Your picnic view from the northern end of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sunset View from the North Sandias
Looking for a destination to end a drive at while scouring Google Maps, I saw Juan Tabo Picnic Site nestled in the norhern end of the Sandia Mountains and thought, let’s try this. I assumed it would have a nice view, and it did, though not as sweeping or panoramic as I thought. Hustling to get my tripod out and my camera mounted on it, I got the last peak of the sun over the foothills to the west. I liked having the boulders for the foreground, rather than just a distant shot of the horizon and sky. Once off of Tramway, the road to this spot would be a good driver’s road, if it were a closed road. The tight twists require the speed limit to be 25mph and then 15mph and the narrow road allows for no spirited driving with other cars and bicycles sharing the road. Still, it is a good spot to end and catch the sunset, even if slowly.
How to get there
The spot for this photo was actually before turning into the actual picnic site, since the parking lot for the site itself had no view. Pull off of the Forest Service Road just before turning right onto Pinon Pl for the best view.