| Rating | Park | Link | Notes |
| Aztec Ruins National Monument (505) 334-6174 |
American Southwest | Preserves structures and artifacts of Ancestral Pueblo people from the 1100's through 1200s. Includes a museum and 1/4 mile interpretive trail. Allow 1-3 hours. | |
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Bandelier National Monument (505) 672-3861 ext. 517 15 Entrance Road Los Alamos, NM |
Desert USA | Best known for mesas, sheer-walled canyons, and the ancestral Pueblo dwellings found among them, Bandelier also includes over 23,000 acres of designated Wilderness. Includes miles of trails and an auto tour. | |
| Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge (505) 622-6755 4065 Bitter Lake Rd. Roswell, NM 88201 |
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Located where the Chihuahuan Desert meets the southern plains, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for some of the rarest creatures in New Mexico. Established in 1937 to provide habitat for thousands of migrating sandhill cranes and waterfowl, the Refuge is popular for its diverse flora and fauna. Straddling the Pecos River, the Refuge consists of an assortment of water habitats surrounded by a harsh, dry environment. The waters support unique wildlife, such as the Pecos pupfish, Roswell spring snail, green throat darter, and Noel's amphipod, along the more than 80 species of dragonflies. Native grasslands, sand dunes, brushy bottomlands, and red-rimmed plateaus provide a sharp contrast to the wetland habitats of the Refuge. Roadrunners, scaled quail, and horned lizards are commonly seen in these drier areas. | |
| Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (505) 835-1828 |
Don Baccus | Bosque del Apache is Spanish for "woods of the Apache," and is rooted in the time when the Spanish observed Apaches routinely camped in the riverside forest. Since then the name has come to mean one of the most spectacular National Wildlife Refuges in North America. Here, tens of thousands of birds―including sandhill cranes, Arctic geese, and many kinds of ducks―gather each autumn and stay through the winter. Feeding snow geese erupt in explosions of wings when frightened by a stalking coyote, and at dusk, flight after flight of geese and cranes return to roost in the marshes. The videos I saw looked fantastic! | |
| Friends of the Bosque | They offer a one day guided tour to Bosque. | ||
| Photo.Net Nature Forum | How big a lens do you need? | ||
| Photo.Net Nature Forum | List of web sites on Bosque del Apache | ||
| Bottomless Lakes State Park (575) 624-6058 |
New Mexico | It is made up of several small lakes bordered by high red bluffs. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout in winter. Lazy Lagoon is surrounded by treacherous and odorous mud flats, making in inaccessible for recreation but a great place to view waterfowl that are often present. Recreational opportunities at Bottomless Lakes include camping, picnicking, fishing, boating, sailing and wildlife viewing. The park also has a trail system open to hiking and site seeing. The area is also famous for its "Pecos Diamonds," which are actually quartz crystals formed inside the gypsum in the soil. The soft gypsum sometimes crumbles away, exposing the "diamonds." | |
| Capulin Volcano National Monument (575) 278-2201 |
GORP | A nearly perfectly-shaped cinder cone, rising more than 1000 feet above the surrounding landscape. Capulin Volcano is one of the few places in the world where you can do that. A 2-mile road spirals to the summit, ending at a parking area where two self-guided trails begin. One trail, 0.2 miles long, goes to the vent at the bottom of the crater and gives you an opportunity to see the inside of a volcano. The second is the Crater Rim Trail, one mile long, a self-guiding path that encircles the rim. This trail begins with a moderate climb. Once on the rim you will find the going fairly easy until you begin the descent to the parking lot. From the trail you can look to the southwest where the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail passed. | |
| Carlsbad Caverns National Park (575) 785-2232 3225 National Parks Highway Carlsbad, NM |
Desert USA | Within a Permian-age fossil reef, the park contains more than 100 known caves, including Lechuguilla Cave — the nation's deepest limestone cave at 1,567 feet and third longest. Carlsbad Cavern is one of the world's largest underground chambers and countless formations. | |
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Chaco Culture National Historical Park (505) 786-7014 |
Desert USA | Preserves one of America's most significant and fascinating cultural and historic areas. Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture between AD 850 and 1250. It was a hub of ceremony, trade, and administration for the prehistoric Four Corners area - unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings, and its distinctive architecture. Allow 2 to 4 hours. |
