"255 Mountain Trail will increase service on Fridays to operate the same schedule as Saturday and Sunday with six eastbound and westbound trips from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m."
North Central Regional Transit District posted that line on its service changes page, and it took effect Saturday, November 7. Monday through Thursday still has three trips each way. Fridays used to match those weekdays. Now they run like Saturdays.
Nearly everything worth doing up NM 475 this winter needs to be booked or timed. The soaking tubs open for reservations 72 hours ahead, the yurts need a day's notice, and the ski area runs on fixed lift hours. Six free trips on a Friday give you a third day each week to fit those windows together.
What the New Friday Looks Like at Your Stop
The 255 Mountain Trail is fare-free every day, including holidays, and runs 365 days a year. Its timed stop on the corridor is NM-475 & Ten Thousand Waves Way. The rest of the climb is drawn on the new timetable's map: Sierra del Norte Trailhead, Little Tesuque Picnic Ground, Chamisa Trailhead, Black Canyon, Hyde Memorial State Park, Aspen Vista and the Norski Trailhead. NCRTD asks riders to wait by the signed stop where the driver can see them, and to use the cord or button to request a stop when getting off.
Here are the Friday, Saturday and Sunday times at the two stops that matter most to the corridor:
| Trip | Eastbound at Ten Thousand Waves Way | Arrives Ski Santa Fe | Leaves Ski Santa Fe | Westbound at Ten Thousand Waves Way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8:30 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. | 9:10 a.m. | 9:37 a.m. |
| 2 | 9:30 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. | 10:10 a.m. | 10:37 a.m. |
| 3 | 11:00 a.m. | 11:30 a.m. | 11:45 a.m. | 12:12 p.m. |
| 4 | 12:00 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | 12:45 p.m. | 1:12 p.m. |
| 5 | 4:00 p.m. | 4:30 p.m. | 4:30 p.m. | 4:57 p.m. |
| 6 | 4:15 p.m. | 4:45 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 5:27 p.m. |
Set that against Monday through Thursday. On those days the bus passes Ten Thousand Waves Way heading up at 8:30 a.m., noon and 4:00 p.m., and heading down at 9:37 a.m., 1:07 p.m. and 4:57 p.m. On a weekday you have to hit one of three times. On Friday you get two morning departures within an hour of each other, a late-morning and noon pair, and two late-afternoon runs fifteen minutes apart.
The timetable shows two things to plan around. Between noon and 4:00 p.m. there are no eastbound trips past the Waves stop. And the last westbound bus passes the stop at 5:27 p.m. The route is built for daytime. NCRTD also warns that the bus may not have room for everyone at peak times and asks riders to be ready with another way home.
Before Opening Day, the Trails Have the Mountain
Ski Santa Fe lists its 2026–27 opening as tentative for November 26, which is Thanksgiving Day. In its November 7 snow report, the resort recorded 5 inches of snow so far this season, with none of its 7 lifts and none of its 89 trails open. Its winter forecast, posted November 5, says above-normal snowfall is favored for the season, with November–December and March–April named as the favored stretches. The forecast also stresses how uncertain long-range outlooks are.
Until the lifts start, the higher stops on the map have the most to offer.
Norski Trail #255 begins at Hyde Park Road and runs 1.9 miles. The Santa Fe National Forest designates it for cross-country skiing in winter and asks snowshoers to use other trails. A June 2026 circuit logged on NM Hiking covered 2.71 miles between 10,042 and 10,319 feet, and the report notes that the connecting trails can stretch the outing.
Aspen Vista is a small Forest Service picnic site below the ski basin. It has a vault toilet and no potable water. From there, a road climbs toward Tesuque Peak and the Alamo Vista Trail. The Santa Fe New Mexican describes it as a gated forest road closed to vehicles. An August 2026 hike on NM Hiking logged 6.16 miles, starting at 9,889 feet and topping out at 11,106. The Forest Service has a temporary area closure near the Tesuque Peak powerline in place through December 31, 2026, so check its map before you head toward the peak.
