Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway - New Mexico

Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway

Rio Grande Bridge from below Many other interesting diversions are available on this northward leg of the Enchanted Circle. A left in the lush Hondo Valley at the small village of Arroyo Hondo will take you to the John Dunn Bridge across the Río Grande at the base of the gorge. John Dunn was an early settler who made his fortune with the purchase of a bridge near this spot, turning it into a toll bridge, where all passengers from the Denver and Río Grande Railroad had to cross to get to and from Taos. Dunn realized a handsome return on his original $5,000 investment.

The businessman also ran a stagecoach and ore wagon service to many of the towns in the Enchanted Circle and beyond to Ute Park, where travelers and freight could catch trains east. The road to the John Dunn bridge wanders beside the Hondo River, a favorite of fly fishermen. On the western side of the Río Grande to the right is a favorite swimming spot and to the left and up the hill is the entry to the trail to Black Rock Hot Springs.

Continuing toward Questa is the D. H. Lawrence Memorial and the towns of Lama and San Cristobal. The scar of the Hondo Fire of 1996 marks the Sangre de Cristos north of Lama.

A stop at the New Mexico Fish and Game's Red River Fish Hatchery is a must. On the west side of the highway, just south of the Village of Questa, it provides free self-guided tours, picnic facilities and good fishing on the Red River just below the trout breeding ponds.

Questa, at the end of the Camino Real, is known for its local woodworkers, tinsmiths and other traditional artists and artisans. The San Antonio del Río Colorado Church, renamed St. Anthony's, was founded in 1842 and displays many fine examples of traditional santos and retablos. Artesanos de Questa is continuing these cultural traditions and has a gallery shop on Highway 38.

The Village of Questa was formerly named Cuesta, which means the lowering. It was named this by early Spanish settlers because if its location in a mineral-rich caldera formed 25 million years ago. The town is ringed by several steep-sided volcanoes and offers views of many near perfect volcanic cones, including Ute Peak and Ortiz and San Antonio Mountains to the north and west.

Questa has a couple of excellent cafes that serve traditional Mexican cuisine. The El Seville at the junction of 522 and 38 makes a great green-chile sauce.

The Enchanted Circle continues east from Questa but 11 miles north at the town of Cerro is the entry to the Wild Rivers Recreation Area. You may want to devote an entire day to this Bureau of Land Management park, which is situated at the conjunction of the Río Grande and the Red River, and offers guided and self-guided walks to the bottom of the gorge. Picnic and campsites are available both on the rim and beside the Río Grande.

RedRiverSign.Weiser.07-03.jpg (284x121 -- 62280 bytes) East to the Town of Red River, the road runs through the narrow valley of the Red River. The mountains to either side are volcanic and a composite of ash and granite intrusions. The area was the scene of feverish prospecting at the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s. Miners found gold, silver, copper and lead deposited by the many volcanic eruptions in the Tertiary era. It was hard-rock mining and soon abandoned because of difficulties extracting the minerals from the rock. Only the molybdenum mine is still operated sporadically. The Red River is bordered by several camp and picnic grounds.

The Town of Red River offers a chance to stretch your legs and shopping skills. This family-oriented town with an Old West feel has saloons, daily staged gunfights, a 20-year-old melodrama at the Red River Inn, a fine mining museum, and all the souvenir shops you ever wanted.

Red River, New Mexico, June, 2006, Kathy Weiser.

The Red River Ski Area in the center of town operates it main ski lift during the summer and fall months. The 10,250 top gives the sightseer a view of the entire valley and the hiker access to several easy to challenging trails dotted with old mining camps.

Continuing east on Highway 38, the road tops 9,820-foot Bobcat Pass and then twists its way down into the Moreno Valley. The pass offers some of the best scenery on the trip, including a vista of the north face of Wheeler Peak. Several turnouts give photographers a chance to record their passage for friends back home.

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