Fodor's Expert Review Whitewater Canyon

U.S. 180 leads northwest about 50 mi from Silver City to Glenwood and Whitewater Canyon—the gateway to the western reaches of the Gila. Return to U.S. 180, and go north 3 miles (just before the very little town of Alma, where you can get some snacks at the Alma Grill or Trading Post), and turn east onto NM 159. Your rewarding destination, about 45 minutes in, on a sometimes one-lane dirt road, is Mogollon (muh-gee-yohn). The gold-mining town, established in the 1880s, was a ghost town for many years but has been revived in the last few decades by a dozen or so residents who live there year-round. A small museum, an antique shop, and a café operate on the weekends. Book a stay at the Silver Creek Inn (www.silvercreekinn.com) and you can spend the weekend exploring this interesting relic of the American West, as well as the breathtaking, and huge, Gila National Forest bordering it.