Lower on the road, Hyde Memorial State Park has gone to its winter setup. According to the park's alerts page:
- The Hyde Park Sled Hill is closed, a posting that has stood since February 2025.
- The Lodge is closed from October 31, 2026, through April 30, 2027.
- The Main Camping Loop, group shelters and first-come sites are closed from November 1 through April 30, depending on weather.
- The RV Loop and the yurts stay open, also depending on weather.
- Stage I fire restrictions were posted October 27, 2026.
- Vault toilet replacement work runs through November, with portable toilets in place.
The park's three yurts are available year-round. Each has six beds and propane heat but no electricity, and they must be reserved at least 24 hours ahead. That lead time fits a plan made on Thursday night for a Friday out.
The 72-Hour Window at Ten Thousand Waves
The bus's timed stop sits beside the corridor's best-known business, which now only works by reservation. Ten Thousand Waves no longer sells day passes. Reserved Community Soaking, which the spa calls the uncrowded replacement for its former communal and women's tubs, can be booked no more than 72 hours in advance. Private hot tub suites open 45 days ahead for the public. Regular spa hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, with holiday exceptions, and the hours page notes that times can change.
The 72-hour limit and the bus schedule line up well. Booking opens three days before your soak time, so a Friday afternoon soak can be reserved starting Tuesday afternoon, and you then have six Friday trips instead of three to get there.
Izanami, the spa's restaurant, serves lunch from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Monday and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. daily. Ten Thousand Waves says Izanami was selected for the MICHELIN Guide 2026 and names Kiko Rodriguez as executive chef. The Fall 2026 menu includes apple kimchi salad, miso molé gyoza, grilled miso bass and a miso pear tart.
The timetable makes lunch the easier meal to reach by bus. The noon eastbound trip drops you at the Waves stop as lunch service starts, and the 4:57 p.m. westbound trip covers the ride back. Dinner starts after the last two westbound buses have nearly left, so an evening at Izanami means driving or arranging a ride home.
On Thanksgiving, the spa lists hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Izanami lists noon to 6 p.m. That is the same day as Ski Santa Fe's tentative opening, so it is a good day to call ahead.
When the Lifts Turn
Once the ski area opens, the Friday schedule starts to pay off in a different way. Ski Santa Fe plans to run daily, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with chairlifts from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through March 14. The first Friday bus reaches the base at 9:00 a.m., right as the lifts start, and the 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. trips down give you two choices after the last chair. According to Ski Santa Fe's shuttle page, the bus carries skis and snowboards on external racks.
During ski season, eastbound riders get a $5 token toward lift tickets, ski school, the gift shop or limited food purchases, not including alcohol. Posted day tickets are $110 for adults on weekdays and $132 on weekends and holidays. Child tickets are $68 and $76. The Santa Fe New Mexican's season preview notes that season-pass prices are frozen at 2025–26 levels. It also points to Totemoff's Bar & Grill for its green chile cheeseburger and the "Patrol Special," a green chile stew with a tamale. Ask at the counter whether the token's food allowance covers your order.
Put together, a Friday on the new schedule could look like this:
- Reserve a community soak at Ten Thousand Waves once its 72-hour window opens, which for a Friday afternoon soak means Tuesday afternoon or later.
- Board the 8:30 a.m. eastbound at Ten Thousand Waves Way and reach the base at 9:00, as the lifts start.
- Ski the morning, then catch the 12:45 p.m. bus down, which passes the Waves stop at 1:12.
- Soak through the afternoon. If your soak ends before 3, you still have time for Izanami's lunch service.
- Catch the 4:57 or 5:27 p.m. westbound bus, or plan another way home if you want to stay for dinner.
Until the tentative November 26 opening, the same Friday works with Norski or Aspen Vista in place of the lifts, using the same buses.
At the Ricky Allen-Tara Earley Group, we cover Hyde Park Road the way people who live along it use it, down to which stop and which hour. If you'd like help finding a home within reach of these trailheads and this bus line, the RCT Team would be glad to talk.
