Revive The Ride

Built in 1816 of hand-packed adobe, El Santuario de Chimayó is a National Historic Landmark and the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the United States, drawing nearly 300,000 visitors per year. Tucked into a hillside village on the High Road to Taos (NM-76 corridor), the twin-towered church and its courtyard are immediately identifiable. Inside a small adjoining room, a hole in the floor contains what pilgrims call sacred healing soil. Motorcyclists riding the High Road use Chimayó as a natural rest and photo stop — parking is steps from the church and the village has several artisan galleries and weavers nearby.

The Mexican Canyon Trestle Vista is a USFS day-use pullout on US-82 approximately half a mile northwest of Cloudcroft, offering a direct view of the 1899 Mexican Canyon railroad trestle — a 97-foot-tall wooden curved bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places. An interpretive plaque explains the 'Cloud Climbing Railroad' that once hauled lumber from the Sacramento Mountains. The pullout has ample parking and restrooms, and sits at roughly 8,600 feet with sweeping canyon views. Riders ascending from Alamogordo on US-82 often stop here to photograph the trestle before entering Cloudcroft village.

Rancho de Chimayó Restaurante occupies a 19th-century hacienda at 300 Juan Medina Rd in Chimayó, a quarter mile from the Santuario. A James Beard Foundation American Classics Award winner, the restaurant serves northern New Mexican staples — carne adovada, chile rellenos, posole — using house-made red and green chile. The covered outdoor patio on the acequia (irrigation ditch) is the preferred seating for riders arriving in warmer months. Open since 1965, it is consistently cited as the defining dining stop on the High Road to Taos corridor.