mlm59

We have decided on New Mexico as our destination for a vacation Sept 13-20. We are thinking about going to the state fair on Friday, Sept 19. That evening there is a PRCA rodeo followed by a concert by Clay Walker.

Can anyone who has attended the fair tell me the hi-lights and must sees of the fair? We plan to spend the day at the fair.

We are staying at the Sleep Inn near the airport on Thursday night. It appears that the state fair grounds are close by.

DebitNM

Will you have a car? Public transportation in ABQ is rather limited. Where will you be staying Friday night?

The state fairgrounds, after the concert, would not be a place I would want to linger. IT is not the best of neighborhoods.

NM State Fair was the first I had ever attended. We went the first year I lived in ABQ.

It has animal exhibits, a midway with rides and typical carnival like games of chance and food. There are 4H exhibits and some other exhibits.

Honestly, I can't think of must sees. I liked the Baby Barn with baby animals.

I am not sure there is enough to spend the entire day at the fair. It is really a place to ride rides and eat carnival food.

I went a second time and that was enough for me. Teens like it at night.

Please don't get me wrong - I love NM and love to have folks come and see the beauty and all that is good. The state fair just isn't on my list.

If I can answer any other questions, please fire away.

Deb

mlm59

Deb,

Thanks for your reply. We are staying at the Sleep Inn airport on Friday night also. We are flying out at 4:00 PM Saturday. We will have a car. ABQ is the last stop on our NM trip. We are spending the day in ABQ on Thursday, Friday, and until early afternoon Saturday.

I made the decision to travel to NM recently based on using our reward tickets on Frontier so I haven't firmed up all plans.

My daughter shows horses and hopes to watch some shows while at the fair, but I went on the NM fair website today and couldn't pull up a calendar yet.

We understand about the state fair being in a bad part of town. The situation is the same in our state. Am I correct is believing that the fairgrounds aren't too far from where we are staying?

I remember reading a post some time ago in which a person mentioned how much they enjoyed the NM state fair. We always enjoy the fair in our state and decided it would be fun to attend a fair in another part of the country.

Thanks again Deb for your reply.

DebitNM

It's about 4 1/2 miles.

From motel: left on Yale, left onto Gibson [heading east towards mountains], left on San Mateo [heading north], right on Central. From there you have some one way street to contend with, but there should be signs for parking.

Since your daughter is into horses etc, she should really like the fair. I hope you have a good time. Roasted corn, kettle corn and a BBQ turkey leg are good eats!
Deb

ElendilPickle

I, on the other hand, love the New Mexico State Fair. Perhaps you read my post.

Keep checking the website. There is a horse show almost every day, plus many other livestock shows, sheepdog competitions, etc.

Be sure to check the Native American art building and the Hispanic art building for a taste of something different from what you'd see at home.

I agree that you should leave after the concert. The exhibits will all be closed, and the midway isn't a place you want to spend time after about 9:00 at night.

Lee Ann

mlm59

Lee Ann,

Thanks for the encouraging words. We also saw the sheepdog trials on the website and would enjoy that, as well as some of the livestock shows. We also look forward to visiting the Hispanic and Native American exhibits. We enjoy learning about different cultures.

I think we can easily spend the day at the fair. Hopefully once the concert is over there will be lots of people leaving and we'll be okay walking back to our car. Is there a preferred area to park? We will be driving there from the Sleep Inn near the airport.

Thanks again.

Myra

MomtoCCC

Make sure to try the Indian fry bread at the Indian pavillion (or the Navajo taco!)

I would echo the other recommendations found here as well.

MomtoCCC

Myra,

I missed the last part of your questions. Park in the designated areas on the fairgrounds and you will be safe walking back to your car. The entrances into the fair are all right hand turns only and the exits are all left hand turns. There is a gate with parking off Central but you will need to come from Louisiana to get into it. You should be able to turn in from San Pedro also - look at a map.

ElendilPickle

Your concert and rodeo is in Tingley Coliseum. Use the Louisiana Blvd. entrance; it's the closest to the coliseum.

You can use the Central Ave. entrance, but the San Pedro entrance is mostly for vendors and pedestrian traffic.

Lee Ann

mlm59

MomtoCCC & Lee Ann,

I greatly appreciate your advice on parking. I want to be sure we are in a safe place. I have a book from the ABQ visitors center and will study the map. Want to be sure when we come out of the fairgrounds that we can easily get back to our hotel. Getting lost in a bad area isn't something I want to do, especially at night.

Myra

ElendilPickle

Getting to the fair: Deb's directions are good, except that rather than turn right on Central, stay on San Mateo going north. Turn right on Lomas, go past San Pedro, and turn right on Louisiana.

