A Little Known Fantastic Drive in New Mexico

If you’re familiar with New Mexico, you probably have some awareness of Chaco Canyon and its amazing ruins. The Chacoan culture extended way beyond Chaco Canyon in the form of communities called Outliers. The easternmost outlier, Guadalupe Outlier, happens to be on a steep-walled butte overlooking the Rio Puerco in the middle of the Rio Puerco Volcanic Necks.

The Rio Puerco Volcanic Necks are believed to be the largest concentration of volcanic necks (or diatremes) in the world. They were described to some extent a few months ago in another blog post: Cabezon – Shark Tooth Ridge – and the Rio Puerco Necks. The entire area has scenery worthy of a nation park.

Guadalupe Outlier (Hike 37) was added to the 3rd edition of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Albuquerque because the drive to get there is so fantastic. In fact, when I give talks on the 60 Hikes book, I always mention the drive and say that it rivals California Highway 1 for sheer beauty!

After one of the talks a woman from the audience came up to me and said that she had hard time believing my claim. All I could tell her was to check it out. I happened to bump into her again a couple of months later at another event, and she told me, “you’re right, the drive does rival California 1.”

The Cabezon blog post had us driving on dirt roads east of the Rio Puerco. To reach Guadalupe Outlier, we’ll stay on dirt roads west of the Rio Puerco. Before considering either of these drives, please make sure that the roads are dry. The dirt roads are more than acceptable when dry (especially if the road has recently been bladed), but absolutely impossible (and even dangerous) when wet. You really don’t want to be stuck in mud several miles from a cell phone signal.

To reach the Rio Puerco Volcanic Necks, take U.S. Highway 550 to beyond Mile Marker 41 to San Luis road. Even though the road is not signed, it is Sandoval County Road 279. Turn left and follow CR 279 as it arcs to the west and south. You’ll be seeing Cabezon the entire way. The first  8.5 miles of the road are paved. 3.9 miles after the end of pavement, you’ll run into a junction. If you go left, you’ll be heading for the east side of the Puerco and Cabezon. If you go right, you’ll remain on CR 279 and be heading west and then south to Guadalupe.

As we head west, Cerro Cuate (twin or pal in Spanish) will be on our right.

Off in the distance to our left, we can see the volcanic feature called Bear Mouth. It looks like a huge tooth protruding from the north end of Mesa Chivato. To the right (north) of Bear Mouth, and again off in the distance, is a freestanding volcanic neck called Cerro Parido that has a very similar profile as Bear Mouth.

At 6.4 miles from the junction, CR 279 will start to drop down to cross Arroyo Chico. Before making the descent, you might want to pull over (there is room to park on the left side of the road) for a walk to the edge of the cliff for a fantastic views in every direction. The junction of Arroyo Chico and the Rio Puerco is below, Cerro Cuate and Cabezon Peak are to the left, and there so much else in front of you and to the right. As you look around, you’ll be seeing views that you’ll find nowhere else in the country!

Getting back into the car and then descending over 200 feet or so, we’ll be crossing Arroyo Chico on a one-lane bridge. Soon after the bridge (9.2 miles from the junction), we’ll reach a critical turning point. What looks like it might be a slightly larger road to the right and heading off to the west is not the road we want to take. It’s BLM Road 1103. We want to stay on CR 279 which goes off to the left to head south. (Although 1103 has plenty offer, it is outside the scope of this narrative.) The sign for the Chamisa Wilderness Study Area is a good landmark for identifying this junction.

As wonderful as the drive has been, it’s now going to get even better. You’ll have the Rio Puerco and volcanic necks to your left and sandstone bluffs on your right. At some point Cerro Santa Clara, Cabezon Peak, and Cerro Guadalupe will line up in row on the other side of the Rio Puerco. When the Postal Service issued a stamp to commemorate the 100^th Anniversary of New Mexico’s Statehood, they chose a painting (Sanctuary by Doug West) of the same view from a slightly different angle to place on the stamp.

And very soon after the postage stamp view, you’ll be passing through the melting adobe blocks of what once was the small community of Guadalupe. It’s now on private land, so you can’t get out of the car to explore it, but you can still enjoy this only in New Mexico experience as you drive through.

Not long after passing the former community, you’ll be making a tight turn to the right and will be driving next to a wonderful sandstone formation. In moments the road will swing to the left and dive to the bottom of a very deep-cut arroyo. There is plenty room to pull off the road before you cross the arroyo if you want to walk around for a closer look of the sandstone or check out the depth of the arroyo. The same erosion that created these deep-cut arroyos also lowered the water table to make farming impossible and spelled the demise of three of the four communities that were once in the Rio Puerco valley.

Going down and then coming up through the arroyo will be like riding a roller coaster. You won’t forget it. But please don’t enter the arroyo if it’s running, raining, or has been trashed by recent rains. You’ll have another deep-cut to drive through in a little more than a mile. And finally, a half mile after the second deep-cut, we’ll reach Guadalupe Outlier, 17.2 miles from the junction. With that, you have completed one of the most scenic drives in America, and best yet, you’ll get to do it again on your return.

The best place to park at Guadalupe Outlier is at the south end of the fence line. From there, you can follow the trail up to the ruin. The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) has installed signs describing the site.

If you’re curious about how far the road goes south. The road quickly deteriorates after the outlier and ends in 2.25 miles at a locked gate. The former community of Casa Salazar is short distance beyond the gate. Since it’s on private land; it is strictly off-limits. Your best bet is to turn around after you check out Guadalupe Outlier. And with that you’ll get to enjoy the scenery from a different angle.