This last November we had the opportunity to spend 4 weeks in New Mexico. To be completely honest, New Mexico was not even on a list for me to go see, but this state really surprised me. The southern part of the state is flat deserts, the east is part of the Great Plains grasslands, and to the north are the mountains of the Rocky Mountain Range. The elevation of this state runs from 2,842 ft to 13,161 ft, so diverse!
As we traveled along the state we had the opportunity to explore some of the most incredible natural (and unnatural) wonders this state has to offer. I asked my kids what they thought were the top 6 and then to order them from their least favorite to their most favorite.
Here is their top 6 places to visit in New Mexico:
6. El Malpais NM
El Malpais National Monument is located in Grants NM which is about 78 miles west of Albuquerque NM. You will literally feel like you have landed on another planet. This area is an ancient black lava flow area that expands 133 sq. miles through New Mexico. El Malpais means “bad country” which was named by the Spanish explorers who had to circumnavigate this area because of the rough, sharp terrain.
There are incredible hikes and things to see here but our favorite hike was the Lava Falls Trail. It is a one mile loop that trails along the top of the lava flows. The trail is marked most the way by cairns and the ground is sharp and jagged. They don’t recommend bringing your pets on the trail because it can be really hard on their paws.
One thing that we didn’t get to do because it was closed was the Lava Tube Caves. So if you are heading to that area be sure to go see the Ice Caves. You can hike to the crater of a dormant volcano and explore the lava tube caves there. They close in November, but open in March. I am really sad we missed this.
5. Bandelier NM
Bandelier National Monument is located about 45 miles west of Santa Fe in Frijoles Canyon. This is home to the ancestral Pueblo people that occupied much of the Southwest. These incredible people found a refuge from the arid climate in this rich valley. They were able to develop dry farming techniques to farm “The Three Sister” (corn, squash, and beans) and use the soft rock to build alcoves to create cool cliff homes. The presence of their story is literally written on the rocks all around you.
Unlike many of the cliff dwellings we have seen, these alcoves were built by the Paleoindians. Bandelier was formed by volcanic ash that piled and hardened over time, the people here then carved rooms called cavates, into this soft rock and used brick and mortar techniques for some walls.
A great short hike to explore this area is the Main Loop Trail. The trail is only a 1.4 mile easy hike where you can climb ladders into the cavatas, learn about how they farmed, and see petroglyphs. If you are not afraid of heights and are a little more fit you can go a little longer to Alcove House.
About half way on the Main Loop Trail you will come to a turn off for Alcove House. Take this trail about 0.5 miles and you will see a series of ladders that lead you 140 feet up into the Alcove House.
It is pretty nerve racking and if you are afraid of heights this is definitely not for you. This little detour is going to add another mile to your hike because it is an out and back trail that is 0.5 miles one way.
Tips: Dogs are not allowed on any trails in this park. We did have our little dog with us and left him in the car for the hike…but it was a very cool day and we left the windows open. On a summer day this is not possible, the park does not offer kennels so I would recommend you find a solution so that you don’t leave your pet in the car.
4. Santa Fe, NM
I was a little surprised my kids picked Santa Fe as their 4th favorite, mostly because we didn’t even get to tap into everything that Santa Fe had to offer. We all know Santa Fe as the art mecca of the Southwest, but I wanted to share with you the things that my kids really enjoyed while we explored the area.
Restaurants
There are amazing places to eat here and it is no wonder my kids enjoyed this city for its food. You can google all you want for the best places to eat here, so I am not going to do that for you:). But…I do want to tell you about the best donuts we have ever had! My kids and I are always in search of great donuts, and are donut snobs! On the Old Santa Fe trail you will find several food trucks. There is great food at all of these places, but Craft Donuts and Coffee was our favorite! They make you your donut right there, so you get a hot, crunchy, melt in your mouth donut right from the truck. I had the chocolate peanut butter, Rylan chose a special called the Rainbow Unicorn, and Tegan…well if you know him this makes sense, he chose glazed (seriously…so many mouth watering options and you pick glazed?!).
Meow Wolf
Meow Wolf is an immersive art exhibit, mystery/story, that you get to experience not just look at. In Santa Fe the Meow Wolf exhibition is called Eternal Return. This was so freaking fun!! As you walk through this place you are trying to solve the mystery of what has happened here. At first we tried to read every notebook, letter, and solve all the puzzles, but we quickly found ourselves too overwhelmed for that. We decided to just explore and experience it.
We got to slide down into a dryer, climb through a fridge, walk through bookcases, to enter another dimension. We really enjoyed the “other dimension”, but what we loved the most was the house that had hidden passageways to explore. Every minute was exciting, but also a little over stimulating. As soon as we left we all sat in the car silent as we drove back to our camper. It literally felt like we all needed to decompress, still it is listed as their one of their favorite places they went.
Camping
We wanted to camp near Santa Fe so that we could take the time to explore the city but still get away. We chose to stay at the KOA in the foothills of Santa Fe. This is about a 20 min. drive into Santa Fe, but the campground is really nice. We had water and electric hook-ups and a nice wooded site. The kids loved the playground, and they had movies you could rent as well which was really fun. They also offer not only RV sites, but tent sites and cabins.
