It begins and ends in Taos and circles the highest mountain in New Mexico: the 84-mile Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway is northern New Mexico's grand tour, and Red River sits right on it.
The route follows four highways — U.S. 64 between Eagle Nest and Taos, NM 522 from Taos to Questa, NM 38 through Questa, Red River, and Eagle Nest, and NM 434 between Eagle Nest and Angel Fire — looping around 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak through the Carson National Forest. It was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1989 and joined New Mexico's state scenic byway program in 1998.
The circle is a timeline of the region. Long before pavement, the Old Kiowa Trail crossed the same ground, used by Plains Indians and Puebloan peoples; Taos Pueblo, on the loop, is a UNESCO World Heritage site that has been continuously inhabited for more than a thousand years. The 1800s wrote the next chapter in mining: Red River and Questa grew from mining camps, and Elizabethtown — on the loop and now a ghost town — was once New Mexico's first incorporated town. The 1900s added skiing: Taos Ski Valley in 1955, Red River Ski Area in 1959.
Hollywood found the valley, too. The counterculture classic Easy Rider and the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid both used the region as a backdrop, cementing its image as a place of rugged freedom. Since the 1970s, the loop has also been home to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire, a place of pilgrimage on the byway's southern stretch.
The drive takes two to three hours — a full day with stops — passing alpine valleys, ski resorts, lakes and streams, and some of the finest fall color in the Southwest. For a Claim Jumper guest, it is the perfect day trip, and the loop is right outside the door.
Planning a Red River getaway? Book your stay at the Claim Jumper A-Frame 6