| Dripping Springs Natural Area (505) 522-1219 |
Sangres | Overlooking Las Cruces from the east are the Organ Mountains, a haven for hikers and adventure seekers alike. The Organs, which rise to over 9,000 feet in elevation, are so named because of the steep, needle-like spires that resemble the pipes of an organ. This picturesque area of rocky peaks, narrow canyons and open woodlands shelters the Dripping Springs Natural Area, noted for its “weeping walls.” Formerly known as the Cox Ranch, this area encompasses a wealth of habitats containing great biological diversity, including four endemic wildflower species, the endangered Organ Mountains evening primrose and other rare plants, and a race of the Colorado chipmunk. The Dripping Springs Natural Area has over four miles of easy hiking trails, including the Dripping Springs Trail, which shows off desert scrub and low elevation pinon-juniper and oak woodlands. The area also boasts excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, including excellent year-round viewing of red-tailed hawk, Gambel’s quail, golden eagle and rock squirrel. It offers very good year-round viewing of desert mule deer and coyote. Also watch for black-throated sparrow, ladder-backed woodpecker, verdin, black-tailed gnatcatcher, lesser nighthawk, Scott’s oriole, cactus wren, desert cottontail, and collared and tree lizard in the spring and summer. Finally, there are occasional sightings of mountain lion. | |
| El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (505) 988-6098 |
New Mexico | Colonists from Mexico and Spain entered New Mexico from 1598 until about 1885 along El Camino Real. Many of the people living in the Southwest today are descendents of these early settlers along the trail, extending from Mexico City and the port city of Veracruz to Santa Fe and beyond, a distance of over 1,500 miles. Today, Interstate 25, from Las Cruces to Santa Fe, closely parallels the route of El Camino Real through New Mexico. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail is a part of the United States National Historic Trail system. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Spanish for "The Royal Road of the Interior") was a 1600 mile (2560 kilometer) long trade route between Mexico City, Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico from 1598 to 1882. The 404 mile (646 kilometer) section of the route within the United States was proclaimed as a National Historic Trail on October 13, 2000. | |
| El Malpais National Monument (505) 783-4774 123 East Roosevelt Ave. Grants, NM |
American Southwest | El Malpais means "the badlands" but contrary to its name this unique area holds many surprises, many of which researchers are now unraveling. Volcanic features such as lava flows, cinder cones, pressure ridges and complex lava tube systems dominate the landscape. Closer inspection reveals unique ecosystems with complex relationships. Sandstone bluffs and mesas border the eastern side, providing access to vast wilderness. | |
| El Morro National Monument (505) 783-4226 ext. 0 |
Desert USA | A reliable waterhole hidden at the base of a sandstone bluff made El Morro (the headland) a popular campsite. Ancestral Puebloans and Spanish and American travelers carved over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages, and petroglyphs for hundreds of years. Includes several trails. A ½-mile loop trail leads to the historic pool and past hundreds of inscriptions and petroglyphs. Continuing to the top of the bluff for the breathtaking views and Ancestral Puebloan ruins makes this a two-mile loop trail. | |
| Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (575) 536-9461 |
GORP | Offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of the people of the Mogollon culture who lived in the Gila Wilderness from the 1280s through the early 1300s. The surroundings probably look today very much like they did when the cliff dwellings were inhabited. | |
| Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge (505) 425-3581 |
Sangres | With the Rocky Mountains to the west, the Great Plains to the east, and the Chihuahuan Desert to the south, Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a diversity of habitats. Located along the Central Flyway, the Refuge provides an important resting, feeding, and wintering area for migrating geese, ducks, and cranes. Las Vegas NWR rests on a plateau in the foothills with the Rocky Mountains just beyond. River canyon walls drop below the refuge on three sides. Las Vegas (Spanish for "the meadows") preserves both wildlife habitats and a slice of New Mexico's rich cultural history. A variety of migratory birds use the area including sandhill cranes, long-billed curlews, rough-legged hawks, and numerous shorebirds. Winter residents include bald eagles, Canada and snow geese, and 21 species of ducks. Other wildlife common to the area include golden eagle, prairie falcon, mule deer, antelope, badger, coyote, and bobcat. | |
| Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge (505) 375-2331 |
Sangres | Located in the high central plains of northeastern New Mexico, Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1965 as a feeding and resting area for migratory birds. Over 350 acres of the Refuge are planted with wheat, corn, barley, and alfalfa to provide food for resident and migratory wildlife. Visitors may see bald and golden eagles, falcons, hawks, sandhill cranes, ducks, white pelicans, burrowing owls, great horned owls, black-tailed prairie dogs, coyotes, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and the occasional elk. | |
| Pecos National Historic Park (505) 757-7200 |
GORP | Preserves 12,000 years of history including the ancient pueblo of Pecos, Colonial Missions, Santa Fe Trail sites, 20th century ranch history of Forked Lightning Ranch, and the site of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass. For several centuries the Upper Pecos Valley has been one of those rare places where the impact of geography on human experience is strikingly clear. | |
| Petroglyph National Monument (505) 899-0205 ext. 331 6001 Unser Blvd, NW Albuquerque, NM |
Desert USA | Petroglyph National Monument stretches 17 miles along Albuquerque's West Mesa, a volcanic basalt escarpment that dominates the city’s western horizon. protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including five volcanic cones, hundreds of archeological sites and an estimated 25,000 images carved by native peoples and early Spanish settlers. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses; others are more complex. | |
| Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument (505) 847-2585 |
Desert USA | What remains today are austere yet beautiful reminders of the early contact between Pueblo Indians and Spanish Colonials. The ruins of four mission churches, at Quarai, Abó, and Gran Quivira and the partially excavated pueblo of Las Humanas or, as it is known today, Gran Quivira. Established in 1980 through the combination of two New Mexico State Monuments and the former Gran Quivira National Monument, the present Monument comprises a total of 1,100 acres. | |
| Santa Fe National Historic Trail (505) 988-6098 |
GORP | Take a journey between western Missouri and Santa Fe on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. You'll find adventure and evidence of past travelers who made this remarkable trip before you! | |
| Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (505) 864-4021 |
State Parks | A vast landscape in the heart of New Mexico, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge supports four major ecological habitats, encompasses two mountain ranges, and contains stretches of the largest river in the state. The Refuge is unforgettable in its magnitude and austere beauty but is most significant in its function. Unrivaled among our nation's refuges, Sevilleta is managed to maintain the natural processes of flood, fire, and succession that sustain this diverse ecosystem. Vital to migrating birds and other wildlife, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is truly as unique and varied as the wildlife it supports. | |
| White Sands National Monument (505) 679-2599 |
American Southwest | Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that have successfully adapted to this constantly changing environment. |
| Rating | Attraction | Link | Notes |
| Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway |
Sangres | A scenic back road in northeastern New Mexico that traverses high mesas and wide canyons, along the way showcasing a lot of what makes New Mexico the Land of Enchantment. In driving this scenic byway myself, There's old volcanoes, huge mesas, multi-colored layers of rock (kind of like the Painted Desert in Arizona), large cattle ranches, big vistas, dinosaur bone quarries, and hardly any people. I loved it, but when you head out here, make sure you've got gas, water, snacks, a good camera and lots of time to explore: this is BIG country and you never know what you'll find around the next bend in the road. A large part of the route of the Dry Cimmaron Scenic Byway is paved and makes for some excellent mountain biking (especially that part between Raton and Capulin Volcano over Johnson Mesa). I'm not saying the dirt/gravel parts of the road wouldn't also be great on bike but in some areas, the route can be kinda sandy and you'll have to keep an eye on the weather: even high clearance 4x4's may have trouble in wet conditions in some areas. Between Toll Gate Canyon and the Oklahoma border is a significant stretch of dirt/gravel that also doesn't see much in the way of snow plowing at that time of year. For that matter, the top of Johnson Mesa can also be snow-plow challenged in season... | |
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Roger & Marian's Web Site, last modified
05/08/09