38 Best Sights in Southeastern New Mexico, New Mexico

The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, which started as a personal collection evolving from founder late Don Anderson's patronage of artists, since the 1960s has become an important showcase of contemporary art. This 22,000-square-foot, salon-style museum exhibits sculpture, painting, print, and textiles, and it continues to evolve. Among the 500-plus pieces is an impressive collection of the dramatic, large-scale fiberglass sculptures by the late El Paso artist Luis Jiménez. The remarkable and competitive Roswell Artist-in-Residence program, whose participants' work feeds the ongoing collection, is operated by the museum's foundation and provides a home, studio, supplies and a stipend to participating artists.

About 8,000 diving permits are issued per year for folks who strap on tanks and plunge into the 80-foot-deep artesian spring–fed pool at the Blue Hole, which is also open for public swimming during daylight hours (no fee). Cliff diving is great fun here, as is snorkeling and coming face to face with the many koi and goldfish that have been deposited here over the years.

Stella Salazar runs the dive shop (575/472–3370) adjacent to the Blue Hole; hours are generally restricted to the weekends, although the pool is open seven days a week. Tanks, air, weight belts, and a few other basics are available there. Weekly dive permits are $20; annual permits are $50.

The museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, houses the Anne C. Stradling Collection of more than 10,000 artworks and objects related to the horse—paintings, drawings, and bronzes by master artists; saddles from Mexico, China, and the Pony Express; carriages and wagons; a horse-drawn grain thresher; and clothing worn by Native Americans and cowboys. An indoor children's exhibit offers kids the chance to climb and touch an adobe home, a tepee, a wagon, as well as lots of other hands-on activities.

Depending on your point of view, the International UFO Museum and Research Center will either seem like a display of only-in-America kitsch or a real opportunity to examine UFO documentation and other phenomena involving extraterrestrials. This homespun nonprofit facility is surprisingly low-tech—some of the displays look like they've seen previous duty on B-movie sets (the museum is, coincidentally, inside an old movie house). The blowups of newspaper stories about the 1947 Roswell crash, its fallout, and 1950s UFO mania make interesting reading, and you can view the videotaped recollections of residents who say they saw the crash firsthand. The gift shop sells all manner of souvenirs depicting wide-eyed extraterrestrials, along with books and videos. Though some of the exhibits are whimsical, the portion of the museum devoted to research accumulates serious written collections and investigations of reported UFOs. The city hosts AlienFest (575/914–8017) over the first weekend of July each year.

The National Solar Observatory–Sacramento Peak, 20 miles south of Cloudcroft on the Sunspot Highway at an elevation of 9,200 feet, is designated for observations of the Sun. The observatory, established in 1947, has four telescopes, including a 329-foot Vacuum Tower that resembles a pyramid. One observation point has a majestic view of White Sands and the Tularosa Basin. During the day you can inspect the telescopes on a self-guided tour and watch live, filtered television views of the Sun. Interactive displays at the visitor center allow you to, among other activities, make infrared fingerprints. The community of Sunspot, home of the observatory, is an actual working community of scientists—not a tourist attraction—so you should stay within areas designated for visitors.

The impressive Roswell Museum and Art Center often gets overlooked in favor of alien hoopla, but it contains a very good collection of Southwestern artists, including works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Henriette Wyeth, Peter Hurd, plus early modernist pieces from members of the early Taos and Santa Fe art colonies. The extensive Rogers and Mary Ellen Aston Collection of the American West has displays of Plains Indian artifacts and Spanish armor. Robert H. Goddard's collection exhibits the inventions and journals of the rocketry genius, who conducted some of his early experiments near Roswell. The Robert H. Goddard Planetarium, which is part of the museum, is open only occasionally, generally on holiday weekends and for celestial events—call ahead for the schedule.

You truly have to see Sitting Bull Falls to believe that a cascading, 150-foot-tall waterfall flowing into beautiful, crystal-clear pools exists in southeastern New Mexico. It's no mirage—and you can even swim in the waters of this oasis. A 1-mi hike from the parking lot over a paved trail takes you to a desert riparian area lush with ferns, watercress, and cottonwoods. At the parking lot, the forest service provides rock ramadas for picnics. There are viewing decks and restrooms, and 16 mi of hiking trails lace the area. The park is open for day use only. If you want to camp overnight, drive southwest on NM 137 until you reach the New Mexico–Texas state line and Dog Canyon Campground in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. During extreme drought conditions, call first to make sure the area hasn't been closed.

