Community celebration signals four-season shift at Sandia Peak Ski Area

SANDIA PARK, N.M. — Sandia Peak Ski Area drew hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts Saturday for its inaugural Trail Fest, packing the base lodge parking lot to near capacity as visitors celebrated the restoration of historic mountain routes.

The four-hour community gathering marked a milestone in efforts to transform New Mexico’s oldest ski area into a year-round recreation park centered on open public access. Trails across the mountain were open throughout the day for both hiking and mountain biking, with the Sandia Shuttle Club running transport service to carry riders and their gear up to the 10X trail parking lot.

Attendees of all ages browsed outdoor vendor booths, watched live trail-maintenance demonstrations, and bought food from Rizzo’s Famous Kitchen and Catering. The capacity crowd reflected strong regional interest in the mountain, where admission, parking, and trail use remained free of charge.

The festival highlighted months of clearing work spearheaded under Trails 250, a broad outreach effort launched by resort operator Mountain Capital Partners. Working alongside a lean off-season resort staff, local volunteer groups with U.S. Forest Service maintenance agreements cleared dense deadfall from key corridors.

Crews from Friends of the Sandia Mountains, the Cibola Trail Rangers, New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors, and the Albuquerque Mountain Bike Association cleared signature routes, including the eight-mile King of the Mountain track, the five-mile Golden Eagle downhill run, and critical junctions linking to the regional Challenge Trail toward Sandia Crest.

Festival organizers used the day to thank those volunteer crews while showcasing early progress on a three-year renovation project. In addition to trail rehabilitation, crews have installed new decking, applied fresh exterior paint across base facilities, remodeled outbuildings, and thinned invasive black locust trees to protect native ponderosa pines and aspens.

Future site plans call for reopening the base cafe for year-round dining, hosting outdoor mountain weddings, and opening a dedicated museum dedicated to the resort’s 1936 origins as the La Madera ski area, founded in part by veterans of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division.