Saturday, November 7, 2026
Red River woke to a clear and cold Saturday morning, with the temperature at 26 degrees at sunrise at 6:31 a.m. and bright sunshine ahead. The forecast calls for a sunny day with a high near 50 degrees, light northeast winds, and no weather alerts in effect, and the shared morning radar showed northern New Mexico and the Enchanted Circle clear, with rain only around Socorro and across central and southern New Mexico, well south of the Circle. It is the kind of crisp, quiet November day when the Sangre de Cristo Mountains look especially sharp and wildlife is on the move at the edges of the day.
This is a changing season for the elk herds that visitors love to watch in the Moreno Valley and around Eagle Nest Lake. The fall rut, which runs from early September to mid-October, is over, and the big bulls have separated from the cow herds to feed heavily and rebuild weight before winter. As colder weather settles in, elk that spent the warmer months at higher elevations begin moving toward lower valleys, and the wide meadows along U.S. Highway 64 through the Moreno Valley are among the best places in northern New Mexico to look for grazing herds at dawn and in the last hour before sunset. Mule deer, bald eagles arriving for the colder months at Eagle Nest Lake, and wild turkeys are also part of the late-autumn scene.
Above it all stands Wheeler Peak, at 13,167 feet the highest natural point in New Mexico and the centerpiece of the 19,661-acre Wheeler Peak Wilderness in the Carson National Forest. The 84-mile Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway loops around the peak through Red River, Questa, Taos, Eagle Nest, and Angel Fire, and the view from 9,820-foot Bobcat Pass, just east of town, takes in the peak on a clear morning like this one. Bighorn sheep, marmots, pikas, and golden eagles live in the high country year-round, while the aspen stands that glowed gold in October now stand bare above the evergreen slopes.
A good Saturday plan starts early, while the light is low and the animals are feeding, and it leaves time to be back in town before the early sunset at 4:58 p.m. Dress in warm layers, because a sunny afternoon near 50 degrees still begins and ends well below freezing, and bring binoculars rather than trying to get close to any animal. Please watch wildlife from a distance, never feed wild animals, and stay on roads and trails, both for your safety and for theirs. Visitors who want to add art to the day will find the 45th annual Dixon Studio Tour open today and tomorrow, November 7 and 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Embudo Valley south of Taos.
Sunday looks just as fine, with sunshine, a high near 52 degrees, and another cold night in the low twenties, so the whole weekend favors a slow drive around the Circle and unhurried stops at Eagle Nest Lake and the valley viewpoints. The season is turning, though. The State Wildlife Commission meets at the Red River Conference Center on Friday, November 13, and the Red River Ski and Summer Area plans to open for the winter season on Wednesday, November 25, just eighteen days from today. For now, this bright and quiet Saturday belongs to the elk, the eagles, and the high peaks.