping to see Mesa Verde Nat Park for a 1/2 day then on to Durango for the night.
Thurs: Drive to Santa Fe, stopping at Bandelier on the way. You will most likely have time to see the Plaza area and also a visit to Palace of the Governors Museum, one of my favorites. I also recommend the Indian Arts and Culture Museum.
Fri: I would spend the day in Santa Fe, visiting the other historic sites and museums in town. Also visit Pecos Nat Mon a 1/2 hour east of Santa Fe. The drive to Ft Union really will take quite a bit of time. It is possible that you may not have time for the Sandia Peak tram.. just keep that in mind too
Sat: Depart Albuquerque for home (BOO!)
Thanks for your quick responses! We are now checking the maps and considering tweaking the plan a little bit. It seems that Durango and Silverton are must-sees, guess we didn%26#39;t consider it because it%26#39;s in another state (although not really that far, it appears). We are staying at El Rancho, so if we were to leave it early on Monday, we%26#39;re thinking that we could drive to the Hubble TP, be at Canyon de Chelly in the afternoon to take a 1/2 day tour, and stay there Monday night. The next day is the question mark...if we were to leave Chinle early, drive to the Four Corners (which I understand is mainly a ';photo op';, then tour Mesa Verde, we could stay at Durango. How far is Durango from Silverton? Would it be better to drive to Silverton that day and stay there, or go back to Durango?
We definately want to see Bandelier, will forgo Ft. Union if necessary.
Thanks so much for all your help, we love to ';trip plan'; (it%26#39;s half the fun!) and want to see a variety of sites and experience as much as sanely possible in our short time in NM.
If you are going to go to Durango and Silverton then it%26#39;s a must to do the Durango-Silverton RR trip. You spend the night in Durango ( we love the General Palmer ) where you%26#39;ll have your pick of amazing restaurants ( Ken and Sues or Chez Grandmere are two we like and I have heard good things from my parents about Red Snapper and the Mahoganey Grill ) then you board the train the next morning, go to Silverton, spend about 2 hours there and come back. There are also bus/train combos that give you a little more time in Silverton but we%26#39;ve never done the combo.
RR website is www.durangotrain.com
hotel www.generalpalmer.com
Ken and Sues www.kenandsues.com
Chez Grandmere www.chezgrand-mere.com ( I forgot they close in the winter, they might be open in mid-April )
I can%26#39;t spell!
www.generalpalmer.com for the hotel!
Thanks! Already checked out the General Palmer web site from info here on TA. Had friends who took the train ride years ago and said that it was amazing, will check it out also. Would it be a full day covered if we boarded at Durango, rode to Silverton, hung around there for awhile, and then rode back to Durango? (Haven%26#39;t searched the train%26#39;s web site yet)
It would, the train gets back around 5 p.m. I think.
Driving Durango to Silverton is about an hour and a half, for the 60 miles...much of the final 15 miles are above the timberline (great views at Molas Pass). Despite the switchbacks, and horseshoe corners, US550 is an excellent highway. ';We'; just want you to see that all of the Four-corners area isn%26#39;t mesas, and high deserts! Northern New Mexico (and portions of Southern NM also) have many pine-clad mountains of their own.
The Durango %26amp; Silverton Narrow Gauge RR is a full-day affair, but if you are taking the train ride, I would recommend the alternative...ride the train up, and return aboard the railroad%26#39;s charter bus. This will give you a little more time for sightseeing back in Durango, and you%26#39;ll get to see US550 also. If you decide to drive this time...continue on to Ouray from Silverton, before returning to Durango. Driving will also allow you more time to see the many shops in the ';Old West'; mining towns of Silverton, and Ouray, and the scenery is equally great. Not that the train isn%26#39;t something you%26#39;ll want to experience sometime though! (FYI: New Mexico/Colorado has another steam engine narrow-gauge that runs from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO over Cumbres Pass in far northern NM. It is also a very scenic ride, but #2 IMHO to tje Durango/Silverton.
A visit to Taos on this trip would be pretty difficult time wise, the more I think about it. Come back and take in Taos/Taos Pueblo, along with Angel Fire, Mora, Las Vegas (NM), Fort Union, and Pecos National Monument on your next trip.
As you can tell from our suggestions, there is so much to see, you can%26#39;t possibly take it all in at once. Obviously, each of us also have our priorities, personal favorites, and diverse opinions. Hopefully, you%26#39;ll want to return for future visits to the Land of Enchantment, and environs.
Especially for an October balloon fiesta here in Albuquerque! You are right, ';planning'; is half the fun! :-)
Wow!!! So much to see, so little time!!!
Found a site that offers a van ride from Durango to Silverton, then a Jeep tour there, then the train ride back. Sounds like fun and a pretty comprehensive way to see the area. Anyone had any experience with this?
Re hotels: The General Palmer looks very interesting but my husband gets ';creeped out'; by Victorian decor, thinks that it is too fussy and cluttered. Any other ideas for a local hotel or inn (not a B%26amp;B) that would give us an authentic Western feel but not quite so old? Would like to be within walking distance of downtown Durango so we don%26#39;t need to use the car (love walking around towns). Thanks!
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