Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway

Sandia Peak Tramway | Enchanted New Mexico

My BFF Sophia and I decided to go here together. Yay for travel buddies! The Tram is on the outskirts of Albuquerque, about an hour’s drive from Santa Fe. It was $2 to park in the lot and then $25/person to ride the Tram round trip. Yeah, that’s a lot of money. But I figured it’s a once in a lifetime thing, right? If you’re feeling really adventurous or cheap, you can get a one way ticket for $15, which includes your self-guided 6 hour hike down from the peak at Watermelon (Sandia) Mountain. Ha!

The Tramway took us a distance of 2.7 miles in about 15 minutes, high above the deep canyons of the Cibola National Forest. We were dropped off at a vantage point atop the 10,378 foot Sandia Peak with an 11,000 square-mile panoramic view of the Rio Grande Rift valley. Truly astounding! You can’t get these kind of views on the east coast, that’s for sure.

Once Sophia and I snapped some photos of the never-ending landscape in front of us, we ventured off into the woods, on one of the nearby trails. I would suggest that you go into the Information Center and pick up one of the trail maps before you go into the woods.

img_2182We wandered through the woods on the trails, without a map, for what seemed like FOREVER. In the end, it was only about 45 minutes – and less than 10,000 steps according to Sophia’s Fit Bit. But when you’re trying to breathe at over 10,000 feet, I don’t think ‘steps’ really matter!

We didn’t see any of the purported black bears or other wildlife – except for a lone squirrel intently gnawing at a pine cone – but, in the end, we both really enjoyed our adventure here.

If you have some time, be sure to stop off for a drink and a snack at the High Finance Restaurant.


MORE INFO: www.sandiapeak.com