6 Best Sights in Northeastern New Mexico, New Mexico

To reach Capulin from Raton, skip U.S. 64 and instead take NM 72 past Sugarite Canyon State Park, a stunning road that climbs up over Johnson Mesa, from which you have amazing 100-mi views north over the mesa into the plains of eastern Colorado. It's bare and flat up here, as though you're driving across a table straddling the Colorado–New Mexico border. About halfway across the mesa (15 miles from Raton), note the old stone church to your right, which was built by the early farmsteaders and has since been abandoned—it's a beautiful, lonely little building with a presence that illustrates the life of solitude the mesa's settlers must have endured.

Farther along on the right, a historical marker details the 1908 discovery of Folsom Man by George McJunkin, which established the existence of indigenous inhabitants in the area dating back some 10,000 years. The road trails down the eastern side of the mesa and leads into tiny Folsom. Here make a right turn south on NM 325 to reach Capulin Volcano, 6 miles away.

One of the most breathtaking stretches of highway in the state is U.S. 64 west from Cimarron through Cimarron Canyon State Park, which is actually just one small part of the immense 33,000-acre Colin Neblett Wildlife Area. The road passes through a steep and lush canyon banked by 400-foot crenellated granite palisades. Paralleling the road is the sparkling Cimarron River, which is known for its superb trout fishing. Wildlife (including elk, deer, and bear), granite cliff formations, a natural spring, an abandoned mine, and a visitor center are also draws. There's a campground beneath the pines, too, with spaces for RVs (no hookups) and tents, picnic tables, and pit toilets.

From Cleveland Roller Mill you can either return via NM 518 to Las Vegas (about 30 mi) or continue north on NM 518 over the gorgeous eastern face of the Sangre de Cristo range. You'll eventually come to Peñasco, on the High Road to Taos, from which you can either go south to Santa Fe or north to Taos. The drive from Mora to Peñasco offers spectacular mountain views, and passes by old farmsteads and adobe hamlets slowly being worn down by the wind and weather.

As you come around a bend in NM 434 heading from El Turquillo toward Mora, behold the Sangre de Cristo range, specifically the east side of Trampas and Truchas peaks, from an angle few tourists ever see. Just before Mora and the intersection with NM 518 is an intricate network of irrigation ditches that farmers employ to keep this region so fertile.

One of New Mexico's great, although quite isolated, scenic routes heads northwest from U.S. 64 toward the town of Costillo (44 mi north of Taos on NM 522), affording great opportunities for sighting elk, deer, wild turkeys, and many other birds. The roughly 80-mi dirt road requires several hours of driving to complete—although it's okay for non–four-wheel-drive vehicles in summer and fall (assuming there hasn't been a major rainfall in a couple of days and you're comfortable driving on some pretty rough roads). The trip passes through the heart of pristine Valle Vidal, a remote 102,000-acre tract of high-mountain grasslands, ponderosa, aspen, and sandstone cliffs. The fishing (season is July to December) in this region is mighty fine—the native Rio Grande cutthroat trout is found only in the rivers here—and there are two campgrounds, Cimarron and McCrystal. The western section of the road is closed May through June for elk-calving season, and the eastern section is closed to protect the elks January through March. (for information on conservation efforts and history of Valle Vidal, visit www.vallevidal.org)

As you drive up Interstate 25 from Las Vegas and Fort Union, the high prairie unfolds to the east, an infinite horizon of grassland that's quite breathtaking when the sun sets. Wagon Mound (at Exit 387 off Interstate 25) is a butte shaped like a covered wagon, rising from the open plains. The butte is where travelers crossed over from the Cimarron Cutoff to journey south to Fort Union. Local lore tells of mysterious lights, ghosts, and murders committed on top of the butte. The tiny village has few services and is verging on "ghost town" status, with many of its few businesses having closed in recent years and a population dwindling to around 300.