Twenty-eight miles south of Carrizozo, take CR B-30 east off U.S. 54 and in 5 mi you come to Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, one of the Southwest's most comprehensive and fascinating examples of prehistoric rock art. The 21,000 sunbursts, lizards, birds, handprints, plants, masks, and other symbols are thought to represent the nature-worshipping religion of the Jornada Mogollon people, who lived in this region between AD 900 and AD 1400. Symbols were pinpointed and identified through the extensive work of two members of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico's Rock Art Recording Field School. Fragrant desert creosote and mesquite can be found here, along with cacti that blossom brilliantly in early summer. A rugged trail snakes for 1 mi, and from its top you can see the Tularosa Basin to the west and the Sacramento Mountains to the east. A short trail leads to a partially excavated prehistoric village. You can camp at the site, and there are 10 covered shelters with picnic tables, barbecue grills, restrooms, and water. Two RV sites with electricity and water are available for $10 per night.

White Sands National Monument encompasses 145,344 acres of the largest deposit of gypsum sand in the world, where shifting sand dunes reach 60 feet high. The monument, one of the few landforms recognizable from space, has displays in its visitor center that describe how the dunes were (and are continually) formed from gypsum crystals originating at a dry lake bed called Lake Lucero, where winds and erosion break down the crystals into fine particles of sand. A 17-minute introductory video at the visitor center is very helpful if you intend to hike among the dunes. There are also a gift shop, snack bar, and bookstore.

A 16-mi round-trip car ride takes you into this eerie wonderland of gleaming white sand. You can climb to the top of the dunes for a photograph, then tumble or surf down on a sled sold at the visitor center. As you wade barefoot in the gypsum crystals you notice the sand is not hot, and there's even moisture to be felt a few inches below the surface. Gypsum is one of the most common minerals on earth and is finer than the silica sand on beaches. A walk on the 1-mi Big Dune Trail will give you a good overview of the site; other options are the 4¾-mi Alkali Flat Trail and the 600-yard Boardwalk. The Nature Center in the Dunes museum has exhibits and other information that includes interpretive displays with depictions of animals and plant life common to the dunes, along with illustrations of how the dunes shift through time. The center usually is open during regular hours, but is staffed by volunteers (so it sometimes closes unexpectedly). Call first to make sure it's open. The picnic area has shaded tables and grills. Backpackers' campsites are available by permit, obtainable at the visitor center, but there aren't any facilities. Once a month from May to September, White Sands celebrates the full moon by remaining open until 11, allowing you to experience the dunes by lunar light. Call for information and reservations for monthly auto caravans on Saturday to Lake Lucero, the source of the gypsum sand deposit. Rangers lead tours daily at sunset, starting at the visitor center.

The Billy the Kid Museum houses 20,000 square feet of exhibits about the young scofflaw, as well as antique wagon trains, guns, household goods, and other artifacts of the frontier era. There's an interesting film about the Kid and the Lincoln County wars he was involved in. The museum is closed the first two weeks of January.

From the viewing platforms along the 8½-mile self-guided tour at the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, you can watch for snow geese, sandhill cranes, and other exotic birds, along with more-familiar species.

The Black Water Draw Archaeological Site remains active and is open at regular hours to visitors in summer and on weekends in spring and fall. Self-guided tours on developed trails are well worth the effort for the privilege of viewing work in progress at a major archaeological site. Stay strictly on the trails, which offer options of ¾-mi or ½-mi round-trips with about 20 different interpretive stops with signs describing vegetation and geology (the wildflowers following spring rains can be spectacular). On hot days, wear a hat, use sunscreen, and carry water for these excursions. An exhibit building offers a fascinating look at ongoing excavations of prehistoric animal bones, and an ancient, hand-dug well can be viewed near the exhibit building.

In the early 1930s, archaeologists in eastern New Mexico unearthed remnants of prehistoric animals like mammoths, camels, and saber-tooth tigers. More important, this was the first site in the contiguous United States that provided conclusive evidence that humans lived here at least 11,300 years ago. The culture and artifacts associated with these earliest inhabitants take their name from the nearby city of Clovis. The Black Water Draw Museum contains photographs of early excavations, along with artifacts from Clovis, Folsom, and later Native American civilizations. The museum looks a little lonely on the side of U.S. 70, 8 mi northeast of Portales, but its interior is cheerful, with informative, well-presented exhibits and a "touch and feel" table for children.

