Enchanted Circle

Drive the Enchanted Circle south from Eagle Nest, through the wide Moreno Valley, and you come to the youngest town on the loop. Angel Fire did not grow up around a mine or a railroad. It began as a cattle ranch, and the ski resort at its heart was dreamed up at the family dinner table. The LeBus family came from Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1954, after buying the roughly 10,000-acre Monte Verde Ranch. Two years later Roy LeBus and his brother G.F.

Drive east out of Red River over Bobcat Pass and the Moreno Valley suddenly opens wide in front of you, and there, spread across the valley floor, is a sheet of blue water ringed by pasture and peaks. Did you know that Eagle Nest Lake is not a natural lake at all? A little more than a century ago there was no lake there, only the Cimarron River winding through ranch country, until two ranching brothers decided to dam it and change the eastern side of the Enchanted Circle forever.

Monday, October 19, 2026

Welcome to a quieter, golden week in Red River. Monday starts clear and cold, around 33 degrees early, then mostly sunny with a high near 60, a fine day for a Main Street stroll, a last look at fall color in the canyon, and an unhurried drive around the Enchanted Circle. After the bustle of Oktoberfest, town settles into the slower rhythm locals love in late October, with shops and restaurants open for visitors who prefer elbow room on the sidewalks and trails.