Tijeras, NM

Tijeras is a Bernalillo County village in Tijeras Canyon, about 15 miles east of Albuquerque where I-40 and the old Route 66 corridor pass between the Sandia and Manzano Mountains. The canyon has been used for thousands of years, and the Carnué land grant established a Spanish settlement in 1763. Later travelers, including westbound 49ers and Civil War-era troops, used the canyon as a natural passage between the Rio Grande valley and the mountain country. Tijeras incorporated as a village in 1973.

Today Tijeras is a gateway to the East Mountains, with New Mexico Route 14 heading toward Cedar Crest, Sandia Crest, Madrid, and Santa Fe. The village provides water, roads, public facilities, and local services, while Albuquerque supplies the larger metro network. Santo Niño Church, built around 1912 and listed on state and national historic registers, adds a preserved landmark to the village’s older story. Tijeras is a canyon community where ancient travel, Spanish land grants, Route 66, mountain recreation, and modern water service meet at the edge of Albuquerque.