Tijeras, NM

united states

Tijeras is a small mountain community of 500 people located right on Interstate 40 east of Albuquerque, where Tijeras Canyon opens into the Rio Grande Valley. It's the starting point for the scenic Turquoise Trail (Highway 14) that connects historic mining towns to Santa Fe, and offers easy access to Albuquerque via a 15-minute drive west on I-40. The village gets its name from the Spanish word for scissors, describing how the canyon cuts through the Sandia Mountains.