Pecos Wilderness
The Pecos Wilderness is an awesome ride. It's not a long ride - about 80 miles from Santa Fe (160 round trip). The road climbs from around 7000 ft at Santa Fe to about 10000 ft at the end of the road. The first town you get to is Pecos which is a relatively small town with not a whole lot of facilities. They do have a gas station and a few restaurants (none we found were open for breakfast). I suggest you bring a picnic lunch because once you leave Pecos there is only one store about halfway up the road which only has snacks.
We stayed at a campground just outside of Santa Fe, NM for a home base. Starting from I-25 northbound in Santa Fe, ride about 15 miles to exit 299 which leads you to SR 50. Go east about 6 miles to SR 63. Making a left onto SR 63 you will ride through the main part of the town of Pecos. 21 miles, climbing and twisting, will get you to Jack's Creek which is the end of the road. Along the way you will be awed by the amazing views of the mountains, snowcapped peaks, and the Pecos River (which is only a wide rushing stream at this point.
The one store I mentioned earlier is in Terrero (the store is the town of Terrero) about half way up. It's worth going inside to see the post office in the store as well as trophy heads of deer, elk and other animals hanging on the walls. Along the way there are lots of camping areas. Some have water, but most are wilderness with only a picnic table. The Pecos River flows along the side of the road for most of the journey and is filled with trout. You will see the occasional fly fisherman along the shore trying to score one for dinner. The next "town" you reach is Cowles. The only building there is an outhouse if you need to use the facilities. The road branches here, one branch crosses the Pecos River leading to some more campgrounds and the other branch goes straight (take that one) to Jack's Creek. Once at Jack's Creek, you are at the end of the road. Jack's Creek is a small valley surround by towering peaks and the only sounds you hear (once you turn off your bike) are the sounds of nature. There are several camping areas at Jack's Creek and we found the campground host to be very friendly and informative. While we were at Jack's Creek, a small herd of mule deer passed by and the host told us it was common in the morning to see herds of elk cross through the camping area.
Take pictures but don't count on them portraying what you are seeing and feeling. It is one of those places that you cannot capture, you must stand there.
Plan on about 5 hours for the round trip. Once you leave Pecos going north on SR 63 the going is relatively slow because of the twists and turns so the last 21 miles will take you an hour or longer if you make some stops along the way.
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