US 285 enters New Mexico signed as the Pecos Highway approximately 23 miles south of
Loving. As US 285 traverses north it, passes through the towns of
Carlsbad,
Artesia, and
Roswell. In Carlsbad, US 285 runs concurrently with
US 62 and
US 180 through the south end of town before splitting downtown. In Artesia, the route intersects with
US 82. In Roswell, the route intersects with
US 70 and
US 380, having a short concurrency with US 70. . The route next heads northwest to
Vaughn, where it has a brief concurrency with
US 54 and
US 60 through the town, US 60 continues with US 285 until
Encino. The route then continues northwest and junctioning with
Interstate 40 (I-40) at
Clines Corners. Heading north out of Clines Corners, the route continues towards the state capital. At the outskirts of
Santa Fe, the route becomes concurrent with
Interstate 25,
US 84, and its unsigned parent
US 85 for several miles heading west through the foothills of the
Sangre De Cristo Mountains to
Santa Fe. After exiting I-25, US 84/US 285 follows Saint Francis Drive through Santa Fe. The route continues north to
Española and
Chamita, where the concurrency with US 84 ends in
Chili. The route then traverses the
Carson National Forest, where US 285 now makes a long climb up to the
Colorado Plateau, passing through
Ojo Caliente as it ascends to the
San Luis Valley. After crossing
US 64, the highway passes through the village of
Tres Piedras, New Mexico at the south end of the valley, then proceeds north to the Colorado border near the
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. ==Major intersections==