On the west side of the Crest is a cliff; the range dramatically drops over 4,000 feet (1,000 metres) in elevation over 2 miles (3 kilometres) of horizontal distance to the Rio Grande Valley and city of Albuquerque below.

[1] Also, when viewed from the west, the profile of the mountains is a long ridge, with a thin zone of green conifers near the top, suggesting the "rind" of the watermelon.

",[5] The earliest recorded use of "Sandia Peak" seems to have been from local retired lawyer and skier Robert Nordhaus, who founded La Madera Ski Area in the mountains in 1936.

The ski summit is dubbed "Sandia Peak", and features a fine-dining restaurant, TEN 3 (stylized as 10|3), named for the elevation it is situated at, "ten-three" (10,300 feet (3,140 m)).

[6] In 1930, the Kiwanis Group of the Civilian Conservation Corps built a stone cabin on the crest in pueblo-style architecture, overlooking the Rio Grande Valley.

Included with the plan was Skyline Drive, a scenic highway that would have run for about 8 miles (13 kilometres) from La Madera Ski Area in the south, along the crest line to U.S. Route 85 west of Placitas, a stretch now served by New Mexico State Road 165 via Capulin Canyon.

The routing for Skyline Drive was adjusted twice at an August 8, 1966 public meeting, and by autumn of 1969, 5 miles (8 kilometres) of forest along the crest was cleared for the new road.

The soil was exposed, rocks were tumbled about, and stumps with their roots upturned appeared to beseech the Sandia deities for mercy.

The mountains themselves would eventually reclaim the land and mend the wound in their flank, but the road would not survive the aroused reaction that opposed the construction of any skyline drive.

[17] In 2017, the US Forest Service adopted plans outlined in the Sandia Peak Ski Co.'s 2016 master plan for a "Four Seasons Activity Area" at the Crest, including a food service yurt, two ziplines, and a mountain coaster (a type of tracked sled ride), to be built in the summer of 2022.

[18][19] Due to intense local opposition and the high costs expected for evaluating the environmental impact on the mountain, the project was canceled.

[20] The Sandia Mountains are a fault block range, on the eastern edge of the Rio Grande rift Valley.

The Sandias were uplifted in the last ten million years as part of the formation of the Rio Grande rift.

Fauna that frequent the crest include elk, mule deer, New Mexico black bears, raccoons, ring-tailed cats, bobcats, and various species of squirrel.