Day Trips from Albuquerque Part 3: Go East – A Feast For Your Soul

The Land of Enchantment has vast and varied tourist options in every direction, with something to entertain and enthrall everyone. In the third of this four-part series, attractions and activities east of Albuquerque will be explored, with each day trip providing ideas of how to best experience the uniqueness and beauty of New Mexico.

Just thirty minutes northeast of Albuquerque you will find the Sandia Aerial Peak Tramway, where you can ride for 15 minutes almost 3 miles up the side of a mountain whose treasures include deep canyons, granite rock faces, aspen groves, pine and oak trees, and a myriad of wildlife. On top of the mountain, you are treated to an 11,000 square-mile view of New Mexico, which you can enjoy while setting off on a hike or dining in one of the restaurants atop the peak.

If you choose to hike the Sandia Mountains, there are a variety of trails to choose from both at the Tramway summit and within 30 to 60 minutes’ drive of Albuquerque. Many of the hikes begin in cactus country and wind their way up to mountain meadows teeming with wildflowers. A past haven for Apache warriors, gold miners, and bandits, the Sandia Mountains are also a sacred place for the Pueblo Indians and a 37,000-acre wilderness that provides a relaxing respite from the city.

For a taste of blue waters, old byways and Billy the Kid, head east on I-40 a little over 100 miles, where your first stop is The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa. This lake, born of a geological phenomenon called The Santa Rosa Sink, is an oasis in this harsh land of sand and sagebrush. With visibility at 100 feet, swimmers, scuba divers and sightseers can delight in this cold crystal-clear water year-round.

If you’re in the mood for some Wild West nostalgia, head southeast on NM 84 from Santa Rosa for 45 minutes to Fort Sumner, where, in 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett gunned down Billy the Kid. Competing museums and grave sight locations vie for tourists’ attention, and if you’re in the area the second week of June, you can participate in the town’s Tombstone races.

If a trip down Route 66’s memory lane is more your style, then head east for an hour on I-40 from Santa Rosa to Tucumcari, where you will encounter a dinosaur museum, an historical museum, a Route 66 museum, and the world’s largest mural dedicated to Route 66. Photo opportunities abound here, with the best one being the Route 66 Roadside Attraction in front of the city’s convention center.

For more active pursuits, consider taking a day trip to Ruidosa, a town 180 miles southeast of Albuquerque that is surrounded by more than a million acres of National Forest and wilderness, providing countless hiking, mountain biking, and horseback trails for hours of outdoor fun.  You can also try your luck at one of the areas three casinos, wager on the ponies at the track, or spend time wandering through the town’s eclectic shops. And for a taste of Wild West excitement, consider seeing a Flying J Wrangler show replete with gunfights, a Chuckwagon dinner and show.

Day Trips from Albuquerque Part 2: South of the (Albuquerque) Border

Continuing the exploration of New Mexico from the central location of Albuquerque, this next part of the series will focus on three different areas in the southern part of the state, allunder 3-½ hours from Albuquerque and each unique to the heritage and culture of New Mexico.

For an eclectic day of sightseeing, begin by driving 90 minutes south to your first stop of the day, the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Located between two mountain ranges and fed by the Rio Grande, this sanctuary is a temporary home to thousands of sandhill cranes, geese, and other waterfowl that migrate here each winter, as well as a permanent home to ancient petroglyphs, lush groves of cottonwoods and willows, and abundant and varied wildlife.

Continuing south to Truth or Consequences, you will find a town famous for its natural hot springs, with a myriad of spas to choose from for a soak and a massage. It is rumored the great Apache chief and shaman Geronimo dipped himself in these healing waters. You can find out more about him, and the area in general, by visiting the Geronimo Springs Museum. And if space exploration is what you’re after, then you must take time to visit Spaceport America for an experience that is out of this world!

The last stop of the day is Hatch, New Mexico. Known as the chile capital of the world, this small agricultural community boasts piles of roasted chilis for the asking year round. And make sure to stop at Sparky’s Burgers, BBQ and Espresso for a green chili cheeseburger and a slice of old-time Americana to top off your day.

For a more leisurely (but no less fun!) day, consider a southern stroll through some tiny towns and the Very Large Array. Heading south on I-25 and then west on US-60, you will come to Magdalena, a hamlet filled with rich treasures, to include a Box Car Museum, a 16^th-century mission church, art galleries, and a trading post.

Twenty-four miles westyou will trade small-town charm for the awe-inspiring Very Large Array, one of the world’s first – and largest – astronomical radio observatories. Here you can wander through the visitor center, explore all the exhibits describing radio astronomy, and view antennas and telescopes through both self and guided walking tours.

After immersing yourself in dish antennas, head west for 40 miles to Pie Town to immerse yourself in a dish or two of pie at either Pie Town Café or Pie-O-Neer Café, or both! Sitting on top of the Continental Divide, this settlement has its roots in the dustbowl era, and continues to survive (and thrive) on pure determination and innovation –as a slice of New Mexican Apple Pie with Green Chili and Pinon Nuts will attest to!

Another must-do southern New Mexico experience is a day excursion to Roswell. Two hundred miles southeast of Albuquerque, this is the site of the 1947 “Roswell UFO Incident” in which an unidentified flying object (purported by the Air Force to be a weather balloon) crashed on a ranch during a thunderstorm, spurring decades of theories regarding aliens and government cover-ups. One result of the incident is the International UFO Museum and Research Center on Main Street, where several hours can be spent learning about the 1947 occurrence and subsequent research into extraterrestrial life. Other Roswell attractions include wineries, art museums, and a picnic at Bottomless Lakes State Park.