Turquoise Trail: The very name conjures up images of Southwestern treasure waiting to be unearthed. New Mexico State Road 14 is a 54-mile stretch connecting the Albuquerque area to the Santa Fe area. Known to locals as “the back way” and to tourists worldwide as “The Turquoise Trail,” this picturesque path is a National Scenic Byway that passes beneath Sandia Crest and winds through small towns like Golden, Madrid and Cerrillos.
(Photo by Roberto E. Rosales)
N.M 14 picks up just off I-40 on the east side of the Sandia Mountain as the highway squeezes through Carnuel and Tijeras. It starts in Cedar Crest, home to the famed Tinkertown Museum.
From there, the road twists and turns northward, passing Sandia Park, the Paako Ridge Golf Club and the micro-sized town of Golden. About 25 miles up the Turquoise Trail, you’ll hit the halfway point of Madrid.
This old mining town was colonized by hippie artists in the 1970s and transformed itself from ghost town to tourist destination. On weekends the town’s sole road fills up with motorcycle riders, drawn by the promise of green chile cheeseburgers, draft beers and a wealth of art galleries.
North of Madrid, N.M. 14 continues on through some stunning rock formations, a wide variety of high desert flowers and a string of art galleries and studios, including the Jennifer & Kevin Box Studio and Sculpture Garden (home to their world-famous, large-scale “OrigamiInTheGarden” sculptures). Just before the Turquoise Trail hits Santa Fe is the village of Los Cerrillos. With its dirt streets and adobe buildings, it’s a picturesque throwback to the Old West. Several Hollywood movies were shot in Cerrillos, including The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca, Outrageous Fortune and Young Guns (look for a commemorative sign above the old Wortley Hotel on First Street).
Devin O’Leary, Editor, The Paper.