New Mexico's Scenic Byway Is A Fall Favorite Ribbon Of Mountain Villages, Wild Rivers, And Delicious Eats

The name can say a lot about what special treats await on a particular scenic byway. Take the 10-state all-American Great River Road, an odyssey up the Mississippi that lives up to its moniker with an abundance of charming waterside towns and vintage riverboat excursions. Then there are the snow-topped summits of Mount Lassen and Shasta along the breathtaking Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway in California. New Mexico, meanwhile, has a driving route with such a tantalizing title that it should have any dedicated road tripper reaching for the steering gloves — Welcome to the Enchanted Circle.

Looping a ring around the bald tops of Wheeler Peak — the highest mountain in the whole state, no less — the popular byway clocks up 84 miles in all. Its ends connect amid the enchanting UNESCO sites of Taos, offering access to a chain link of four separate state highways that breeze through prehistoric geological formations, artsy highland villages, and rivers teeming with fish. The route is undeniably jaw-dropping all year round, but hits a real zenith come the fall, when it lays claim to some of the finest color-changing woodlands in this corner of the USA.

Taos does have its own airport (the Taos Regional Airport), but it's a bijou landing pad that only really serves a few regional carriers. To hitch a mainstream commercial flight, hire some wheels, and head over to join the Enchanted Circle, you're better off driving the nigh on 2.5 hours up from the Albuquerque International Sunport. That has oodles of connections coming in from across the USA, plus a dedicated car rental center.

Check the map. See where Highway 38 wiggles through Red River on the north side of the Enchanted Circle, and where Route 64 passes through Valle Escondido on its south side? Those are the two arms of the byway that cross the vast Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a sub-range of the Rockies that extends through Colorado and northern New Mexico. You'd be right in thinking that those sections are a dream come true for lovers of the great outdoors.

Perhaps the most obvious place to swap the asphalt for a hiking path is deep in the heart of the circle, at the Taos Ski Valley. That's the gateway to the most trodden path up to the top of Wheeler Peak: the Williams Lake Trail. It's no mean feat — think 8.2 miles and nearly 3,000 feet in elevation gain across scree-covered ridges where the route switchbacks steeply. The reward? How about views that encompass distant deserts, emerald woodlands, and craggy peaks alike?

Lower down, you'll skirt the sides of the Red River for 12 miles as you move between Questa and the namesake town of Red River itself. It's speckled with locations where you can sling the line and go in search of brook trout, smallmouth bass, and even salmon! Meanwhile, the glistening waters of Eagle Nest Lake sit amid their own state park along the eastern side of the byway. Go there for more fishing, waterside campgrounds, and boating opportunities galore.

Between gasps at the glorious vistas of valleys and mountain massifs, thigh-busting hikes, and fishing stops, be ready to explore some wonderful towns along the route of the Enchanted Circle. Many folks will begin (and end) their trip in Taos, where the incredible Taos Pueblo showcases homes that have been inhabited for over a millennium – it's not for nothing that it's now a prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site.

North of that, you'll whiz through the town of Red River. It oscillates between ski hub by winter and hiking mecca by summer, but always offers up a dose of hearty New Mexican mountain charm. Just drop into Shotgun Willie's, sat on the corner of Main Street and Pioneer, to get your taste of that. It's a classic Americana diner with more than 30 years' pedigree, serving up biscuit and gravy breakfasts before BBQ brisket for lunch.

Then comes Eagle Nest. It's been a frontier town, a nest of gamblers and gunslingers, and an outpost for cowboys in its time. These days, it's famed as a gateway to the legendary Enchanted Circle itself, but also for its fishing, old-school saloons, and cowboy outfitters. Yehaa!