High, dry, and endless blue sky: Albuquerque is a cycling paradise.
A silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community, high-elevation ABQ is not far from a cycling Eden: 310 days of Chihuahuan Desert sunshine a year, mild winters, cottonwood bosques (woods) along the Rio Grande, and surrounding mountains that blush pink with the setting sun. And that’s not counting its 300-plus miles of bike lanes, paths, and trails.
Albuquerque has more greenspace per capita than any other US city, too — and much of it is connected by lovely, protected routes. The 16-mile, north-south Paseo del Bosque is shaded by tall cottonwoods and follows the river by ABQ BioPark and Old Town. The Tramway Bike Trail, which stretches across the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, has gorgeous views of the city and the desert around it. Keep tabs on the 50 Mile Loop, a developing route that’s going to tie three main north-south trails to east-west pathways. Roadies, head into the Sandias and the East Mountains for climbs (or even full-on circumnavigations).
Gravel is everywhere. Stay close and hit the Bosque, poke around the isolated roads near Cedro Peak, or adventure among hoodoos, badlands, and petrified dunes of 11,000-acre Ojito Wilderness. If you’re here for Halloween, don’t miss Day of the Tread, a Day of the Dead-themed ride (think sugar skulls and skeleton costumes). An hour outside of town, the Tour de Acoma covers the stunning lands of the Acoma Pueblo reservation.