White Mesa: Bernalillo, NM Area

Albuquerque, New Mexico is home to a wide array of outdoor activities that can be enjoyed year round from Skiing to hot air ballooning. The mountain biking scene is a little more extensive than it is here in Las Cruces, so when I went up to Albuquerque to visit my sister and brother-in-law, I took my bike along with me and managed to get Matt, my brother-in-law to show me some trails. The Sandia mountains that tower over Albuquerque were still holding on some good amounts of ice in early March so we headed west from Bernalillo towards Cuba to a recreation area called White Mesa.

The 35 minute drive out of the city got us away from the all the traffic and most of the people, but when we got the trail head, the parking lot was surprisingly packed. The first part of the trail had a few traffic jams, but about a mile out, the other riders were more scarce. The White Mesa trail system is great for the intermediate-expert rider and is well marked with numbered signs and maps at almost every fork and intersection. There are also several off-shoots and side loops that can add variety to your ride.

The Picture below does not due it justice, but the first part of the trail follows the side of this spine for awhile with steep drop-offs to the west. Those traffic jams that I mentioned unfortunately happened along these parts, not fun. After this section, the trails stays more on top of the ridge with a roller coaster type ride with alternating short climbs and descents.

The first fork you come to, you are faced with the decision of either taking some switchbacks down to the trail that goes back around to climb up the other ridge (we know know that this is clearly the better option), OR, carry your bike straight up about 30 ft to the top of the ridge and then ride a ways before going down the steepest jeep trail of your life (the option we chose, and regretted).

On the climb up the second ridge, we passed some springs that were surrounded by extremely white ground. It was pretty interesting and it almost felt like hard packed snow to ride on.

There are many cool rock formations and several different types of terrain along the trail. Once you get to the top, it becomes obvious why it is called White Mesa. The dirt does get pretty powdery and is almost like chalk coating your chain and gears. It was a tiring, yet fun ride. I would like to go back to White Mesa and ride the trails again.