Must-see attractions in New Mexico

  • April 3, 2019: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA: Sculptures outside of Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, with desert landscape and mountains
Sculptures outside of Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian - stock photo

    Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian

    Santa Fe

    Mary Cabot established this museum in 1937 to showcase Navajo ceremonial art, and its major strength is Navajo and Zuni jewelry, in particular silverwork…

  • Interior of Loretto Chapel, Santa Fe, new Mexico, USA

    Loretto Chapel

    Santa Fe

    Built in 1878 for the Sisters of Loretto, this tiny Gothic chapel is famous as the site of St Joseph's Miraculous Staircase, a spiraling and apparently…

  • Explora Science Learning Centre and Childrens Museum. (Photo by: Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
¡Explora!
museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico

    ¡Explora!

    Albuquerque

    From the lofty high-wire bike to the mind-boggling Light, Shadow, Color area, this gung-ho museum offers a hands-on exhibit for every type of child (don't…

  • A couple looking at the 285,000 gallon shark tank at the Aquarium in Biological Park. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
ABQ BioPark Aquarium

    ABQ BioPark Aquarium

    Albuquerque

    The ABQ BioPark Aquarium, a few blocks west of Old Town and the centerpiece of the northern segment of the ABQ BioPark, holds a 285,000-gallon tank where…

  • 2AAK5JC San Felipe De Neri Church, built in 1793 and the only building in Old Town Albuquerque New Mexico that dates back to the Spanish colonial period.

    San Felipe de Neri Church

    Albuquerque

    Dating in its present incarnation from 1793, the facade of this adobe church now provides Old Town's most famous photo op. Mass is celebrated Sunday,…

  • El Malpais National Monument

    New Mexico

    The rugged El Malpais National Monument consists of almost 200 sq miles of isolated volcanic terrain. There are numerous trails here, accessible via Hwy…

  • Philmont Scout Ranch

    New Mexico

    A 214-sq-mile adventure camp for the Boy Scouts of America, the ranch complex is also home to four unique museums. The new National Scouting Museum, which…

  • Shakespeare

    New Mexico

    As far as we know, the dusty southwestern corner of New Mexico isn't haunted by spirits speaking in iambic pentameter, but it is where you'll find…

  • Capulin Volcano National Monument

    New Mexico

    A 60,000-year-old cinder cone, Capulin is the most accessible of numerous extinct volcanoes in the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field, which covers a whopping…

  • Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary

    New Mexico

    Animal lovers won’t want to miss the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, 20 miles southeast of Ramah off Hwy 53. Home to rescued and captive-born wolves and wolf…

  • Blue Hole

    New Mexico

    One of the 10 best dive spots in the US is, surprisingly, right here in li'l ol' Santa Rosa. The hourglass-shaped, 70ft-deep Blue Hole is 138ft in…

  • Shiprock

    New Mexico

    By far the coolest sight around these parts, Shiprock – Tsé Bit'a’í (Rock with Wings) in Navajo – looms eerily over the landscape 40 miles west of…

  • New Mexico State University Museums

    New Mexico

    If you're looking to engage the intellect, the university museums are a fantastic choice. While small, the exhibits are well curated. The Zuhl Museum, in…

  • Kit Carson Home & Museum

    Taos

    A short walk east of the Plaza, the little-changed former home of Kit Carson (1809–68) – perhaps the Southwest's most famous mountain man, guide, trapper,…

  • Deming Luna Mimbres Museum

    New Mexico

    One of New Mexico’s best regional museums, a sprawling, enormous affair that holds a superb display of Mimbres pottery and a great doll collection,…

  • National Scouting Museum

    New Mexico

    Opened in 2018, this small but engaging museum spotlights the history and traditions of the Boy Scouts of America and shares historic artifacts connected…

  • Blumenschein Home & Museum

    Taos

    Wonderfully preserved adobe residence, dating originally from 1797, which provides a vivid glimpse of life in Taos’ artistic community during the 1920s…

