The route
This is a suggested first route along the Turquoise Trail, built from the places already in the Old Route Retro atlas. The trail is a scenic byway on New Mexico's State Road 14, running between Santa Fe and Albuquerque through the mining-town country of the Ortiz Mountains — piñon and juniper woodland, old settlements, desert sky. Every stop below links to its own place page, where the postcards filed for that location are gathered together.
The New Mexico route shows the whole state, and holds every design currently filed under it.
Start in Santa Fe
The natural start is Santa Fe — the oldest state capital in the United States, founded in 1610 and built around its plaza and adobe lanes, with the Sangre de Cristo range behind it. The old town is the gateway to the trail.
South on the Turquoise Trail
The Turquoise Trail is the road itself — the scenic byway on State Road 14 that runs south from Santa Fe toward Albuquerque through the old mining country. The name comes from the turquoise mines around Cerrillos, among the oldest in the Americas and worked for centuries before the Spanish arrived; the trail passes the former coal town of Madrid, reborn as an art community, and the near-ghost mining settlements of Golden and Cerrillos.
Albuquerque and the volcano country
The trail ends at Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city, spread along the Rio Grande beneath the Sandia Mountains. On its western edge, Petroglyph National Monument preserves thousands of rock carvings on a volcanic basalt escarpment, made by the people who lived here first.
North to Taos country
North of Santa Fe the route extends into the country of Taos Pueblo — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. Beyond it, the Rio Grande Gorge cuts a deep volcanic canyon across the high plain.
The Jemez country
West of Santa Fe, Bandelier holds the cliff dwellings and stone villages of the ancestral Pueblo people beneath the Jemez highlands, and Jemez Springs offers hot springs and red-rock canyon country farther into the mountains.
The farther desert
South of Albuquerque, White Sands spreads the largest gypsum dunefield on Earth, and the mission pueblos of Salinas Pueblo Missions lie east of the route. West across the desert, Chaco Canyon — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — holds the great stone houses of an ancient road network, with El Malpaís and El Morro in the lava and sandstone country beyond.
Planning the route
This is a suggested route from the Old Route Retro atlas, not an official itinerary. The trail itself — Santa Fe to Albuquerque through the mining towns — fits naturally in a day, with a day or two more for Taos, the Jemez country, or the long drive to White Sands. Spring and fall are the mild seasons; October is the season of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and summer heat in the southern desert is real. Check current conditions before travelling.
The atlas's other great byway routes are the Hocking Hills, the Kancamagus Highway, and the Beartooth Highway — different country, same atlas. Every stop in this guide is a real page: open the New Mexico route to browse every design currently filed under it.
How long does this route take?
As a suggested route it has no fixed length. The trail itself fits naturally in a day, with a day or two more for Taos, the Jemez country, or the desert south. Each place page stands alone, so you can follow any single stop on its own.
Where does the Turquoise Trail start and end?
The Turquoise Trail is the scenic byway on State Road 14 that runs between Santa Fe and Albuquerque through the old mining towns. In the atlas it is filed as its own place page, Turquoise Trail.
Why is it called the Turquoise Trail?
The name comes from the turquoise mines around Cerrillos — among the oldest in the Americas, worked for centuries before the Spanish arrived. The stone was traded across the Southwest, and the byway follows the country where it was dug.
When is the best time to drive the Turquoise Trail?
Spring and fall are the mild seasons for the trail and the country around it. October brings the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and summer in the southern desert is hot — check current conditions before travelling.