Highway 380

[rvduo]

Next week, we will be driving from Roswell to Socorro, NM. Having never been out to the Southwest, we are unfamiliar with the roads around here. U.S. Highway 380 is the most direct route; however, we are wondering about towing on that highway. Advice based on other people's driving experiences in this area will be helpful in deciding our route.

Thanks,

Zerelda

[ColoradoNative]

We came through that route in early March of 2013 and it is all good road. As I recall, from about Hondo to Carrizozo you will be in mountains with some winding road, but we had no issues or saw any road conditions that were of concern. From Corrizozo to San Antonio NM, 380 is pretty much a straight wide 2 lane road with one fairly significant hill coming west from Corrizozo up past the Lava flow.

I don't expect that the Sandhill Cranes will be at the Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge just south of the little town of San Antonio in large numbers quite yet, but that is worth a trip through. All manner of wildlife including Deer, Elk, Bear (never have seen one there), Coyote, Bobcat, Ducks, Geese, Wild Turkeys and many species of song birds.

We had expected to be there during the week of Oct 13, but an angiogram and a stent for Dorothy put that on hold for a while

Entry is free with a Golden Age Passport or whatever they are calling it now.

[rvduo]

We came through that route in early March of 2013 and it is all good road. As I recall, from about Hondo to Carrizozo you will be in mountains with some winding road, but we had no issues or saw any road conditions that were of concern. From Corrizozo to San Antonio NM, 380 is pretty much a straight wide 2 lane road with one fairly significant hill coming west from Corrizozo up past the Lava flow.

How hilly - since you mentioned a significant hill? Dan doesn't like surprises.

Zerelda
Thanks.

[ColoradoNative]

How hilly - since you mentioned a significant hill? Dan doesn't like surprises.

Zerelda
Thanks.

From Hondo at 5300 feet through Lincoln at 5700 feet and nearly to Capitan you will be pretty much following a small river canyon. Capitan is at 6350 and the high point between Capitan and Corrizozo will be about 7000 feet. From the high point it drops down to about 5400 feet at Corrizozo. From Corrizozo, You climb out of the valley over the Valley Of Fires dormant lava flow to about 5700 feet in some 8 miles. It's about 14 more miles to the high point on that section at 6800 feet then it's downhill to the valley and then just a gradual decline where you pass north of the Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was detonated and finally to the Rio Grande River near San Antonio NM where you will get on I25 to go to Socorro.

I would not hesitate to take any rig over that road. However, I have been driving Colorado mountain roads for 60 years. Get Google Earth on your computer and take a look at the aerial view of the route. You can also tilt Google Earth to visualize the terrain from a side perspective.

[rvduo]

Thanks, John.
Z

[wingnut60]

FWIW,
I pulled our Suites over that route about 4 years ago--nothing exceptional in my memory except that I might have taken a different route to save some time. Seems to me there are parts that require complete attention to driving...
Joe