The lakes at Bottomless Lakes State Park were created when an ancient sea that covered the area 240 million years ago evaporated, leaving behind salt and gypsum deposits. Those deposits then slowly dissolved with accumulations of rain, and ceilings collapsed into sinkholes. Scuba divers, boaters, and swimmers now take advantage of the crystal-clear, spring-fed water. The main Lea Lake facility has a bathhouse with modern showers and restrooms; paddleboards can be rented from late May to early September.

Tasty nuts are the crop at Eagle Ranch Pistachio Groves and Heart of the Desert Vineyards, where you can buy pistachios baked into cranberry biscotti, pistachio-filled chocolate candies, and the nuts themselves, as well as the wines being produced in the proprietary winery. Linger in the coffee shop or art gallery. George and Marianne Schweers own the family farm here, which has been growing pistachios—an unusual crop for New Mexico—since 1972. The ranch has 12,000 pistachio trees and is the largest such grove in the state; a vineyard was planted in 2003 and is now producing wines—their signature wine is a crisp Pistachio Rosé, a Zinfandel–Chenin Blanc blend with a hint of pistachio essence. They offer free wine tastings daily, but not until noon on Sunday. If you have an RV and would like to camp overnight, ask for permission at the store to camp at the picnic area—there's no charge for self-contained vehicles.

Artifacts and photographs at Fort Sumner State Monument illustrate the history of the fort, which was established in 1862 on the east bank of the Pecos River. From 1863 to 1868 it was the headquarters for a disastrous attempt to force the Navajo people and some Apache bands—after their defeat on various battlefields in the Southwest—to farm the inhospitable land. Natural disasters destroyed crops, wood was scarce, and even the water from the Pecos proved unhealthy. Those who survived the harsh treatment and wretched conditions (3,000 didn't) were returned to reservations elsewhere in 1868. The post was then sold and converted into a large ranch. This is the same ranch where, in 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett gunned down Billy the Kid. The Kid is now buried in a nearby cemetery, where his headstone is secured in a barred cage (this was erected after the headstone was stolen three times and later recovered).

Call or visit the Guadalupe Ranger District for permit information.

The late artist Peter Hurd lived in the Hondo Valley on the Sentinel Ranch, which is still owned by his son, Michael Hurd, whose paintings are also displayed in the gallery. The Hurd–La Rinconada Gallery displays Peter's landscapes and portraits. The artist is famous for Western scenes but gained some notice when a portrait he painted of Lyndon B. Johnson displeased the president, who refused to hang it in the White House. Also on display are the works of Hurd's late wife, Henriette Wyeth (Andrew Wyeth's sister). Michael is an amiable host who has established an international reputation with a series of paintings he calls "The Road West," his vision of the lonely desert scenery surrounding his home. Michael's sister Carole Hurd Rogers and her husband, Peter Rogers, also an artist, live near the ranch as well. Paintings by Jamie Wyeth, father Andrew Wyeth, and grandfather N.¢C. Wyeth round out the impressive collection at the gallery. Signed reproductions and some original paintings are for sale.

When church services, weddings, funerals, and other regularly scheduled functions are not taking place here, Lincoln's historic Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, originally built in 1887, can be viewed free. The tiny church was built and restored entirely from local materials. Roof beams and other wood elements including latillas (small branches laid on top of larger, rounded wood beams known as vigas) were dragged by oxcart from the nearby Capitan Mountains.

The Lincoln County Courthouse Museum is the building from which Billy the Kid made his famous escape. You can walk in the room where Billy was imprisoned and view a hole in the wall that just might have been caused by the gun he fired during his escape. Display cases contain historical documents, including one of Billy's handwritten, eloquent letters to Governor Lew Wallace, defending his reputation.

Covering 1.1 million acres of Eddy, Otero, Chaves, and Lincoln counties, the magnificent Lincoln National Forest encompasses two distinct regions: the arid lower elevations near Carlsbad, and the towering pines and mountain peaks of the Ruidoso area. The piñon and juniper of the southernmost region stretch through the Guadalupe Mountains to connect with the Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains national parks. The forestland has many caves, some of which can be accessed with a free permit available at the Guadalupe Ranger District.

These caves are not developed, so be prepared for primitive conditions. The only private development you can find other than scattered ranches is at Queen (49 mi southwest of Carlsbad, on NM 137). This site consists of a small mobile-home community, restaurant, store, gas station, and church camp. This forested area is hugely popular with hunters lured by ample populations of mule deer.

