Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Thunder Mountain, New Mexico

Pinyon is one of the easier trails in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System near Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is mostly a fast and flowy dirt trail, with sections of banked corners and easy light curves.…
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Mighty Mule is a 1.3-mile-long single track in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System. It parallels the Meadow Ridge Jeep Trail and is pretty straight, with light curves with banked corners. This one doesn't have many…
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Mahogany starts on the north end from a large dirt staging area off of Juan Tomas Road with plenty of places to park, across from the entrance to the Bear Scat trail. Going south, it…
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Coyote Mesa Trail is listed on MUVM maps as FR462. Its starts just south of Tijeras in Chamisos Canyon, and crosses the mesa north of Cedro Peak ending near the Zuzax area. This trail offers…
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Middle is one of the easier single tracks in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System, without any big rock ledges. It just has sections of loose rock and embedded slab but no big obstacles. It still…
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Gamble Oak is a 2.2-mile single-track trail that makes a semi-loop with Poker Chip and Mahogany. The north end starts off with Poker Chip and starts out super easy in a gamble oak forest. It…
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This is a short trail that connects Gamble Oak to Easy Pickin. It's pretty wide like an ATV trail for the entire 0.6 miles, meandering through an oak and pine forest, with small rocks embedded…
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This is an easy single track on the south end of the Manzanita Mountain Trail System. It starts on the east side as a wide and smooth dirt trail similar to the southern beginning of…
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Pine Flat Connector starts on the north end at a large trailhead with pull-through parking spaces for trailers. It starts out as a very wide dirt road, then narrows up into a single track and…
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This is a short 1.1-mile-long trail starting at the Coyote Trailhead, which has several spots for parking. It starts through a pinch point at a gated dirt road. It parallels the dirt road on a…
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106 Road is a dirt bike trail in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System near Albuquerque, New Mexico. It runs south to north and is a quick way to connect the southern trails to ones farther…
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Cajun Pine is an easy trail in the Cibola National Forest near Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the most part, it's easy, with a few spots of embedded rock slabs, loose rocks, and small ledges. The…
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Otero Canyon is a really fun and easy trail in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System by Albuquerque, New Mexico. This one is scenic, fast, and flowy, with a few rocky sections. It starts from the…
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Drop In is a fast and easy single track in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System by Albuquerque, New Mexico. This trail starts and ends off of 106 Road, which is also easy. It has fast…
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530 Road is an old dirt road that is closed to motor vehicles other than motorcycles. It's super easy the whole way, being a smooth dirt road with only a couple of spots where there…
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West Boundary is an easy single track in the Manzanita Mountain Trail System that goes north to south along the west boundary of this OHV area in the Cibola National Forest. The land on the…
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This trail is on the back side of the Sandia Mountain range. You can access this trail via Highway 165 in Placitas, New Mexico, or Highway 536 in Cedar Crest, New Mexico, off Highway 14.…
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This route is easy but can be more difficult due to weather conditions. This shortcut connects I-25 to Highway 14, the Turquoise Trail. There is private land on both sides of the road with barbed…
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This short up-and-back road travels through private land and ends at the Tunnel Springs Trailhead with great views. It is steep in spots with some large holes and ruts. The parking area is small. The…
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Forest Loop Road 445 leads from NM Highway 165 to the northern base of the Sandia Mountains and back to NM 165. The western side of the loop is more difficult with some washouts, arroyos…
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This route leads to the premier area to see the Big Tooth Maple in the Manzano Mountains. It is the largest stand of maples in New Mexico. The road is easy but narrow in spots.…
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This is an easy route that connects I-25 at the top of La Bajada Hill with Highway 14 at the Village of Cerrillos. For many years, there was a well-marked turnoff to Waldo on I-25.…
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This is a short side road off of Caja Del Rio Road USFS 24, which takes you to a Southern escarpment of the plateau overlooking the Santa Fe River basin below. There are a few…
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The Caja del Rio Road (#24) is a 23-mile drive across the Caja del Rio Plateau to La Bajada Mesa. It ends with a large escarpment dropping 1000 feet to the valley below with the…
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Hang Glider road is a short side road near the end of Caja del Rio Road USFS 24. There is nothing special about this trail until you reach the end with spectacular views to the…
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This Santa Fe county road 56C will take you 4.7 miles connecting to the Caja del Rio to La Bajada Mesa-USFS 24 trail. It goes through the Santa Fe Ranch Cienega Recreation area which is…
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This is an easy route to the beautiful, well-shaded, and peaceful Red Canyon Campground. The campground is at 7,600 feet in elevation. It can accommodate RVs up to 22 feet. It is easy access to…
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This route travels through the southern tip of the Manzano Mountains and connects the village of Manzano on State Highway 131 with State Highway 60. It travels along a right-of-way through private property on both…
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North Glorieta Pass can be run from its east entrance at the top of Rowe Hill off of CR34 or from its west entrance located off of CR51. The primarily dirt two track is just…
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Cerro Encinoso Loop begins immediately off CR-34 and is an easy dirt two-track for the first mile before making its steeper 19.4% grade climb up to the Cerro Encinoso plateau and continuing on to Hogback…
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