Escape Adventures offers a road bike multi-sport tour that explores New Mexico’s finest scenery and landmarks. From biking, to rafting, to hiking, our Enchanted Circle Multisport Road Bike tour offers a little something for every level of outdoor explorer.
This area represents a distinct overlay of ecological zones: the Great Plains in the East, the Chihuahuan Desert and Sierra Madre to the South, and the Sonoran Desert and Colorado Plateau to the West. Given those varied attributes, the land naturally lends itself to multi-sport touring: outstanding road cycling and hiking options beckon at each compass point. While the nearby Rio Grande offers excellent whitewater rafting.
Along the way we savor a diverse tapestry of culture, architecture, not to mention art, reflective of the state’s three distinct traditions: Indian, Spanish and Anglo. From tone to tempo now: while the state bird is the Roadrunner, don’t expect that kind of pacing on this trek. High Desert to high Alpine, interpreting rock paintings and petroglyphs to drinking in slot canyons and expansive mesas, our Land of Enchantment trip truly has something for everyone.
Day 1-2: Meet-up in Santa Fe. Shuttle to the village of Vadito. At 7400-ft, we ride the High Road Scenic Byway. Our tempo allows us to truly revel in the winding road through the Sangre de Cristo range, through badlands and wind-etched hoodoos. Arriving in Taos, we visit frontiersman Kit Carson’s home, as well as the unique shops and smart galleries that line the historic town center. The following day, raft the mighty Rio Grande through the Box – a scenic, deep cut canyon in the vast New Mexico desert.
Day 3-4: Departing Taos, we ride southwest towards the settlement of Pilar: an old Hispanic pueblo and camp for Jicarilla Apache. Cross the Rio Grande before turning into the Rio Grand Gorge. Inside the gorge we trend north through the National forest to Ojo Caliente mineral springs – our residence for the next two nights. Ride to Ghost Ranch. A 21,000-acre retreat/fine arts campus amidst soaring red cliffs, Ghost Ranch was originally part of a 1766 land grant to Pedro Martin Serrano from the King of Spain. The grant was initially called Piedra Lumbre (shining rock). The subsequent Ghost Ranch designation or the more local Rancho de los Brujos owes to persistent paranormal activity plus accounts of hangings throughout the Ranch’s history. A hike to Chimney Rock crowns our afternoon followed with a shuttle back to our base at the Ojo Caliente hot springs.
Day 5-6: Trek to the Tsankawi Ruins: an isolated-detached section of 33,677-acre Bandelier National Monument. After exploring the ruins, an ancestral Pueblo site/archeological preserve we saddle up. Pedaling 11-miles through the town of White Rock, then into the main section of Bandelier, we stop for lunch in the canyon, lorded over by soaring cliffs and mesas. After lunch we hike along the river, through the impressively preserved ruins. After a stop in the visitors’ center we commence our day with a short stop in Chimayo’s historic Church and a shuttle to Santa Fe. Our last day, stroll through Santa Fe Plaza or join a finale ride down Artist Drive from the top of Aspen Basin Ski Area.
For more information about this special tour, click HERE and request a detailed itinerary.
Since 1992, we at Escape Adventures have been blessed to shape and lead adventure travel vacations through some of the most awe-inspiring natural destinations in the world. Each successive season, our passion for adventure grows through memorable moments with our guests. Fresh air, faith, fitness and friends are the building blocks for our ventures, the treasured experiences that keep us moving forward. For those of you who have trekked and traveled with us over the past quarter century, Heather and I express our sincerest gratitude. The memories are priceless.
