48 hours in North Campus and Summit Park

Written by North Campus resident and team member, Nancy Brooks

One of the fantastic things about our neighborhood is its walkability, and its adjacency to so many amenities! There are many places to visit in our own neighborhood, and shopping and restaurants on Rt. 66 and Green Jeans are just a short walk or bike ride away! Here we have included some of our favorite and most frequented spots in the area where we live. We realize there are many that won’t be mentioned – there are just too many great places to hit them all in 48 hours! That is one of the wonderful things about the North Campus/Summit Park area – the amenities never get old or boring.

We also do access many of the locations mentioned by bicycle – accessibility by means other than the automobile is one of the attractive aspects of this part of the city.

Day One

Begin your morning with a brisk walk on the improved path circling the UNM North Golf Course, a true urban open space! Bring the pups, leashed of course, for the two-mile loop that meanders under the shade of cottonwoods and affords expansive views of the west mesa of Albuquerque. You will likely see some roadrunners and bunnies, other walkers and joggers, and several people out to golf in the predictable New Mexico sunshine.

Hop on your bicycle or in the car and head over to local spot Humble Coffee on Lomas near Washington for a morning cup of joe and a breakfast burrito or pastry. Humble features many locally sourced products and foods, down to the milk they use for making their specialty coffee drinks!

Although it is not technically in our neighborhood, being adjacent to shopping on Rt. 66, aka Central Avenue in the adjacent neighborhood of Nob Hill is awesome. You can spend the day exploring the eclectic collection of shops, restaurants, galleries, salons, and entertainment.

If shopping isn’t your jam, or you want to get more exercise in your afternoon, head back to the UNM North Golf Course for a round of golf on the lovely nine-hole course. Golf carts are available for rental at the course, and there is a small pro shop with a lounge that sells cold beverages.

Make your way back to North Campus for the evening and settle into a table or shimmy up to the bar at local favorite spot Piatanzi at the corner of Girard and Hannett for dinner. If you care for a table or will have a group larger than two people, a reservation is recommended. We often like to walk down the street and take in dinner at the bar and catch up with the bartender and watch some sports on one of the two TVs at the bar.

Day Two

Start the morning with a bike ride up the North Diversion Bike Trail – it starts near the UNM North Golf Course. For a full map of the bike paths in Albuquerque, you can use the city’s interactive map. You can get a nice workout riding the north diversion channel trail out for as long as you wish or have time for – you will see plenty of other folks out and about. Reverse your route on the diversion channel trail and head south as if you are going back to the golf course. Just north of I-40, you will see a spur trail to your left, heading east – this is the Embudo channel trail - take it over to Cutler Ave., and hit up The Daily Grind for breakfast or brunch. You will pass through the Green Jeans Farmery property on your way to The Daily Grind – keep it in mind for later in the day! The Daily Grind has a great selection of breakfast and brunch items and coffee drinks, and is great for all ages – there is a nice patio and a small play area for the kiddos. They also serve lunch and dinner and a selection or beer and wine.

There are a couple of great parks in our area to spend a few hours. Summit Park on Constitution near Girard has a couple of age-level appropriate sets of play equipment for the kiddos. If you are looking for a larger park to play frisbee or set up a volleyball net, Battaan park on Lomas across from the Walgreens is a great space for older kids and adults. You may just happen upon an ongoing recreational volleyball tournament, or the local chapter of the SCA battling it out. Worry not – the park is large enough to find space of your own for a game of soccer, frisbee, you name it! And ice-cold drinks are never too far with Walgreens on the corner.

For an afternoon or people watching and a good beer, head back over to Green Jeans Farmery – you passed it on the bike path earlier this morning. Green Jeans is a development featuring local businesses, and is entirely built out of shipping containers. Santa Fe Brewing has a taproom, and their patio is a great place to take in some people watching and enjoy a pint of local brew. You can choose to while away the hours hanging out at this hotspot, and get dinner from any one of the local food retailers at Green Jeans.

If you are looking to head home instead, stop by Jubilation Wine, Spirits and Beers on Lomas, and pick up a bottle of wine or six pack of local brew. Head back home and order in from Da Vinci Gourmet Pizza. They are conveniently located at the corner of Indian School and Girard. You can pick up your pizza, but if you want to relax and get your Netflix fired up, they deliver to the neighborhood!  Using their convenient and reliable online ordering system, local gourmet pizza is just a few clicks away.

We have barely scratched the surface of all the things you can do within a walking or biking radius in the North Campus and Summit Park neighborhoods – we hope you find this guide to be a good starting point from which to further explore our part of town and all it has to offer!  

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Food / Restaurants

Piatanzi- Italian

1403 Girard Blvd NE, (505) 792-1700, Piatanzi's website, Reservations

The Daily Grind- Breakfast and Lunch

4360 Cutler Ave NE, (505) 883- 8310, Daily Grind's website

Padilla's Mexican Kitchen- New Mexican

1510 Girard Blvd NE, (505) 262-0115, Padilla's Facebook

Taj Mahal- Indian 

1430 Carlisle Blvd NE, (505) 255-1994, Taj Mahal's website

Hurricane's- Mexican and American

4430 Lomas Blvd NE, (505) 255-4248, Hurricane's website

Grocery Stores

Whole Foods Market

2103 Carlisle Blvd NE, (505) 260-1366, Whole Foods website

Smith's

3701 Constitution Ave NE, (505) 256-9423, Smith's website

Sprouts Farmers Market

5112 Lomas Blvd NE, (505) 268-5127, Sprout's website 

Tully's Italian Deli

1425 San Mateo Blvd NE, (505) 255-5370, Tully's website

Schools

Montezuma Elementary School- Public

3100 Indian School Rd NE, (505) 260-2040, Montezuma's website

Monte Vista Elementary School- Public

3211 Monte Vista Blvd NE, (505) 268-3520, Monte Vista's website

Zia Elementary School- Public

440 Jefferson St NE, (505) 255-7451, Zia' website

Jefferson Middle School- Public

712 Girard Blvd NE, (505) 255-8691, Jefferson's website

Albuquerque High School- Public

800 Odelia Rd NE, (505) 843-6400, Albuquerque High's website

St. Mark's Montessori School- Private

431 Richmond Pl NE, (505) 262-2482, St. Mark's website

Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School- Private

4020 Lomas Blvd NE, (505) 255-6391, Our Lady of Fatima's website

Coffee Shops

Epiphany Espresso

3600 Cutler Ave NE #2, (505) 200-9476, Epiphany's website

Humble Coffee Co.

4200 Lomas Blvd NE, (505) 289-9909, Humble's website

Napoli Coffee

3035 Menaul Blvd NE, (505) 884-5454, Napoli's website

Fitness

Midtown Sports and Wellness

4100 Prospect Ave NE, (505) 888-4811, Midtown's website

Upward Motion Personal Training

336 Adams St SE, (505) 268-1231, Upward's website

Grassroots Yoga

4310 Lomas Blvd NE, (505) 681-8163, Grassroots Yoga's website