The Enchanted Circle — Angel Fire, Eagle Nest Lake & the Alpine Village of Red River

North of Santa Fe the road climbs into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, into the high alpine country of the Enchanted Circle — an 84-mile loop of aspen forest, mountain lakes, and old mining and resort villages ringing 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico. This unhurried two-day trip settles on the loop's eastern arc, away from the Taos crowds. Day one climbs to the resort village of Angel Fire, cradled in a broad mountain valley at 8,400 feet, and to the moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial that crowns a ridge above it. Day two follows the high country north past Eagle Nest Lake, glittering below the peaks, to the old gold-mining hamlet of Red River, an alpine main street of boardwalks and pines, before the long descent home. It is a cool, pine-scented weekend of thin mountain air, big lakes, and quiet villages.