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Jemez Mountains - Short Scenic Drive on NM Route 4 Stopping at Hot Springs and Valles Caldera National Preserve

Driving north of Albuquerque to see the Jemez Mountains, even just to do a scenic drive, is 100% worth it.

The first thing you'll notice is that the rocks are a gorgeous red color at the bottom of the mountains. I regrettably didn't get any good pictures of them because I mostly just drove through the area during my trip to New Mexico and West Texas in September/October 2021. The rock layers above the red are yellow and black from volcanic materials from various eruptions.

The Jemez Mountains were formed from volcanic eruptions from the Rio Grande Rift Valley, and the area is loaded with hot springs from the volcanic activity.


Multilayered colorful rocks from various volcanic eruptions on top of the red

More colorful mountains 

I drove up NM Route 4 from from south west to north east, through Jemez Pueblo, Jemez Springs, over to the entrance to Valles Caldera National Preserve, and on to Los Alamos.

The drive is especially scenic, winding along the mountains and rivers. Most of this is part of the Jemez National Recreation Area in the Santa Fe National Forest.

I only had the afternoon so what could have been a nice full day or even two of hikes to various hot springs was instead a quick drive with a few stops.

Jemez Pueblo

The Jemez Pueblo, and the other Pueblo villages in New Mexico were closed due to COVID to tourists. I drove by but did not get to stop to see the historic structure that some people still live in.

Jemez Springs Area

This has a historic hot springs bath house, a historical site that includes ruins of a church from 1621-ish and village, and Soda Dam - a neat little dam made from hot spring minerals that have built up. I drove through and did not stop. If traveling with more time, I would have made a stop at the Soda Dam because it looked neat from the car - but I had seen similar in Yellowstone and didn't feel the need to see something like it again when I was short on time.

Spence Hot Springs

This was my first ever hot spring! This was the only one I made it to in the area. And, just as I had been afraid of from my hot spring research, I was met with giant Caution! signs warning of brain eating amoebas. Apparently all is fine if you don't submerge your face - but the thought is horrifying to me. It's the same feeling you get when you drive over a very tall bridge thinking: what if I drove off the edge? - you know you won't, but you still think about what if you did...

Signs warning of brain eating amoebas plastered around the hiking trail entrance to Spence Hot Springs. Comforting.

It was an awesome hot spring with a trail about half a mile down a canyon and up a bit on the other side. I was not used to the elevation (over 7,000ft) so I was embarrassed by the huffing and puffing I did when it was a fairly easy trail just with a few muddy and steep parts. It has two warm - not hot - rock pools with great views of a canyon. One of the pools has a tiny cave with warmer water inside. I am a claustrophobic mess when it comes to tiny caves, so I admired it from the outside.

Important Note: The US Forest Service notes that nudity is against state law, violators will be cited, so this is NOT a typical backcountry clothing optional hot spring. It is very family friendly.

I just soaked my legs in both pools for about 15 -30 minutes, enjoying myself. I was 100% satisfied with my chosen hot spring stop. I would highly recommend it if you want a taste of the area but don't have time to see more.




The little cave in the hot spring. You can see the back of someone in it.


Valles Caldera National Preserve

Who doesn't love a good supervolcano!?! This was my second time seeing one! There are only 3 active supervolcanoes in the US (which with the scary factor is 3 too many, but with the coolness factor is not enough). The Valles Caldera is 13.7 miles wide. The supervolcano is still considered active and drives the geothermic features in the area.

Bandelier tuff, the rock formation at Bandelier National Monument (future blog post), is a massive ash layer from the eruptions over a million years ago. Much of the Jemez mountains are coated in a thick layer of it. The ash erupted out over 1,000 miles.

All this unique geology makes me excited, so it was definitely something I had to see. Plus the area is known for excellent wildlife viewing, with elk being plentiful in the valley.

I made it to the entrance to Valles Caldera with 5 minutes until 5pm when they closed the gates. There wasn't enough time to even drive in to the entrance station. This is one place I really wanted to see so I was bummed I couldn't go in. Most of the park consists of back country trails that require a vehicle permit but I wanted to at least do a brief hike from the trails around the entrance station parking area.

Route 4 goes around part of the south rim of the Caldera and drops down into the valley for a bit, so I got out at a few overlooks along the road. The size of it was breathtaking. What you can see is only part of the caldera since the middle has lava domes forming mountains. The big valley called the Valles Grande is just part of the caldera floor. I was on the lookout for elk using my zoom lens but didn't see a single one.

The whole vibe of the place reminded me of Yellowstone - rightfully so because they are both active supervolcanoes with similar features. I also had that same creepy unnerving feeling you get standing in a supervolcano with so much power and energy directly below your feet. An eerie feeling where you know it's not going to happen but know that it still could and will one day blow again (wayyy off in the future). If it did, you wouldn't even have time to register it before you'd be blown to smithereens a thousand miles away. Still, it's not exactly the best of feelings.

I'd like to go back to get a chance to actually hike, fish, and see some wildlife. The good news is that I fell in love with New Mexico on this trip, ensuring another trip sometime in the future.


Cheesing in the valley.

Little baby lava dome in front of larger lava domes

The extent of the valley was breathtaking. It's made even more breathtaking by the fact that you are only seeing part of the caldera and all the mountains you see are lava domes in the caldera.

My terrible attempt of a panorama of the Valles Grande

Valles Caldera was my last stop on Route 4 before heading to Los Alamos for the evening. I will have future posts about Los Alamos and Bandelier National Monument.


More information and my resources:

My information is from my observations along with interpretive signs, handouts, and educational and official websites. Check out the links below for more info on the topics covered in this post.

Santa Fe National Forest - Jemez Ranger District

Jemez Pueblo 

Valles Caldera National Preserve


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