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town is the 8-mile East Fork Trail No 137. Divided into three sections with four access points along Hwy 4, this hike winds through the Santa Fe National Forest and is excellent for both families and experienced hikers. The best stretch is the northernmost 4.5-mile section from the tiny parking lot at Las Conchas to East Fork Trailhead. Here, the trail follows the Jemez River (which is really more of a mountain stream) for the first couple miles, offering plenty of opportunity to splash in the clear water, fly-fish in the riffles and relax in meadows, before climbing gently into the aspen. Trail 137A and 137B spur off, cutting steeply into the canyon to swimming holes, where the water is actually deep enough to swim. At the East Fork Trailhead, the trail crosses Hwy 4 and continues about a mile past a parking lot to Jemez Falls. From here, it’s 2.5 miles to Battleship Rock. Though this massive rock formation towering above the pines has little claim to fame besides its vague resemblance to a battleship, it is hugely popular and crowded on summer weekends. If you just want to picnic by the river, the quiet Las Conchas Fishing Access, a few minutes north past the Los Conchas trailhead, has several tables and grills. You can walk about 10 minutes along the river, and then the trail ends.

Unlike anywhere else in New Mexico, the vast, wild, surreally quiet and sublimely beautiful 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve is open to the public on a limited basis by reservation and lottery for hiking, skiing, fishing, elk hunting and other activities. The preserve rests in an ancient volcanic crater with young volcanic peaks separated by expansive valleys of treeless grassland, springs, streams and bogs. As early as 10,000 years ago, Ancestral Puebloans not only hunted and fished the region, but collected obsidian (volcanic glass) for arrowheads. Examples of these black, glassy stones lie along the 3-mile round-trip Coyote Call Trail or the 2-mile round-trip Valle Grande Trail that wind gently through woods and fields. Both are accessible from Hwy 4 without fee or reservation.

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ASK A LOCAL

“It’s difficult to describe the caldera because it’s so amazing. If I didn’t catch a single fish, it wouldn’t matter. The scenery alone sets it apart. We saw some elk, some coyotes. Our 1-mile fishing beat, a 45-minute drive in, was completely secluded. It had a little cabin, and my wife spent the day on the porch reading. I head to Los Ojos every trip, not for the food but for the ambience. It’s a complete escape up there.”

Lane McIntyre, Corrales

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A private ranch from 1890 to 2000, when the federal government purchased the caldera for $100 million, this area has remained home to thousands of elk, bear, mountain lions and other wildlife. The collapsed volcanic field, called Valles Grande and visible from Hwy 4, is only 20% of the entire preserve; to really appreciate its silence and beauty you must hike its interior. Trails range from 1-mile guided human and natural-history hikes to the 7-mile Cerro Secco and Cerro del Abrigo trails. Though you must make a reservation for both guided and unguided hikes, as well as wildlife-viewing trips and winter sleigh rides, the preserve has informal and intimate one-hour geology and history van tours for walk-in visitors.

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DETOUR

Blasted out from the volcanic tuff by the railroads in the 1920s, Gilman Tunnels lie 5 miles north from Hwy 4 on paved State Rd 485. The Guadalupe River cuts through the desert valley, making this a spectacular drive. From the tunnels, the gravel Forest Rd 126 climbs 18 miles through the aspen to Hwy 126. Turn left to Fenton Lake State Park, with a 35-acre lake set at 7900ft and surrounded by ponderosa.

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From the caldera, Hwy 4 twists and turns like a whip through the dense ponderosa of the Pajarito Plateau, offering panoramic views of the desert below to the east, to Bandelier National Monument. Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings are accessible on the easy 1.2-mile Main Loop Trail, and there are hundreds of acres of