Destinations near Sipapu Ski Resort, south & east of Taos

  - Foray Venues -
• Sipapu Ski Resort: 2oo2, 2o1o, 2o15, 2o17 (& 2o26)
• Taos (Kachina Lodge) 2oo8 & 2oo9
• Taos (Sagebrush Inn) 2o16, 2o19, 2o22, 2o24

Distance / travel time between
• Sagbrush Inn and Sipapu: 21 miles / ~30 minutes
• Sagebrush Inn & Kachina Lodge:

  - Field Trip Destinations -

• Sipapu Ski Slopes
  . Elevation: 8200-9000 ft
  . Description: Walk up and around on ski slopes. Chair lift may be running, allowing participants to ride up and walk down if desired.

• Rio Pueblo Riparian Areas
  . Elevation: 8200-8500 ft
  . Road: NM 518 East of Sipapu
  . Distance from Sipapu: ~10 miles
  . Description: Stop at campgrounds and pull-offs along Hwy 518

• Serpent Lake Trailhead
  . Elevation: 10400 ft at trailhead
  . Road(s) NM 518 east to FR 161
  .

• US Hill
• Romero Lake Road
• La Junta Canyon

• Garcia Park
  . Elevation: 10,000 ft
  . Coordinates: +36.3302-105.3991 (NAD83)
  . There are a couple of routes to Garcia Park:
    - From Taos, take US 64 east and turn south on FR 437; distance 18.5 mi highway and 4.5 miles on Forest road.
    - From Sipapu, take NM 518 north and turn east on FR 437
  . Passability: Roads on the Taos route are usually OK for passenger vehicles. Sections of FR 437 on the Sipapu route get rough in some places, and a Subaru-type vehicle (or better) would be a more prudent choice.

• Comales Canyon   . Elevation: 8000 ft & higher
  . Directions: Drive about 2 miles west on US 518. Parking area is an old quarry on the south side of the highway. It's roughly accross the road from a USFS campground.
  . Description: The trail follows Comales creek upstream as far as one wants to walk. It's a fairly steep-sided canyon, which offers a realtively moist environment, making for a nice little treasure quite close to Sipapu. A visit to this area during the 2017 Foray produced a variety of specimens, including good collections of 2 or 3 Boletus species.

• Santa Barbara Campground
  . Description: This location is south of Sipapu, and has proven productive during past Forays. Driving distance is about 18 miles from Sipapu.
  . Coordinates: +36.089 -105.611
  . Directions: From Sipapu, drive west to its junction with NM 75. Continue on NM 75 to Peñasco (about 10 miles from Sipapu). You will come to a point where NM curves sharply to the right (NW) and NM 73 goes to the left (SE). Follow NM 73 1.4 miles to the Santa Barbara Road. Turn left onto the Santa Barbara Road. Santa Barbara Road becomes Forest System Road 116. The campground is about 7.5 miles from the junction in Peñasco.
  .
  . • Ojo Sarco area