![The Milky Way galaxy over Fajada Mesa at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2020-10/GettyRF_621734268.jpg?auto=format&fit=crop&ar=1:1&q=75&w=1200)
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
New Mexico
A 9-mile drive loops through ‘downtown Chaco,’ passing six major sites, with further opportunities to hike to more remote ruins and petroglyphs.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
New Mexico
A 9-mile drive loops through ‘downtown Chaco,’ passing six major sites, with further opportunities to hike to more remote ruins and petroglyphs.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Southeastern New Mexico
While a cave might not sound quite as sexy as redwoods, geysers or the Grand Canyon, there’s no question that this one measures up on the national parks’…
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument
New Mexico
New Mexico's newest national monument consists of several separate components, totaling almost 500,000 acres and all lying within a 50-mile radius of Las…
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
New Mexico
A relatively small site, these remarkable 13th-century cliff dwellings were only occupied by a small Mogollon group (30 to 80 people) for 20 years…
Santa Fe
If you've been hankering for a trip to another dimension but have yet to find a portal, the House of Eternal Return by Meow Wolf could be the place for…
Central New Mexico
The Pueblo is centered on twin five-story adobe complexes, set on either side of the Río Pueblo de Taos, against the stunning backdrop of the Sangre de…
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area
New Mexico
This undeveloped realm of multicolored hoodoos, sculpted cliffs and balancing rocks is a surreal dream for photographers. Off the beaten track, it's well…
Santa Fe
With 10 beautifully lit galleries in a rambling 20th-century adobe, this museum boasts the world's largest collection of O'Keeffe’s work. She’s best known…
Southeastern New Mexico
Undulating through the Tularosa Basin like something out of a dream, these ethereal dunes are a highlight of any trip to New Mexico, and a must on every…
Santa Fe Region
Often called the Lourdes of America, the chapel was built in 1816, over a spot of earth said to have miraculous healing properties. The faithful come to…
Albuquerque
Formerly known as the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, this showpiece museum shouldn't be missed. With an engaging Albuquerque history gallery that's…
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
New Mexico
Renowned among wildlife photographers the world over, these fields and marshes, 18 miles south of Socorro, are the wintering ground for over 100,000…
Albuquerque
Collectively run by New Mexico's 19 Pueblos, this cultural center is an essential stop-off during even the shortest Albuquerque visit. Revamped in 2016,…
Palace of the Governors & New Mexico History Museum
Santa Fe
The oldest public building in the US, this low-slung adobe complex began as home to New Mexico’s first Spanish governor in 1610. It was occupied by Pueblo…
New Mexico
This prehistoric pueblo was built around AD 1100, and connected with the larger settlement at Chaco via a road that ran due south. Its central feature, a…
Southeastern New Mexico
Roswell's excellent museum deserves a visit. Twelve galleries showcase Southwestern artists including Georgia O'Keeffe, Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth,…
Museum of International Folk Art
Santa Fe
Santa Fe’s most unusual and exhilarating museum centers on the world's largest collection of folk art. Its huge main gallery displays whimsical and mind…
Santa Fe Region
Bandelier's 1.2-mile Main Loop Trail in Frijoles Canyon offers an excellent introduction to the main ruins and history of the park. The trail first passes…
Santa Fe
For more than 400 years, the Plaza has stood at the heart of Santa Fe. Originally it marked the far northern end of the Camino Real from Mexico; later, it…
Western New Mexico University Museum
New Mexico
Fresh from a $3.2 million renovation, this excellent museum in the schools's former gymnasium boasts the world's largest collection of 1000-year-old…
Taos
Rooted in the private collection of model and oil heiress Millicent Rogers, who moved to Taos in 1947, this superb museum, 4 miles northwest of the Plaza,…
New Mexico
Dating back 150 years and little changed since, Mesilla is a charming old adobe town. Despite the souvenir shops and tourist-oriented restaurants, its…
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
Santa Fe
This top-quality museum sets out to trace the origins and history of the various Native American peoples of the entire Southwest, and explain and…
American International Rattlesnake Museum
Albuquerque
Anyone charmed by snakes and all things slithery will find this museum fascinating; for ophidiophobes, it’s a complete nightmare, filled with the world’s…
New Mexico
The 200ft sandstone outcropping at this monument, also known as Inscription Rock, has been a travelers' oasis for millennia. The only reliable water…
Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner
New Mexico
The convoluted name sums up the tragic history of this bleak, windswept spot, beside the Pecos River 6 miles southeast of town. Fort Sumner was built in…
New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum
New Mexico
This terrific museum doesn’t just display engaging exhibits on the state’s agricultural history – it's got livestock too. Enclosures on the working farm…
New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
Albuquerque
Dinosaur-mad kids are certain to love this huge modern museum, on the northeastern fringes of Old Town. From the T. rex in the main atrium onwards, it’s…
Santa Fe Region
You can't actually visit the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the first atomic bomb was conceived, but the Bradbury Science Museum has compelling…
Taos
Numbering 70 Earthships, with capacity for 60 more, Taos’ pioneering community was the brainchild of architect Michael Reynolds. Built with recycled…
New Mexico
New Mexico has been hurling objects out beyond the stratosphere since 1947, when the first missile was launched from the rolling dunes of White Sands,…
New Mexico
Journeying to the mesa-top village at Acoma Pueblo, famous as Sky City, is like venturing into another world. There can be few more dramatic locations –…
Very Large Array Radio Telescope
New Mexico
A sense of awe, or maybe galactic sadness, inevitably strikes as you approach the 27 enormous antenna dishes sprouting from the high plains 40 miles west…
Albuquerque
The twin highlights in this peaceful park are the two large conservatories of Mediterranean and desert plants. You'll also find formal Japanese gardens, a…
Museum of Contemporary Native Arts
Santa Fe
Primarily showing work by the students and faculty of the esteemed Institute of American Indian Arts, this museum also has the finest contemporary…
Santa Fe Region
From 1934 onwards, before she made her home in Abiquiú, Georgia O'Keeffe lived and worked for extended periods on a dude ranch amid the colorful bluffs 15…
Santa Fe Region
Several historic sites along Bathtub Row comprise this engaging museum, which spotlights the most notable inhabitants of the mesa. Pay admission and pick…
Taos
Constructed in 1965, this vertigo-inducing steel bridge carries Hwy 64 across the Rio Grande about 12 miles northwest of Taos. It’s the seventh-highest…
New Mexico
The largest great house and the most thoroughly excavated, Pueblo Bonito is the star attraction at the park. Visiting the pueblo, built between 850 and…
International UFO Museum & Research Center
Southeastern New Mexico
There’s a lot of reading to be done here and exhibits dive right into the nitty-gritty, assuming familiarity with Roswell's extraterrestrial past. Display…