New Mexico Things to Do

Very quaint center with restaurants, jewelry stores, art galleries and specialty shops. The decor is bright colors with chili peppers and cacti. Definitely, have some New Mexico cuisine because it is amazingly flavorful.

Cynics will tell you that the legend of the Miraculous Staircase is a myth, and it may be, but the story is intriguing and the interior of the chapel is beautiful. Before I continue what may turn out to be a rather long narrative, I do want to advise anyone with a mind which leans toward skepticism that the Loretto Chapel is no longer a church but...

It is on Navajo reservation. So they charge what will prevail; that being $10. This is for a guide tour and the tour takes about 20 minutes tops. You only see a couple of rooms/apartment portions. The whole visit is not worth the effort. Photos not allowed

This is in the ski area of Red River, they created a Summer tubing, just like sliding on snow but it's fake grass. It has a grown up area and a kid's one. You have to be 7 and over for the adult one. You get up with the chair lift for the adult tubing If I remember correctly it was $23 for unlimited riding

Caldera in Spanish means "kettle" or "cauldron"; in geology, this term has come to be known as a volcanic collapse crater. Large calderas are formed from massive eruptions ...... the ejected magma leaves a void in the earth and the ejected cinder and rock falls back into the newly formed hole forming a caldera. The Valles Caldera is about 14 miles...

Bandelier National Monument is the home of spectacular Anasazi ruins. Cave dwellings were carved in the soft cliffs of Frijoles canyon, in the middle of the canyon you can see the ruins of Tyuonyi village, this is best admired from above. The circular village was a two-story pueblo that housed as many as a hundred people.

The Sandia Peak Tramway is the longest in the WORLD! And, it feels like it! It's an amazing experience. Getting up to the peak isn't difficult but coming back down (for some reason) takes a while. Maybe it was the time of day that we went (close to 5pm). There is a restaurant at the peak if you think you might like to get something to eat. I was...

Canyon road is absolutely lovely in April, and El Farol allows you the opportunity to continue enjoying it even during lunch. The building itself has a charming style and there is an extensive patio for watching the world go by. Inside the restaurant, a Native American woman was selling jewelry, and the walls we painted to mimic the mission style....

This place is our favorite thing to do on each of our visits to Red River, with the whole family. Go Kart City is on Main St, you can't miss it. It's also right next to the Pit shop which offers food like dipped corn dog, fried snicker or twinkie, funnel cake, snow cone, pulled pork sandwich, frito pie etc....(Make sure you eat before riding...

Everyone descends on my hometown once a year for the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. It's a busy time for the Duke City. Pretty much every hotel is full and the highways are crazy with cars! Now, the big thing that manages to ruin Balloon Fiesta can be the weather. The first week of October is usually when the Fiesta is held,...

Located In the heart of the plaza, the Palace of the Governors is a National Historic Landmark and the oldest continually occupied public building in the U.S. Constructed as New Mexico's capitol in 1610, its 4-foot thick adobe walls have survived 400 years of turbulent history including the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, when local tribes wrested control...

We go to Red River very often, it's close to Taos where my husband's family is from. We decided to go on a hike at Red River, I have to admit I don't remember the name of the trail but we picked the right one, we saw many animals who seemed pretty used to people. Below on the website you can see the trails, there are plenty for all levels

Now if you've been to any aquarium and zoo around the world, you know the drill. We're obviously no SeaWorld or Taronga Zoo, so if you're looking for huge thrills, killer whale shows and stuff, you will be disappointed. HOWEVER, the BioPark continues to improve and expand. And there's some unique things about our BioPark. In addition to the...

See my Petroglyph National Monument pages for more info on this. The ancestors of some of today's pueblo tribes painstakingly carved the majority of 25,000 images of plants, birds, animals, people and mysterious shapes into the tumbled black basalt within Petroglyph National Monument. The park is spread out over four sections: three canyons with...

Taking old Rte 66 off US 40 at the east end of the city is about a 5 mile stretch to reach the downtown center area. There are some older motels still preserved, and some other retro buildings, and not much newer structures that took the places of the old ones.

This is a newer structure that appears to still be evolving. Events are held inside and out. There was very little art, and it has maybe 50 sculpture pieces scattered in the building and outside. The best is at the corner of 19th Street for a display of pioneers trudging their way west in migration. It is open 9-5 daily, except Monday and admission...

The Sandia Crest is found by taking the road on the east side of Sandia Mountains; off hwy 14 and north of US 25. It is nearly 11,000 feet high at that point. Also on the road is Sandia Ski Range and Tinkertown Museum-a fabulous place to visit for its unique site and very different. These are views of the valley below at the crest. On the top is a...

No trip to Albuquerque is complete without a drive on a piece of storied Route 66. It's the Mother Road; America's Main Street; the Road to Opportunity; the one of the song. In the 1930's this was the only continuous, paved route from Chicago to LA - reaching across 8 states. Started in 1926, much its length was completed by unemployed workers...

Downtown is a great place to meet friends. You can meet or dinner and drinks, view art, shop. In the summer the city has a event like music and booths to shop. You can also catch a movie while Downtown. Riding the bus to down town is easy. A Hostel is in downtown also. Also you the train stops in Downtown.

See my Acoma Pueblo pages for more info. Acoma (Ah-ko-ma) Pueblo is one of three indigenous settlements (along with Taos Pueblo and Old Oraibi) with the claim of being the oldest continually inhabited village in the United States. Also known as Sky City, it's situated at the top of a 350 ft. mesa and a visit here offers fascinating insights into...