3. Gila Cliff Dwellings NM
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is located in the foothills of Mimbres, NM, which is located about 2 hrs. northwest of Las Cruces, NM. 700 years ago the Mogollon people set up residence along the Gila River in Gila National Forest and built incredible alcove cliff homes. At this monument you will find cliff dwellings, beautiful hiking, and hot springs.
The Cliff Dwellings
When you get to the park go to the visitor center and take a look around at their museum. We got great information from the Rangers there and were able to find all the must sees in the park. From the visitor center you will drive to the trail that heads up to the cliff dwellings. It is a beautiful and easy hike to the dwellings.
You are able to climb the ladders and enter into the dwelling area. There is a ranger here to answer all your questions and of course help you do your Junior Ranger book.
Lightfeather Hot Springs
Our camp host at our campground told us about these. When you are at the visitor center ask the Ranger for directions to the hot springs. If you can’t find a ranger you will see a sign when you are exiting the visitor center on the right. Take the road up to the right until you see a turn off on the left for the trail head. The hike is easy but it takes about 20 mins. to get to the hot spring. The hot spring seeps from the base of the hill side and travels to the nearby stream that it heats. The waters coming out of the hot spring are around 130 degrees fahrenheit! So be very careful where you get in because you can get burnt! People have taken rocks and formed pools that have mixed with the hot spring and stream and are great to sit and relax in.
Tip: The National Monument closes at like 4! So if you want to do the cliff dwelling hike be sure to do that before you do the hot springs. My kids always love doing the Junior Ranger program and we almost missed finding a ranger to hand in our completed work, so watch your time.
2. Carlsbad Caverns NP
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a HUGE limestone cave system in Carlsbad, NM. There are over a 100 caves in this area and one cave that is not open to the public at all called Lechuguilla Cave. This cave was actually featured in Planet Earth Caves, it is otherworldly, you should google it! We were not planning on hitting Carlsbad on our trip until my mom shared her experience of going there as a child. It was one of her most memorable road trips as a child and her experience made us take the extra trek to the bottom of New Mexico.
You will need to buy tickets and reserve your entrance into the cave. We opted for the self-guided tour so that we could go at our own pace. One really cool thing they offer for an additional price is an audio tour for kids and adults. My kids and wife really enjoyed this but I found it took away from me just listening to the cave and taking it in. It was super interesting but I also think you will enjoy just walking and being there. There are plaques along the way that share the same information with you as well. There are other tours that are ranger guided and go to other parts of the cave that the general admission doesn’t get to go to.
There are two ways to do the self-tour; 1. You can hike to the natural entrance, or 2. You can take an elevator down to the bottom.
We did the natural entrance and all I can say is WOW! I literally walked into that cave with my mouth wide open in shock and wonder. It was fantastic! As you walk in, the pungent smell of bat guano (poop) hits you hard. There are piles and piles of this everywhere! In fact they used to mine it out of the cave for fertilizer. You then continue down, down, down into the cave and walk 1.25 miles through the cave.
The cave formations are spectacular and not one photo of mine captures its magnificence. This walk is pretty strenuous. You are walking straight down a paved path for a really long time and your legs start burning! It is amazing (sorry I love stuff like this)!
If this sounds like too much walking you can opt for the elevator entrance. Basically you take an elevator down from the gift shop and you can then walk a short loop to just the Big Room which is 0.6 miles and not straight down into the cave. The natural entrance eventually leads to this point and you can also opt to head to the elevators and be done or walk the Big Room as well (that is an extra mile added on to your hike or about another 45 mins to walk).
We did the Big Room as well when we got to the bottom. The Big Room was incredible and well worth the extra mile.
I don’t know why but the craziest thing to me was the full bathrooms located at the bottom of the cave. It was unbelievable to me that they managed to run sewer and water down there.
If you are visiting between late May and early October stay until dusk to watch the exit of the Carlsbad Bats! At the natural entrance they have built an amphitheater where you can sit and watch the flight of the bats. This was one of my Mom’s favorite memories. The bats eventually migrate for the winter to Mexico around late October, early November. We visited in November so we missed the bats. I was so sad about that, so I guess I will just have to go back.
1. White Sands National Park
White Sands National Park is 275 sq. miles of white gypsum sand. These large amounts of gypsum sand were deposited here 280 million years ago by the Permian Sea. Today (now that there is no sea) these deposits form incredible white sand dunes that look like mounds of snow.
I have been coming here since I was in high school with my Dad and bringing my kids here was such a treat. If you ask them today what their favorite part of the southwest is, it will be White Sand Dunes.
Even on hot summer days the sand stays cool. Gypsum is actually a clear mineral, and does not absorb the sun's heat.
Like all sand dunes it is so fun to jump off the dunes, or sled. We enjoyed having an epic jump contest off of the dunes. Tegan won.
As you drive in, stop by the Visitor Center and get your map and ask all the questions. I think rangers offer the best information to help you know what you should see and do here. Once you make your way through the front entrance you are transported to another world. The road is covered in the white powdery sand and it feels like you are driving on snow. There are many turn outs that you can take to park, take off your shoes, and run full on in child-like pleasure (for real I looked like an idiot and I don’t even care).
This place is fantastic fun and I would recommend taking the day to enjoy it.
There is even more…
I don’t think we even hit the tip of the iceberg for this state. There is still so much we haven’t seen or done here, so that means we will be coming back for more! New Mexico might not be on your list either, so my advice is…put it there!
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