What’s a tourist to do in Eastern New Mexico?

September 29, 2021 9:00 PM

I’ll be in Carlsbad on Friday. I need to be in Albuquerque by Saturday afternoon. Can you recommend things to do or places to eat in between? We’ll already have seen White Sands National Park.
posted by ldthomps to Travel & Transportation around New Mexico (14 answers total)

Best answer: Carlsbad to ABQ is a pretty long distance with a whole lotta nothin' in between regardless of route you take. Even if there were much interesting stuff to do, there might not be much time. Roswell has some decent eats and you can buy a plastic alien. It's pretty close to Carlsbad, though. If you go through Alamagordo, there's a pretty decent aerospace museum, if it's open. If you had more time, there's lots if interesting little things to do and see. But for that relatively small window, it's kind of hard to make solid, worthwhile recommendations.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:38 PM on September 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

It's not clear whether you know about Carlsbad Caverns. One chamber of the cave is almost 4,000 feet long.

If you go north on I-25:
* You might want to stop in Hatch and get some green chile or a ristra (an arrangement of drying chiles that can be a decoration until you eat them.
* Truth or Consequences has hot springs. Fire Water Lodge has nice baths with hot springs water in the rooms.
* Socorro has the Very Large Array radio astronomy observatory.
* Between Socorro and Albuquerque are two wildlife refuges: Sevilleta and Valle Del Oro.
* The Isleta casino is south of Albuquerque.

If you take the long way to Albuquerque, you might be interested in the Blue Hole, a lake very popular with divers.
posted by NotLost at 9:59 PM on September 29, 2021 [3 favorites]

Also, Spaceport America is kinda-sorta on your way. I haven't been there, but it seems not worth the trip, let alone the price.
posted by NotLost at 10:10 PM on September 29, 2021

PPS, New Mexico has a lot of federal land, plus various state parks, if you are into the outdoors.
posted by NotLost at 10:12 PM on September 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

If you come in from the east on the 40 take a stop at Sandia Crest of South Sandia Peak. Albuquerque is a mile-high city, the peaks are two-miles high. The air's a bit thin, but the view over Albuquerque is really cool from a mile up.
posted by zengargoyle at 10:14 PM on September 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is in Albuquerque as well, but you'll be there by then.
posted by zengargoyle at 10:15 PM on September 29, 2021

If you are into driving, I'd do Carlsbad to Roswell. Roswell really leans into the space stuff in a cool way. Even if you don't stop at the actual little museum, check out the downtown and the space McDonalds. Then Roswell to Carizoso - you'd pass through some mountain territory near Ruidoso, which is a skiiable mountain in the winter.

Then to Santa Rosa in the high desert - the Blue Hole is cool. You can jump off a cliff and swim in the summer, but probably just look now. The water is deep, super cold, and it is diveable. There's also a decent restaurants there called Chico's Tortas or Comet II, which I think has lots of cool memorabilia from the Route 66 heydays- a somber one is a poster showing JFK's next stops after Dallas.

Then Santa Rosa to Albuquerue. It's not the most direct route, but you'll get a feel of the whole state.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:27 AM on September 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

Carlsbad caverns is working on timed tickets at this time. You can’t just show up and go. Also, pack more water than you expect to need. Grab a couple of gallon bottles and keep them in the car.
posted by tilde at 8:48 AM on September 30, 2021

22 miles north of I-40 east of Albuquerque, Villanueva State Park is a surprisingly gorgeous valley campsite on the banks of the Pecos River. The cottonwoods may be turning colors this time of year.
posted by olopua at 9:58 AM on September 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

The Very Large Array, near Socorro. Visiting it made a big impression on me. It's a detour, but I think it's worth it.

It's out of your way, but Tent Rocks north of Albuquerque is amazing. Bandalier National Monument near there has cliff dwellings.
posted by adamrice at 10:59 AM on September 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Hi. Native New Mexican here. I'll share with you one of my favorite out of the way spots. And it might just happen to be on your route to Albuquerque. It is the Salinas Missions National Monument, on Highway 60, just off of I-25, between Socorro and Belen. You can read more about it here.

This set of three abandoned pueblos and missions is a monument to what happens when two cultures collide. In the many years that I have been coming to this mysterious place, I've only seen a handful of other people. I hope you can get to visit this place, either on this trip, or a trip in the future.
posted by furtheryet at 6:15 PM on September 30, 2021 [4 favorites]

Last time I was there, I stopped in Roswell for kitchy alien gift shops, then through Ruidoso and Tularosa to the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site then up to the Valley of Fires. Then stopped at the El Camino in Socorro just because of the daddy-o sign.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:02 PM on September 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks all! We wound up taking the advice that most of the points of interest are in the I-25/Rio Grande Valley, not to the east of the mountains. So we headed southwest from the caverns to Guadelupe Mountains National Park (great mountain scenery and hikes of varying degrees of difficulty). Tomorrow we will look for Salinas Missions on our way back to Albuquerque.
posted by ldthomps at 7:33 PM on October 1, 2021

Response by poster: And in case others are checking this out in 2021, Tent Rocks looks amazing but is currently closed for renovations to infrastructure. Hatch was fun, if quick. Bandelier was cool, and busy. Carlsbad Cavern had plenty of tickets available, and we found it delightfully uncrowded at the 8:30am timeslot. Looking forward to getting back to NM to try some of these other recommendations!
posted by ldthomps at 7:29 AM on October 5, 2021