This is located off Hwy 550 in Bernalillo, and onto Tamaya Blvd for 5 miles north. That road is near the Santa Ana Casino. The reservoir is intended to not back up water, as much as to catch and deter the slit and mud of the Jemez River from flowing into downstream and Rio Grand river. It is a catch basin.The views are great from the top, and the...

The Isotopes did end up losing their first-ever baseball game held at their new Albuquerque home stadium, 5-3 against the Nashville Sounds. Despite the loss, most Albuquerqueans seem thrilled to have pro ball back in town. Their spirits were uplifted by a very patriotic fireworks display following the game.

To display more ornate and stupendous views of the rock formations, these are shown. This formation, in a national park, is one of the most unique and fabulous sites for me to partake in viewing. The bizarre tent forms are for sure special.

Upon entering New Mexico, visitors are greeted with its most famous landmark, a 1,583 ft. high inselberg, called Ship Rock. The rock's Navajo name, Tsé Bitʼaʼí, means "Winged Rock". The rock was both a sacred site, for the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi), and the modern day Navajo. Native American legend says, the rock was brought here from...

This site contains the ruins of a pueblo Indian city and the Spanish mission that was founded near it. It was one of the largest cities of its time.

This park is the archaeological remains of the Kuaua Pueblo. It includes a reconstructed Kiva that one can enter.

This 900 year old pueblo city was given this name because the early settlers could not beleive that the ancestors of the local indians had produced this ruin and falsely attributed it to the Aztec civilization of Mexico. This site was inhabited from about 100 to 1300.

This is the US's deepest limestone cave, and has one of the largest single undeground chambers. The limestone gives the cave a very white look, very different from other caves.The cave can be entered via a natural entrance or via an elevator and has both self guided and ranger guide tour routes.See My Carlsbad Cave national park page for more...

This park in Southeastern New Mexico is part zoo, part botanical garden. It features the wildlife and fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert.

One of the largest of New Mexico's Indian Pueblos, this is still home to a healthy population of Native Americans. This is an absolute must see sight. An adobe high rise.

Santa Fe is the both the modern Capital of New Mexico and its old Mexican territorial capital. Santa Fe is a great place to experience the old west.

This is one of the largest Petroglyphs sites in the US. It feature over 21,000 different Petroglyphs across fifty acres of land. This site is actually better than Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque but of course is much more difficult to get too.

One of the largest concentrations of Puebloan indian great houses is in Chaco Canyon. At least 5 or 6 of these great houses are scattered throughout the canyon. It's a real bear to get here with over 10 miles of driving on poorly maintained upaved roads but well worth the time if you have a vehicle up to the task.

This monument preserves the archeological remains of 3 Spanish missions established in the 17th Century to minister to the local Puebloan indians. Both the missions and the local indian villages were depopulated for unknown reasons by 1670.

Loretto Chapel, or Our Lady of Light, in Santa Fe is worth a stop. Completed in 1878, this little chapel is beautiful and draws a lot of visitors but most of them are there to see one specific thing: the staircase. Built sometime between 1878 and 1881, this staircase is a remarkable piece of work. There is no visible means of support for the...

My girlfriend has been talking about this opera house for years; herfamily has a place near Canyon Road. Last year summer, I had theopportunity to finally go and what an experience! Opera season is midJune through August and I would suggest purchasing tickets early aspossible as it tends to sell out quickly. And if you happen to be astudent, 48...

After a cozy and wonderful weekend up in Chama, we headed home and I wanted to stop here at Echo Amphitheatre. It was a fresh, brisk day. The wind was whipping through the canyon and the surrounding area like a small dog would nip at your heel. I was told we went here when I was younger, but I couldn't remember. But I want to go back again and soak...

Acoma Pueblo is about 1.5 hours west of Albuquerque on I-40. The old part of the pueblo is built on top of a mesa and is called "Sky City." It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in North America. There is also another nearby mesa that is not used now called Enchanted Mesa. At $23 each, the tours are not cheap (a camera permit only is $13 per...

The main thing not to miss in Northern NM is Sopapillas, Red Sauce, and Fry Bread. One of the best drives in NM is from Espanola up 84 thru Abiquiu to Chama, over on 17 to US 285 at Antonio, CO then back south to Tres Peidras then US 64 to Taos and back down to Espanola. It can be done in a day but stopping in Chama for the night and riding the old...

This bluff and the spring at its base was the long time home of puebloan indians. There is a trail that winds around the bluff before climbing to the top to view the ruins of the pueblo village.

This park preserves the remains of an extinct volcano. The park is primarily a wilderness park with hiking trails throughout.

It was a beautiful fall morning when we left Ruidoso for Capitan. We had a nice chill evening bar hopping and kicking back in our little cabin in Ruidoso the night before, and I had wanted to see the birthplace of one of America's treasured symbols, Smokey the Bear. We arrived and our first visit was to the Smokey the Bear shop near the museum,...

Taos Pueblo is located outside of Taos, New Mexico. Prices to get in for adults is 10.00 USD, 6.00 USD with a student I.D. Beware, as the pueblo charges you an additional 6 dollars PER camera you bring in! I think that's a gyp. But there are reasons. It is a site of cultural significance. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a must to see if...

Anyone driving between Albuquerque has a choice of three possible routes. The quickest is the Interstate (I25), and the slowest the long loop via Jemez and Los Alamos on Highways 550 and 4, but we chose the pretty scenic byway known as the Turquoise Trail. Named for the former turquoise mines in the region, this road (Highway 14) takes you through...

Of all the scenic byways we travelled this was arguably the most scenic, although in fact we only travelled half of it! For most drivers the route can be regarded as being split into two sections, north (Highways 59 and 52) and south (Highways 35 and 152). These are linked in the west by Forest Road 150 but you’ll probably need a 4-wheel drive to...