The northernmost portion of the Lincoln forest, surrounding the resort community of Ruidoso, is a more traditional sanctuary, with snowy mountain peaks, lakes, and gurgling mountain streams. Developers have capitalized on this beauty, so the forest is interspersed with cabins, resorts, church camps, condos, and ski runs. Still, there are miles of pristine wilderness, many of which can be accessed by hiking trails.

More than 25 camping areas are scattered throughout Lincoln National Forest. Although fishing lakes and streams are available on private, municipal, or tribal lands, there's very little opportunity for the sport on these public forestlands. To obtain more information about hiking, camping, hunting, and other recreation, contact the forest service's main headquarters in Alamogordo. Call or visit the Guadalupe Ranger District for permit information.

The biggest attraction beyond the miles of neon and the Blue Swallow Motel is the Mesalands Community College Dinosaur Museum, where marvelous full-size bronze dinosaur skeletons are on display. This area was a hotbed of Triassic activity, when dinosaurs emerged in their development, and there are species here—like the Struthiomimus—that you won't find anywhere else in the world. The skeletons are cast in the local foundry, and they are touchable. The latest addition, a Parosaurolophus from the Farmington, New Mexico, area even "breathes" through re-created respiratory tubes—talk about realistic!

The bordering Ruidoso to the west, is inhabited by more than 3,000 Mescalero Apache, most of whom work for the tribal government or for the tribally owned Inn of the Mountain Gods, one of the state's most elegant resorts and a major destination for visitors from all over the country and Mexico. Also on the reservation are a general store, a trading post, and a museum where a 12-minute video about life on the reservation is screened. Regular talks are also given on the history and culture of the Mescalero Apache. There are campsites here (with hook-ups at Silver and Eagle lakes only) and picnic areas. The July 4th weekend dances, which include a rodeo, powwow, and demonstration dances of young women going through puberty rites, are open to the public.

José Montaño ran a saloon and boardinghouse within his Montaño Store for more than 30 years after the Civil War. Governor Lew Wallace stayed here when trying to arrange a meeting with Billy the Kid. Today, displayed writings in both English and Spanish describe the history of the site.

Five miles south of Cloudcroft on Highway 6563, take Forest Road 64 (paved) to Nelson Canyon Vista Trail for a well-marked walking trail with absolutely breathtaking views of White Sands. This ¼-mile walk among the shade of tall trees is made all the more sweet if you've recently spent time down in the blazing summer heat of the Tularosa desert.

The multistory structure that houses the New Mexico Museum of Space History gleams metallic gold when the sun hits it at certain angles. Its centerpiece is the International Space Hall of Fame, into which astronauts and other space-exploration celebrities are routinely inducted. A simulated red Mars landscape is among the indoor exhibits. Outside, the Stapp Air and Space Park displays a rocket sled from the 1950s and other space-related artifacts. The scenic Astronaut Memorial Garden has a view of White Sands National Monument. The Clyde W. Tombaugh IMAX Dome Theater and Planetarium screens films and presents planetarium and laser light shows. Weeklong annual space-shuttle camps for children take place from the first week in June through the first week in August.

The small Old Fort Sumner Museum, next to Fort Sumner, has displays about Billy the Kid and ranch life.

Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado is said to have settled the quaint village of Puerto de Luna, 10 miles south of Santa Rosa on NM 91, back in 1541, and the area has been a crossroads of settlers, travelers, and the railroad ever since. The bypassing of Santa Rosa, when Route 66 was replaced by I–40, has clearly impacted the town, although it maintains more vitality and economic activity than many of the towns along the route in this part of the state. There is a real pride among Santa Rosa's residents, and traditions of the town's deep Hispanic roots are still apparent.

The self-proclaimed home of the world's richest quarter-horse race, has a fabulous mountain vista as the setting for cheering the ponies. On Labor Day the track is the site of the All-American Quarter Horse Futurity, with a total purse of as much as $3 million. Revenues from the Billy the Kid Casino, which has some 300 slot machines, funds the races. Casino gambling allowed at horse-racing tracks is credited with reviving the sport in New Mexico by attracting quality horses and competition. The casino is decorated with murals suggesting nearby historic Lincoln, where Billy the Kid once hung out. The facility offers year-round, full-card simulcasting from the nation's largest tracks.