Must Sees in New Mexico
 

My future husband and I are getting married in October and we'd like to take a trip for our honeymoon through New Mexico. We plan to take a week off of work and just "go"... we don't want to plan anything... we would just like to plan on "must sees"

We will start driving on a Monday and should return back to Austin on a Sunday. What are some must sees in New Mexico? caves? pretty scenery in mid-october?

We lived in Southern NM back in the 60s.

Favorite places were White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Cloudcroft/Ruidoso.

The Land of Enchantment! Have a great trip!

I second White Sands - hike out there, look around, and hear the audible "whoa". Surreal.

I also loved Taos. Great little town.

I thought you were going to Colorado?? If you're going to both, I would definitely recommend a stop in Santa Fe, NM.

Yes, I'd have to add the plaza in Santa Fe as a "must see" -- there's just nowhere else like it.

Another place (that might seem like an add choice) is Lincoln, N.M. You can really get a feel for the old west and Lincoln County's encounters with Billy the Kid. I love going through the old court house where he was jailed and shot two lawmen during his escape(including the bullet holes he left in the walls.)

Given you only have a week, I wouldn't drive any farther north than Santa Fe. It'll take you all day just to get to Carlsbad, and you don't want to drive for hours each day if you can avoid it.

In fact, you might want to spend all your time in southern New Mexico; you've gotten great suggestions. The weather will be cooler, and the aspens should be turning gold in the mountains around Cloudcroft and Ruidoso.

Lee Ann

A must see is the ABQ International Ballon Fiesta...the sight of 750 hot air balloons lifting off at day break or doing a "glow" at night is unlike anything else! September 30 - October 9, 2005. http://www.balloonfiesta.com/

Georgia O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe. Small, intimate, not overwhelming. Even if you are not "into art" spend a 30 minutes - hour there. I think you will be surprised at how much you both enjoy it. Watch the movie. Interesting perspective of Georgia as an artist and half of a unique couple.

Anywhere, it would help to know what you are interested in, because a must-see for one person is a must-avoid for another. Will you be camping or staying in hotels/b&bs?

In southern NM, I love Cloudcroft (prefer over Ruidoso) which is a small town in the mountains near Alamogordo. It is cool (especially coming from Texas--I'm near SA) and you can hike in the Lincoln Nat'l Forest.

If you go to Taos, I consider Taos Pueblo a must-see if you've never been.

1. Balloon fiesta- if you can make it and while you're in Albuquerque I highly recommend spending some time in Old Town.
2. Santa Fe-the plaza and maybe Ten Thousand Waves spa which is world reknown.
3. Taos-possibly, it's beautiful up there.
4. Chaco Canyon- if you don't mind the drive and driving on dirt and often washboard roads.
5. Carlsbad Caverns-a must see! It's absolutely amazing! The bats coming out at dusk are cool too!
6. White Sands-might as well since it's close to the caves.I've heard it's really cool at night especially during a full moon.
7. Alamogordo-there's not much there exept all the alien hype.
8. Ruidoso-this is a very beautiful area. It doesn't look like it belongs in New Mexico with all the mountains and trees. I've heard they've just built a spectacular resort in Ruidoso as well.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know!

there are some neat anasazi ruins not that far from santa fe---i think they are called bandalier or something like that

New Mexico has so many "must see" places it's impossible to list them all I think.

I'll add two here that I don't think I saw listed yet which are both in Southwestern New Mexico in the Silver City area.

Gila Cliff Dwellings. Nice drive getting there, and the ruins are awesome themsleves.

My second is a place called The Catwalk which is near Glenwood about an hour or so drive from Silver City. It's a hiking trail into Whitewater Canyon. A portion of the trail is actually a catwalk suspended from the side of the cliffs over the creek rushing below you.

I'd put Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands on my must see list too.

Actually the alien hype is Roswell and not Alamogordo. White Sands is about 20 miles or so outside Alamogordo. Alamogordo also has the Space Hall of Fame museum.

Ten Thousand Waves is phenomenal. It's expensive though. We went for our anniversary a few years ago and I am still raving about the salt glow. You can check out this spa at www.tenthousandwaves.com

If you can only visit one place...the Taos Pueblo should be it.

I for one, agree that Taos is highly overrated. The ski area is a beautiful drive, but sparsely populated in the summer with really nothing to do.

Santa Fe (and surrounding areas) have some great sites, museums, etc. but Albuquerque is also a great location for a budget minded trip. It would help if you would post what kind of experience you're looking for, i.e., romantic with little thought to expense, or action-filled with a budget in mind.

If you are interested in Native American culture, don't miss the Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, and then armed with your new knowledge, go visit some pueblos. The most scenic pueblo drive is north of Santa Fe through Jemez valley toward Los Alamos (also very interesting spot).