Driving Through on Jan 4 to Denver - Road Trip Experience (Santa Fe: 2015, amusement park)

[n0tsomuch]

Hi all! We're from New Orleans, and are moving to Denver in January. We have an opportunity to visit Santa Fe on our way up. We'd be stopping in and staying at Hyde for the night. I have a few questions for anyone willing to listen.

We've never really seen snow before, and one of my kids have never even seen an actual mountain. Consider this when answering questions.

1. What is the snow like during early Jan? Would there be any possibility that we could toboggan or tube during that time, or is snow unpredictable? I know we're ignorant and are probably using the wrong name for it! Haha!

2. Anyone take the drive to CO through Hwy 285? We'd love to take that route and will have good tires for it, but we won't have chains. Has anyone taken this drive in January? Is this route usually closed or anything?

3. Any advice about sledding or tubing? We've only tubed on a river! Hahaha! Thank you in advance.

[TexasRedneck]

PLEASE do yourself a favor - do NOT try driving with your family in snowy conditions until you've gotten some experience doing so, and are properly equipped. If there's snow predicted on your route, detour around it - with snow can come ice - and that makes for VERY dangerous driving conditions. Getting stranded up in a mountain pass - or losing control and running off a mountainside - is NOT something you want to experience. It's not an amusement park ride - it can kill you.

[n0tsomuch]

Thanks. We don't mind avoiding 285. Still would love some info on Santa Fe in January. Thanks.

[DOUBLE H]

Winter driving on I-25 is no picnic.

It is tough keeping on top of road maintenance from December to March on this 370 mile stretch but C-Dot and NM-Dot does a good job. Still, the NM-Dot workyards are along ways apart from each other. Raton to Las Vegas is 105 miles. If you're running into a storm southbound you have several motels in Raton to choose from. From there south you have none in Maxwell, 1 in Springer (IIRC) and none in Wagon Mound. And the wind can blow through there at a steady clip, I've done this trip many times, trust me.

TexasRedneck is right. Fortunately an interstate will have a little traffic and road maintenance and law enforcement but that situation changes when you get on a U.S. highway and it really changes when you get on a state highway. Winter driving on a two lane highway? Well, it will get your attention, that's for sure!

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by n0tsomuch

1. What is the snow like during early Jan? Would there be any possibility that we could toboggan or tube during that time, or is snow unpredictable? I know we're ignorant and are probably using the wrong name for it! Haha!

It varies from year to year:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtn-Kr-m4tg

KOAT, Published on Nov 16, 2015




KRQE, Published on Dec 10, 2012

[n0tsomuch]

Ew! We'll be avoiding all that. haha! Now, wouldn't that be horrible, we finally got out of Louisiana and just before we hit CO, we slide right off of some road and never make it! Ha!