About Ilfeld, New Mexico
Facts, Trivia and useful information
Elevation: Elevation: 6,821 ft (2,079 m), Population: n⁄a.
Time zone: Mountain (MST): UTC minus 7 hours. Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6).
Ilfeld is an unicorporated community in San Miguel County. See map with the location of the town.
See San Jose, for the history of New Mexico during the Spanish Colonial period.
View of Ilfeld along the Old 1926 Route 66 - Ilfeld, New Mexico
The Santa Fe Trail linked this area with Pecos and San Jose. In the 1880s, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad built the railway next to the Trail and in 1883 established a stop which they named Fulton.
A village grew around it and in 1926 when Route 66 was aligned through Fulton, the station changed its name to June, but it would not last for long. It soon became Ilfeld.
A post office named Ilfeld was opened in 1929 (it closed in 1964).
In 1937 Route 66 was realigned further south, between Moriarty and Santa Rosa, bypassing all the towns along the Santa Fe Loop.
The name: Ilfeld
The name remembers a German pioneer of Jewish origin, Charles Ilfeld who settled in Santa Fe in 1867 and built a trading emporium.
Accommodation near Ilfeld
There are lodging options for those travelling along Route 66 in some nearby towns
Lodging Near Ilfeld along Route 66
Heading East ...
- 31 mi. Las Vegas NM
- 83 mi. Santa Rosa
- 141 mi. Tucumcari
Heading West....
- 36 mi. Santa Fe
West along the later Route 66 alignment
- 94 mi. Albuquerque
- 148 mi. Acoma Pueblo
- 168 mi. Grants
- 228 mi. Gallup
>> There are RV campgrounds near Ilfeld
The weather in Ilfeld
The average high in summer (July) is 86°F (30°C) and the average low is 53°F (11.7°C). During winter (Jan) the average high is 48°C (8.9°C) and the average low is 21°F (-6.1°C), below freezing point.
Snowfall reaches 25 inches (63.5 in.) on average and can fall at any time between November and April. Most falling during Dec. and Jan (6 in. each). Rainfall is 17.2 in. per year (437 mm). The rainiest months are June through Sept. with almost 10 inches of rain.
Tornado risk
Ilfeld is located in an area with virtually no tornado risk: San Miguel county only has two (2) Tornado watches per year and mostly in the eastern fringe of the county.
Tornado Risk: read more about Tornado Risk along Route66.
Getting to Ilfeld
The village is located 83 mi. to the northwest of Santa Rosa along the 1926 to 1937 alignment of Route 66.
To the east is Las Vegas (31 miles).
To the west, along the old Route 66 are Pecos, Santa Fe (36 mi.) and Albuquerque (94 mi.)
Map of Route 66 through Ilfeld New Mexico
See the alignment of US 66 in this location, on our New Mexico Route 66 Map, it has the complete alignment across the state with all the towns along it.
Route 66's alignment in New Mexico: the Historic Route 66 through Ilfeld
Route 66 across New Mexico
Click to read the Full description of Route 66 across New Mexico.
The Santa Fe Loop (1926 - 1937)
Our Santa Fe Loop page describes the complete 1926 to 1937 alignment of Route 66 from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque through Pecos, Santa Fe and Bernalillo.
Below is full information on Route 66's 1926 alignment in this town.
Ilfeld: its Attractions
Landmarks, Route 66 sights
Ilfeld, its Attractions
The Historic Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was opened in 1792 to link the town of Santa Fe, in the Spanish Nueva Mexico with the French trading posts on the Missouri River.
The wagon trains used it to move goods into New Mexico. It was also on of the routes chosen by the settlers used it to reach California and the Southwest.
The southern fork of the Trail passed through Las Vegas, Ilfeld, Pecos and crossed Glorieta Pass to reach Santa Fe.
Route 66 meets the "Old Santa Fe Trail"
The few homes that make up the village of Ilfeld are located on the "Santa Fe Trail" and the 1926 alignment of Route 66.
Ilfeld is a scattering of houses on the CanAm highway south of the Pecos River.
CanAm Highway
This "highway" has a total length of 1,975 mi (3,179 km) and is an international highway linking El Paso,Texas, USA with La Ronge in Saskatchewan, Canada. Hence its name "CanAm".
US Route 85 & I-25 are part of the CanAm highway, and both cross New Mexico, overlapping the old 1926 - 1937 alignment of Route 66 between Santa Fe and Romeroville, passing by Ilfeld.
Tours & Itineraries
Nearby Route 66 Towns
To the east, visit San Jose, Las Vegas and, further south, is Santa Rosa. Head west along the 1926 alignment of Route 66 to reach Pecos and Santa Fe.
The 1926 to 1937 alignment of Route 66 near Ilfeld
We describe the road between San Jose and Pecos, including Ilfeld here: Route 66 San Jose to Pecos.
See the Map from San Jose to Pecos through Ilfeld.
The Santa Fe Cut-Off
NM 6 which linked Santa Rosa with Albuquerque via Moriarty was finished in 1927 but only later was it paved. In 1937 it was incorporated into the new alignment of Route 66 that "cut-off" Santa Fe, shortening the road and providing a quicker paved route to Albuquerque and the Pacific Coast. This alignment also cut off Ilfeld.
Route 66 on the main post 1937 alignment
> > See the previous segment Newkirk to Santa Rosa (to the south and east) and the next one, the 1937 alignment from Santa Rosa to Clines Corner (to the south and west).
Route 66 east of Ilfeld
Route 66 west of Ilfeld
> > Pecos to Santa Fe through Glorieta.
The map is from the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, under Fair usage and its BY-NC-SA 3.0, License. Metadata: Author and Publisher: Rand McNally and Company, Chicago. Date: 1927. Full Title: Rand McNally junior auto road map Arizona, New Mexico. Copyright by Rand McNally & Co., Chicago, Ill. (1927). List No: 5755.032 Page No: 66-67 Series No: 36.
National and State Parks
Check the Parks at Las Vegas and the Parks at Pecos.
Sources
Robert Julyan. 1996, The Place Names of New Mexico, UNM Press.
Guidebook of the Western United States: Part C - The Santa Fe Route, With a Side Trip to Grand Canyon of the Colorado, bulletin 613. Nelson Horatio Darton.
Banner image: Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, Arizona by Perla Eichenblat.