A mountain town above the high mesa
From its position high in the mountainous north of New Mexico, the village of Chama redefines the traditionally understood landscape of the Land of Enchantment. “Chama is a very small town in the Rockies,” says Lawrence Romero, associate broker with Mossy Oak Properties, who has nearly 15 years of experience in the area. “We’re at an elevation of around 7,800 feet, so we’re up there. The snowpack here actually supplies most of the water for Albuquerque and the other southern cities. There are aspen, spruce and ponderosa pine trees all over. It’s absolutely beautiful, there’s not much more I can say.” While it may be remote, this small village is no less enchanting than the rest of the state.
New development is scarce, but acreage is available
Homes in Chama tend to be older, with scant new development undertaken by individual landowners. “There’s no new development in Chama,” Romero says. “It’s very rural, so on the outskirts, people buy land and put a manufactured home on it for farming and ranching.” Manufactured homes can begin around $130,000 and rise as high as $300,000. Within the village proper, prospective buyers can find historic bungalows from the 1920s, cabins with Midcentury Modern stylistic flair and ranch-style homes on spacious lots. Prices for homes in need of some renovation begin around $94,000, climbing to $380,000 for move-in-ready options. A distinguishing factor between homes near the center of town and those on the outskirts is the availability of amenities. “Just within the village, there’s city water and sewer services,” Romero says. “Anywhere outside of that, the homes are on well and septic.”
Students attend high school in Tierra Amarilla
From kindergarten through grade 8, children attend Chama Middle and Elementary School, located on the north side of the village and rated C-minus by Niche. For high school, students attend Escalante Middle High School in Tierra Amarilla, which earns a C-plus and is located 15 miles south of the village. As of the 2023-24 academic year, Escalante Middle High boasted an enrollment of 165 students and a student-teacher ratio of roughly 13 to 1.
The Edward Sargent Wildlife Management Area is just north of Chama
The Edward Sargent Wildlife Management Area provides much of the area’s outdoor recreation. “We’re very rural and up in the mountains, so there’s lots of hunting, fishing and hiking,” Romero says. “The Continental Divide Trail comes through Chama, and that’s one of the biggest sources of tourism for the area. All summer, we get hikers coming through who’ve made the trip from Mexico.” Other opportunities include the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, where visitors can book a trip through the Rocky Mountains to Antonito, Colorado, on a historic steam engine.
Locally owned businesses and small malls line Route 17
Because Chama is such a small and isolated village, retail options within the area are limited. “There are a few places to shop, a few restaurants,” Romero says. “We have a Lowe’s Market grocery store and these places that are called malls, but really they’re more like hallways with a few stores on either side.” Restaurants line state Route 17, the de facto Main Street. Among the most popular are local eateries like Outlaw BBQ Company and My Mom and Dad’s Restaurant, a classic American roadside diner.
New Mexico state Route 17 is the main commuter thruway
State Road 17 is the main thoroughfare, serving as the de facto Main Street of the village and cutting a path north through the Rocky Mountains to Colorado. On the south end of town, SR-17 converges with U.S. Highway 64, which is the quickest way to make the 2-hour trip south to Santa Fe. “A lot of people use the highway to commute to Los Alamos, as well,” Romero adds. “The lab there and the state highway department are two pretty big employers for the area.”