Coming out of the fairgrounds, turn right onto Louisiana and head west to San Mateo. Turn left, head down to Gibson, then right to Yale and right to your hotel.

Lee Ann

mlm59

Thanks to all of you for such detailed directions. I am looking at a map in the visitor's guide, but unfortunately some of the streets you mention, Gibson, San Pedro & Lomas, aren't shown on the map. I am going to try to download a better map, but if the streets you have mentioned intersect with San Mateo and Louisiana, I should be able to find our way. Looks like staying at the Sleep Inn is a good choice for visiting the fair.

Thanks again for all of your help. We have never been to NM and are greatly looking forward to this vacation.

Myra

DebitNM

Gibson and Lomas run east-west. San Pedro [along with San Mateo, Louisana] run north-south.

These are all major roads [well San Pedro isn't too major] and should be on google maps. You won't have a hard time driving around. The roads are mostly straight and it is easy to tell directions - the mountains are in the east and you can see them from everywhere in town.

I 25 also runs north south and I 40 runs east west.

Deb

ElendilPickle

If you're an AAA member, you can pick up an Albuquerque map there. Most bookstores should have them as well.

Lee Ann

mlm59

Hoping someone can help me feel more at east about our visit to the state fair. I am finalizing plans for our trip next month and have been reading a lot of information. I just read that the area surrounding and south of the NM state fairgrounds is known as "the war zone", especially after dark.

We will arrive at the fairgrounds during the day, but won't leave until after the concert. Elen - you suggested using the Louisiana street entrance. According to the website there is an entrance at Louisiane and Lomas and also at Louisianca and Central. Which one is closest to the coliseum?

I have mapped out the directions Elen suggested, but wonder about the areas we will be driving through at night. Would it be safer to take Louisiana north to I-40 and go over to I-25 south and back to our hotel?

I want to take the safest route out of the fairgrounds, even if we have to drive a few extra miles.

Thanks again for all of you who have made suggestions.

Myra

ElendilPickle

Hi Myra,

Both entrances are about the same distance from Tingley Coliseum, so it doesn't make much difference where you park.

I think you would be fine taking surface streets back to your motel; it's what we would do if we lived in that area. The so-called "war zone" area is gradually improving.

But if you would feel safer taking the freeway:

From the Louisiana entrance: Turn right, then right on Central. Take Central east to San Mateo. Turn right and head north to I-40. Or you can turn right on San Pedro (the west side of the fairgrounds), then right on Lomas (north side of fairgrounds), then north on Louisiana to I-40.

From the Central entrance: Ditto.

Lee Ann

mlm59

LeeAnn,

Thank you so much for the great directions. I was a bit frightened when I read about the area being called the war zone. I am getting ready to buy tickets for the rodeo and concert, but was having second thoughts. However, my daughter has her heart set on going - that is the main reason we are coming to NM at this time. I'm sure there will be lots of people leaving the concert when we do so hopefully we can find a spot fairly close to the coliseum.

Obviously I haven't been to your state fair, but at our state fair it can be hard to find your car, especially after dark.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Myra

Postal

We left the fair in the dark last year and it was just fine. There are sections of downtown Orlando that look a lot worse than ABQ's "war zone!" We enjoyed watching the horse racing at the fair. In fact, we enjoyed just about everything at the fair and I'm really glad we went!

abqdeb

Don't worry, as long as you park in one of the state fair parking lots, you;ll be fine. During the fair there are MANY people out in the area and a strong police presence. The area was known in the past to be an area of a lot of drug dealers, but has improved more recently. As long as you are not wandering the back streets at night, you will not have any problems. If you leave right after the rodeo and concert, you will be in the parking lot with loads of other people.

Our city is much safer than many large cities and you'll be fine on the major arterials. No need to get on the freeway. The "war zone" is actually a very small area and if you travel down Central Ave, you will be in the trendy Nob Hill neighborhood in 5 minutes.

The fair is a fun way to spend the day and you can sample lots of good New Mexican and Native American food.

mrwunrfl

I went to the NM State Fair three years ago and really enjoyed it. I was driving from Virginia to my new home in California. I stopped at the OK state fair on the trip, too.

To get to the fair grounds, I just followed the map - and then the signs and traffic - to get to the parking lot. Really no reason to be worried. It is a big event and the fair grounds occupy a bit of ground. If the neighborhood outside of it is called a war zone then I didn't notice it and am pretty sure it didn't get that reputation from tourists being attacked going to/from the state fair.

There were a couple of culturally themed areas that were interesting. Native American, Mexican, etc. representing the people of NM.

Went to the horse racing which was an interesting scene.

Also went to the rodeo which was amazing and to the Three Dog Night concert that followed.

It was a fun day. Definitely go.