A Trip to Santa Fe NM Soon - Ducati.ms

redpato · Jan 29th, 2010, 11:08 pm

SoCalDuc and I are in the early stages of planning a trip to Santa Fe NM from SoCal. Any suggestions about what time of the year has pleasant weather, not too hot? After looking at some weather sites, mid May looks pretty decent. Want to stay off the main freeway as much as possible, trying to follow Route 66 rather than I-40 where we can. Anything to be on the look out for, hazards, speed traps, etc.?

"in God we trust"

sfglenn · Jan 30th, 2010, 9:59 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by redpato

SoCalDuc and I are in the early stages of planning a trip to Santa Fe NM from SoCal. Any suggestions about what time of the year has pleasant weather, not too hot? After looking at some weather sites, mid May looks pretty decent. Want to stay off the main freeway as much as possible, trying to follow Route 66 rather than I-40 where we can. Anything to be on the look out for, hazards, speed traps, etc.?

"in God we trust"

One of the issues you need to pay attention to is the mountains. You can still get snow into May and sometime June. Depending on which mountain passes you ride you can in to it. My recommendation would be to shoot for the last 2 weeks of May for a couple of reasons. First, the cops are less likely to be around prior to Memorial Day and second reduce the likelyhood of snow. I do a ride to Utah in the middle of May each year and if have issues leaving the Colorado mountains sometimes. Once your into the lower elevations the weather is warm but not hot. You could also do the late September window for the same reasons.

Good luck and have fun.

jbcaddy · Jan 30th, 2010, 8:31 pm

last may I found temps from high 80's to nearly freezing. some campgrounds don't open until memorial day weekend. also the north rim of the grand canyon doesn't open until then. like sfglen said, you can find snow in the high country. riding the durango-silverton-ouray skyway I had everything on I could. it gets way cold over 11,000ft when the clouds roll in and there is still snow on the ground. still, I would go before Memorial day to avoid the added crowds. I also noticed that the hotel prices jumped just prior to memorial day. some places 20-40 bucks a night more. great country to visit. have fun JB

**John** · Feb 5th, 2010, 6:38 pm

Bring heated gear and you will be good Redpotato. Wish I were going, looking forward to the Scott trip to Bridgeport and Yosemite.

Laser Blue · Feb 5th, 2010, 7:03 pm

still too cold to ride here in Denver. anywhere that isn't flat that is.

Laser Blue · Feb 5th, 2010, 7:04 pm

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Laser Blue · Feb 5th, 2010, 7:05 pm

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Laser Blue · Feb 5th, 2010, 7:05 pm

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Laser Blue · Feb 5th, 2010, 7:05 pm

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redpato · Feb 8th, 2010, 10:51 pm

We are trying to avoid the heat of going through the desert in Barstow, Needles, and Kingman is why we were thinking mid May when the temps are mild. But the downside is the possibility of cold in Santa Fe. We're going to look at early September instead. While still pretty hot in the desert it will be nice in NM. Oh hey John, it's PATO, P-A-T-O, PATO.

"in God we trust"