Visiting Alamogordo and Southern New Mexico

Southern New Mexico offers epic blue skies, snowy mountain peaks, incredible vistas at White Sands National Monument, and the irresistible spectacle of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. These are Billy the Kid’s former stomping grounds, but that Wild West past has led to a refined present, with fine art, music, and culture. It offers a variety of climates to meet your needs in summer and is a retreat in the winter.

Alamogordo

With an average of 287 Days of Sunshine and winters in the 50’s-60’s, Alamogordo is a fantastic place to make your home base for visiting Southern New Mexico. Outdoor activities abound. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets begin and end each day. Mountains surround Alamogordo giving you snow peaks to look at from a distance or enjoy winter sports close-up.

If you are looking for things to do, White Sands National Monument is only 15 minutes away. The glistening white sands and wave like dunes of white gypsum cover 275 square miles of the desert and are an incredible sight to see. Enjoy the hiking, biking, camping, picnicking and sledding or the picturesque sunset strolls and full moon night events at this breathtaking location.

If you would like to commune with nature even more, stop by the oldest zoo in the southwest, Alameda Park Zoo. There are over 100 maintained trails that range in use from hiking, pack/saddle, mountain biking, motorcycle and ATV riding. In the winter months two of the southernmost ski resorts in the US are less than an hour away. Golf is a year-round sport at Desert Lakes Golf Course and many other courses a short distance from Alamogordo.

Did you know that pistachios and wine grapes are grown in Southern New Mexico? Head over to Heart of the Desert to learn about pistachios and how they are grown/processed. You will have the opportunity to sample a variety of flavors of pistachios and several varietals of New Mexico wine from grapes grown right there. Explore the gift shop, enjoy a glass of wine on The Patio overlooking the pistachio groves and ship home your favorites.

Consider taking in a show at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, shopping the Alamogordo MainStreet district or spending an afternoon at the New Mexico Museum of Space History or the Tularosa Basin Museum of History.

Ruidoso

From your base in Alamogordo, you can visit Ruidoso. The drive is only an hour, but it feels like you are in a different place completely. This beautiful alpine setting is surrounded by over a million acres of wilderness and national forest ideal for hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. Wander the boutiques of Ruidoso’s walkable midtown shopping district for unique clothing, art and handcrafted Native American jewelry, wining and dining in restaurants and bars along the way.

Summer brings horse racing to the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack where the All-American Futurity, the richest Quarter Horse Race in the United States, is held every Labor Day weekend. Ski Apache, the southernmost ski resort in the United States, offers warm-weather powder skiing in the winter and summer gondola rides to the top of Sierra Blanca where you enjoy the scenic beauty of the Lincoln National Forest and the White Mountain Wilderness. Golf at one of four spectacular mountain courses; each course is situated against breathtaking backdrops rarely matched by courses elsewhere.

Immerse yourself in the history of Billy the Kid Country: Discover historic Lincoln and Fort Stanton, where the Wild West lives on in living history events.

Cloudcroft

Just a short jaunt up the hill from Alamogordo, you will find Cloudcroft. 480,000 acres of open forest make for great hiking, mountain biking, camping, bird watching, and horseback riding.
Cloudcroft has wonderful shops, restaurants and unique businesses to visit, a museum filled with the logging and railroad history of the area as well as unique events scheduled all year long.

Enjoy cool summer temperatures that typically stay in the 70’s and enjoy ice skating, skiing and inner tubing during the winter. At Christmas, for a nominal fee to the USDA, you can even choose and cut down your own tree.

Carlsbad Caverns

If you are looking for a little longer adventure, you can’t miss the Caverns in Carlsbad. The world that exists deep below the surface in Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a marvel. Created slowly over the millennia, its beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites awe visitors. Considered by many as the 8th Wonder of the World, it is one of twenty World Heritage Sites in the United States. Make sure to check out the flying of the bats while you are there.

Southern New Mexico is a fantastic place to visit with much to do all-year-round. It is quite the refuge during the winter months for those escaping the harsh winters of the North. When you visit, make sure to stop into Heart of the Desert and say ”Hi”.

Heart of the Desert is a working pistachio ranch and vineyard with four retail establishments in New Mexico. They are best known for their farm fresh pistachios and Award-Winning New Mexico wines. Each store offers wine and pistachio tastings. They offer worldwide shipping and produce attractive gourmet baskets that make great corporate and family gifts. The main store, on the ranch in Alamogordo, offers farm tours that showcases how pistachios are grown and processed as well as a stunning Tuscany themed patio that overlooks the groves and is available for weddings, private parties or enjoying a relaxing glass of wine.