Sandia Mountains

Seeing the Sandía Mountains and hiking them/ climbing them, were always part of my bucket list, but driving through I-25 was just as nice. I saw them on my way to Las Cruces, NM. We are currently 4 hours away from Albuquerque as we speak but they are massive rocks! I saw houses on the bottom of the foothills. I couldImagine how cool it would be to wake up to these beautiful views every morning.

Great views from the mountains and even through the TRAM journey most people go to the top. There is a 6-mile hike too that takes 6-7 hours in total to climb mountains but definitely, we were not the ones to choose that option. TRAM takes 15 minutes for each side to go up or down. The view from the mountains is beautiful and loved it. The only reason to reduce one star is that they don't have a to-go type of restaurant. The one is there is a dine-in place and usually with a long wait time if you have not reserved. I would really love to have some or other quick food options on the top.

what a sight to see! the snow on top of the mountains just amazingly gorgeous scenery much different from my home town city in West Texas the flatlands. I really enjoyed the experience here with my friends & the party after too. Some nice cold Corona & a good time It was so much fun. If you are reading this I love you guys & I miss you.

I'm newly arrived in New Mexico, and I was really excited to come check-out the Sandia Mountains. There just aren't that many places in the US that have such BIG mountain peaks right next to a large city.Tip: Drive the road up to the Crest on the East side; there's a parking lot on the left that contains the trail heads for multiple trails. There's are also restrooms available here. The Tree Spring Trail will get you to the peak, where you'll experience a truly unforgettable, panoramic view of Albuquerque. Be forewarned - there are significant winds at the top, and the temperature can be a lot cooler, but the views and the experience of the hike are totally worth it!Along with a good hike and the fantastic views, we even saw some deer and other wildlife. It's fantastic to find myself living this close to Mother Nature at her best - I'll be back!

The Sandia Mountains are the perfect backdrop to Albuquerque. They provide stunning visuals for everyone in the city, especially in the evening when they turn a dark shade of red. More importantly, the Mountains provide unlimited exercise and exploration potential. I have only gone on two Sandia Mountain hikes, but they were both excellent quality. The first hike was a hike along the ridge after driving to the top. On our drive up, we saw a group of mule deer crossing the road. The second hike started near the base of the mountain and headed to the top. We did not make the top, but it was fascinating to see the different plants at each altitude. Near the bottom it was mainly dessert brush with minimal vegetation and also an unusually high amount of broken glass. Our trailhead must've also been a favorite hangout for the local teenagers. Farther up the trail the terrain slowly transitioned into taller and taller pine trees. If I lived in Albuquerque, the Sandia Mountains would be a frequented destination.

For anyone who has time to spend at least a full day in Albuquerque, the Sandia Mountains are well worth visiting. A tram ride will give you a spectacular view at the summit in all directions. There are lots of great hiking trails at the summit.For those who don't have the time for the tram ride (and for those who do), be sure to check out the mountains as the sun sets. It's a spectacular site to see as the colors of the mountain range change from gray to watermelon and back to gray. All this happens in a matter of minutes... so it pays to get situated well in advance with your camera ready to fire of a few shots.Some believe that the Sandia mountain range get its name the Spanish translation ("watermelon").

The Sandias are wonderful to look at in Albuquerque and are a marvelous place to hike and spend time in nature. We hiked at the Cienega Canyon picnic ground on our way up, then hiked a bit more at the crest. If you have an hour or two, I highly recommend at least driving up to the crest and taking in the beautiful views.

Watermelon Mountains! These landmark mountains tower over Albuquerque, New Mexico. They're iconic, huge, and colorful. Nobody ever gets lost in ABQ, since the mountains are always to your east. You can't miss 'em! I heard that the Sandia Mountains were 'discovered' by the conquistador, Cortez as he was looking for the Lost City of Gold. He came here thinking he'd found a solid gold mountain, because of the way the sun reflects off of it, it really does look like gold sometimes. But by sunset, the sun started throwing all kinds of shade on his plans, lighting up the mountains in the typical Albuquerque evening sun scape: screaming shades of reds, blues and purples thrown on the mountain's face, that it ended up looking like a slice of watermelon, with the green trees at the top providing the rind of the watermelon, and all the black bears making up the 'seeds.' However, Howie's alternative explanation sounds more plausible- that conquistadors thought the gourds were watermelons... There's plenty of fun stuff to do with the Sandias- hiking and mountain climbing are popular around here. You can go skiing at the slope on the backside of the mountain. If hiking isn't your thing, there's the world's longest tramway to take you to the top, where there's magnificent views and a fancy restaurant. If you ask me, the Sandia Mountains are best approached from the back, where it's a smoother slope with less shear cliffs to fall off. If you go in the summertime with a bike, the ski slope will give you a lift to the top so you can roll down (for a fee.) Watch out for bears! Atlas Obscura lists the plane crash that you can go tour in the Sandias as one of the things to visit. It's part of an old TWA flight that didn't see the mountain after takeoff and they never removed all the debris, due to the remoteness of the area. It's semi-visible from the tram. Contrary to the name, I've never ever seen a watermelon growing here.

Background: I solo-hiked for ~5 miles to the peak. Started out on and finished the Pino Trail, transitioned onto the Crest Trail which f-ed me over, got lost for a while, followed the 10K, hiked below the ski-lifts (not a path) to the peak/tram house while people from the ski-lifts looked at me like I was amazon woman or something.Pino Trail: -Despite what AllTrails says, this trail is harder than a "moderate" difficulty level. Aside from being lengthy with elevation, the trail was also super uneven.-I had to literally climb over a few trees blocking the path, and also was almost stuck inbetween some random big rocks (thank god I didn't eat an extra carne adovada burrito before coming).Crest Trail:-Somewhere in the middle this terribly marked labyrinth branches into multiple paths at multiple points, which completely f***'s you over if you're looking to get to the tram house-The crest peak has a great view but is hella windy, hold on to your toddlers so they don't mary-poppins away.10K:-One of the most well-marked and smooth trails, albeit very narrow pathSki-lift:-Not really a trail, but follow the second set of ski-lifts up the grassy hill and you'll be at the peak-Pretty steep and surprisingly exhausting to hike; and people from ski-lifts may look at you from above strangely.

One of my absolute favorite places to hike, especially in the autumn, when the leaves are a gorgeous gradient of red, orange, and yellow hues. The views are breathtaking, with many opportunities to glance over the cliff from the Crest Trail. It gets a little chilly this time of year, so a jacket is typically a must (unless you're a brisk hiker and move fast). I initially came here as part of a class at the University of NM, but ended up loving it so much, I had to return on my own. I've since taken the tram up ($20 round-trip for those under 20), and also taken the ski-lift up ($12/round trip) and both were very enjoyable, in their own respects. Now, I must say, if you have to try the restaurant at the top of the peak, for the "experience," then do it. But don't expect the top of the line restaurant material from up there... there's a reason why their reviews are relatively low. It's just mediocre food. You're paying mainly for the experience, of eating at the top of the Sandia, if anything. My friend paid $12 for an O-K turkey sandwich meal. Definitely coming back when it starts snowing this winter, for the views, however.