The La Ventana Trail is approximately 60 miles North Northwest of Albuquerque, just North of the Jemez Indian Reservation.  The trailhead is located at State Highway 44 and Old 44 Road, a little over a mile North, and 13 miles South, of the towns of La Ventana and Cuba, respectively.   Ranging in elevation from approximately 6,500 feet to 7,800 feet, the trail traverses the western most edge of the Santa Fe National Forest and the Sierra Nacimientos, which is West of the Jemez Mountains and South of the San Pedro Mountains.  Through waypoint LV26, the difficulty rating of this trail is really only a One (1), Easy.  At waypoint LV26, if you turn right, there's a Spring about 100 yards down the trail.  Up to this point, the trail consists mostly of dirt/gravel roads, portions of which contain small rocks (less than 6 inches to 8 inches in diameter).  If you turn left at waypoint LV26, however, you must climb a steel hill, while simultaneously straddling a sizeable ditch right in the middle of the trail.  From this point, we only made it another mile or so before determining that we needed to turn back.  Under better weather conditions, we may have been able to go farther--perhaps next time.  The La Ventana Trail is just under 10 miles to the turnaround point and takes approximately 4 hours or so to return to the trailhead.

Difficulty Rating:  Two (2) Moderate
(based on my personal rating scale on the Trails Page)

Click HERE for a FULL-SIZE printable map

Here are a couple pictures from the La Ventana Trail.
On the left is one of the waterfalls at the end of the trail.  The water isn't always flowing, so we were lucky to experience this on one of out trips.  On the right doin' the TJ Flex Thing and catchin' just a little air.  Unfortunately, this part of the trail is no longer "safely" accessible.

           
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Notice: Off-highway travel is by its very nature potentially dangerous and could result in property damage, injury, or even death.  If you drive any of the trails on this web site, you acknowledge these risks and assume full responsibility.  You are the final judge as to whether a trail is safe to drive, whether your vehicle is capable of the journey, and whether your skills are up to the challenge.  The publisher of this web site disclaims any and all liability for property damage, bodily injury, or death that could occur to you or any of your passengers.  To the best of my knowledge, the information contained on this page was accurate as of the time I road this trail during the Spring of 2004.   However, things change over time.  And portions of this trail may no longer be legally accessible to motorized vehicles.  Therefore, please be good stewards of our sport--always stay on designated trails . . . and always, always remember to Tread Lightly!

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