Highway 550 questions (Albuquerque, Los Alamos, Aztec: houses, camping, design)

[knrstz]

Last weekend my wife and I were heading back to Northwest Arkansas from Durango, Colorado and we opted to come home a different route than we came. Instead of going east through Colorado and the Oklahoma panhandle, we went south into Albuquerque on hwy 550. Both of us really enjoy the rock formations we saw. There were so many shapes and colors. We would love to go back and explore.

When I look at the map I don't see any specific names or landmarks for this area. Most of them had reservation names but nothing that made me think these were open to the public to go explore. Obviously its a large area but I was curious if anyone had any advice or recommendations on where to hike/camp in the future and if that's even an option or if its all private land. Also, are there any areas a little further off the highway that are a must see? Thanks for the responses.

[aries63]

It is a gorgeous drive, especially between San Ysidro and Cuba. There are some campgrounds in between which I haven't experienced, like Clear Creek east of Cuba. The Chaco Culture National Historic Park is a major attraction off of 550 (highly recommended) and it has a campground (now closed due to pandemic) and is a designated International Dark Sky Park.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/sant...a/?recid=75530
https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm

There are many camping options in the Jemez Valley on Rt. 4 north of San Ysidro and plenty of hiking trails, plus Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera Preserve, Jemez Historic Site, and the city of Los Alamos, with the Bradbury Science Museum.

[SunGrins]

The Cabezon Peak area is south of 550 east of Cuba (looks like Devil's Tower from the highway) is very interesting with lots of photo ops but rugged and mostly empty with dirt roads. Don't go in bad or wet weather. There are several BLM desert wilderness areas and a volcanic field with dozens of old volcano plugs and remnants. There are some hoodoo areas up near Cuba and then the amazing Bisti Badlands further west. There are a couple Ancestral Pueblo great houses at Aztec. The Jemez Mountains are beautiful and accessible. I think you could spend a week just between San Ysidro and Ship Rock if you wanted to. Jemez Springs is a rustic hot springs "resort" and there are some wild hot springs up in the hills. Valles Caldera is where some of the Longmire episodes are shot. Highway 4 takes you through the mountains from San Ysidro to Los Alamos.