Sandia Crest Road Bike Climb

Ahhh… what a way to spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, riding to the Crest on my road bike!

Sandia Crest Road (NM-536), which is part of the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway System, is paved all the way to the top and is popular amongst road cyclists and mountain bikers alike. Taking your mountain bike opens up more options for detours over to Placitas via NM-165 or off-road where mountain bikes are permitted, such as at the Sandia Peak Ski Area, but if you plan on staying on the pavement, I would definitely recommend your road bike. I have heard of riders taking their road bikes down NM-165 to Placitas, but I would not advise it. On this particular day, I took my road bike and scribbled meticulous notes all the way to the top (see table below).

Dotso’s meticulous notes during her chilly afternoon ride (9/18/2011)

Mileage		Comments
UP	DOWN
0.0	13.2	Intersection of N-14/NM-536 (Sandia Crest Rd)
1.1	12.1	Tinkertown museum http://tinkertown.com/, speed limit 40 mph
1.5	11.7	Tejano Canyon Rd., last of the privately-owned land
1.6	11.6	Entering Cibola National Forest, public lands, no overnight camping in Sandias
1.8	11.4	Sulfur Canyon, Cienega Trailhead, Cienega Canyon
2.0	11.2	Doc Long picnic ground, bathrooms, usually people and USFS personnel present
2.3	10.9	Speed limit changes to 35 mph and road steepens
2.7-4.1	10.5-9.1	Intermittent great views to the south
5.0	8.2	Mixed conifer vegetation, 8,000’ elevation
5.6	7.6	Tree Springs Trailhead/parking lot
6.0	7.2	Dry Camp
6.8	6.4	Sandia Peak Ski Area, chairlift and tramway at top http://www.sandiapeak.com/, grade noticeably steepens and road turns windier
7.5	5.7	Balsam Glade picnic ground, bathrooms, Intersection with NM-165—an unpaved road to Placitas
8.0	5.2	Capulin Snow Play Area, New picnic ground, fire station, and bathrooms (still under construction as of 9/18/11)
8.6-9.1	4.6-4.1	2 traffic lanes going up
9.0	4.2	Nine Mile picnic ground, bathrooms
9.5	3.7	Speed limit changes to 25 mph and becomes noticeably steeper, windier, and cooler
11.0-11.5	2.2-1.7	2 traffic lanes going up
11.3	1.9	10K Trailhead/parking lot, bathrooms, renovations recently completed, gorgeous views
11.8	1.4	Paved turnout on right-hand side of road
12.0	1.2	Gorgeous views!
12.0-12.2	1.2-1.0	2 traffic lanes going up
12.2	1.0	Ellis Trailhead, parking lot, bathrooms
12.4	0.8	Spruce/fir vegetation, 10,400’ elevation
13.0	0.2	More gorgeous views!
13.2	0.0	Sandia Crest parking lot, Elevation is 10,678’ at the Crest, Sandia Crest House Gift Shop and Restaurant, bathrooms, plenty of people and USFS personnel present

The Crest Road can be approached from the south and the northeast via N-14 and from the east via Frost Road, which is precisely what many cyclists do in order to increase the length of the ride. If you start your ride at the base, there’s plenty of parking across the street in the unpaved lot next to the Shell station.

The Crest Road climbs nearly 3,700 feet over approximately 13.2 miles, where it dead-ends at the Crest. There are several bathrooms along the route as noted in the table above. I noticed no emergency phones, but it would be easy to flag down a passing motorist. Cell phone service is intermittent at best.



Obviously taken near Mile Marker 9!

There are gorgeous views of Tijeras to the south along the lower sections of the road, and as you continue to climb, the Estancia Valley becomes visible to the southeast and the San Pedro Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo range are visible toward the east-northeast. On a clear day, you can see maybe 100 miles, far beyond Santa Fe, but the clouds were building during my ride as I snaked my way to the top.



View near 10K Trailhead

Whenever I ride the Crest Road I think of it as being broken up into 3 or 4 discrete segments of increasing steepness. It is relatively flat until you reach the Doc Long picnic ground where it steepens slightly; just past the Sandia Peak Ski Area it turns decidedly upward; and finally, the steepest part of the climb (and also the windiest) begins near Nine Mile. I became dehydrated on my ride yesterday so I would encourage everyone to take plenty of water, especially since the cooler weather will fool you into thinking you need less.

View near the top

On a clear day, it is possible to see 100 miles from the Crest. Mount Taylor is usually visible approximately 70 miles due west. You can follow the crestline north to where it is briefly interrupted by Tijeras Canyon and the start of the Manzanito and Manzano Mountains due north and Albuquerque and outlying areas sit about a vertical mile below in the Rio Grande Valley.

Thunderstorms are frequent this time of year and you don’t want to be caught on the mountain when that happens so check the weather forecast and the skies before you head out. Also, be advised that temperatures at the top can be anywhere from 10 to 20 degrees (or more) cooler than Tijeras and Albuquerque and you will need a windbreaker, especially for the ride down.

View north from the Crest

I descended in late afternoon as shadows blanketed most of the road and the cool winds had picked up, making for a very cold ride even with my windbreaker. Note that the speed limit changes several times, going from 40 mph near the bottom to 35 mph over most of the middle section, and then down to 25 mph within a few miles of the top. There are also sharp turns where the speed limit drops to as low as 20 mph. It is very easy to exceed these speed limits when descending on a road bike so I encourage everyone to be careful to both avoid a ticket and avoid sudden death.

Please feel free to print my table to take with you on your ride. Take time to enjoy the wildflowers, which won’t be around much longer, and the tranquil landscapes.

~Lori Dotson, CPT

President, DotsoFit, LLC

Copyright © 2011