  • Mogollon

    New Mexico

    Just north of Glenwood, Hwy 159 twists its way off Hwy 180 for a vertiginous – and scenic – 9 miles on the slow-going route to Mogollon, a semi–ghost town…

  • Rockhound State Park

    New Mexico

    Rockhound State Park, 14 miles southeast of Deming via Hwys 11 and 141, gives visitors the chance to collect all sorts of semiprecious or just plain…

  • Gila Hot Springs

    New Mexico

    Used by Native Americans since ancient times, the three pools here are simply lovely. Caretakers regulate the temperatures throughout the day so that they…

  • Pinos Altos

    New Mexico

    Established in 1859 as a gold-mining town, Pinos Altos, 7 miles north of Silver City along Hwy 15, is almost a ghost town these days, though its few…

  • Pioneer Store

    New Mexico

    This general store from 1880 is now a museum with a rich collection of paraphernalia form Chloride's heyday, including wooden dynamite detonators, farm…

  • Martínez Hacienda

    Taos

    Set amid the fields 2 miles southwest of the Plaza, this fortified adobe homestead was built in 1804. It served as a trading post, first for merchants…

  • St James Hotel

    New Mexico

    Even if you don’t plan to spend the night, be sure to sneak a peek behind the Territorial-style adobe exterior of the St James Hotel, which started life…

  • White Sands Missile Range Museum

    New Mexico

    Explore New Mexico's military technology history with a visit to this museum, 25 miles east of Las Cruces along Hwy 70. It represents the heart of the…

  • Harwood Museum of Art

    Taos

    Attractively displayed in a gorgeous and very spacious mid-19th-century adobe compound, the paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and photographs here…

  • National Hispanic Cultural Center

    Albuquerque

    In the historic Barelas neighborhood, near the river a mile south of downtown, this modern, architecturally imaginative center for Hispanic visual,…

  • Taos Art Museum at Fechin House

    Taos

    Russian artist Nicolai Fechin moved to Taos in 1926, aged 46, and adorned the interior of this adobe home with his own distinctly Russian woodcarvings…

  • Museum of Spanish Colonial Art

    Santa Fe

    Celebrating the long history of Hispanic culture in New Mexico, this museum places the religious and domestic art of the region in the context of the…

  • Mesalands Dinosaur Museum

    New Mexico

    This engaging museum showcases all manner of prehistoric beasts, from ferocious 40ft crocodiles to battling saber-tooth cats and the T-Rex-like…

  • School for Advanced Research

    Santa Fe

    This little-known research center, specializing in archaeology and anthropology, holds one of the largest collections of Southwestern Native American art…

  • University of New Mexico

    Albuquerque

    There are several museums and galleries packed into the small but peaceful campus of UNM, along with abundant public art and a performing arts center. The…

  • Gallup Cultural Center

    New Mexico

    This cultural center houses a good little museum of Native American art on the 2nd floor, including excellent collections of kachina dolls both new and…

  • Dennis Hopper's Gravesite

    Taos

    The wooden cross marking the grave of actor Dennis Hopper is wrapped in bandannas and Mardi Gras beads. They're a simple nod to his role in Easy Rider,…

  • SITE Santa Fe

    Santa Fe

    Looming over the Railyard District, the enormous and ever-expanding SITE Santa Fe is a nonprofit art gallery dedicated to presenting world-class…

  • San Francisco de Asís Church

    Taos

    Just off Hwy 68 in Ranchos de Taos, 4 miles south of Taos Plaza, this iconic church was completed in 1815. Famed for the rounded curves and stark angles…

  • Silver City Museum

    New Mexico

    Ensconced in an elegant 1881 Victorian house, the local history museum displays a recreated family parlor from the 1890s, as well as a fascinating exhibit…

  • Route 66 Auto Museum

    New Mexico

    This museum pays homage to the mother of all roads by spotlighting four-wheeled travel. Boasting around 35 cars from the 1920s through the 1960s, all in…

  • Billy the Kid Museum

    New Mexico

    Home to a private collection of more than 60,000 items, this main-street museum is a veritable shrine to the famous outlaw – don’t miss the photo of the…

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