Sandia Crest, also known locally as Sandia Peak or simply as the Crest, is a mountain ridge that, at 10,679 feet (3,255 m), is the highpoint of the Sandia–Manzano Mountains, and is located in the Sandia Mountains of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. Instead of a true summit or topographic peak, this range climbs to a long ridge line. To the east, the range slopes down from the Crest and merges into the plains below. On the west side of the Crest is a cliff; the range dramatically drops over 4,000 feet in elevation over 2 miles of horizontal distance to the Rio Grande Valley and city of Albuquerque below. It is within the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. The Crest features a viewing area with a shop and visitor center, telecommunications transmitters, the popular La Luz Trail, the Sandia Mountain Wilderness, and the summit of Sandia Peak Ski Area and the Sandia Peak Tramway, which is the longest aerial tramway in the Americas.
Closeup of Sandia Crest from the west, July 2007
Part of the parking lot to the viewing area and radio transmitters on Sandia Crest, September 2008
View from Sandia Crest on the city of Albuquerque and Sandia Peak Tramway
Kiwanis cabin, August 2012
The Sandia Mountains are a mountain range located in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, immediately to the east of the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The mountains are just due south of the southern terminus of the Rocky Mountains, and are part of the Sandia–Manzano Mountains. This is largely within the Cibola National Forest and protected as the Sandia Mountain Wilderness. The highest point is Sandia Crest, 10,678 feet (3,255 m).
The Sandia Mountains and Rio Grande at sunset, looking southeast from Bernalillo
Sandia Crest from the west, with adjacent radio and TV towers
Sandia Mountains as seen from Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Sandia Crest with a wisp of snow, viewed from Sandia Resort & Casino, just north of Albuquerque