Top Things to do in New Mexico
Top 10 Things to do Good for Adrenaline Seekers in New Mexico, United States
With its rich cultural heritage from Native American and Spanish settlers, New Mexico has been both a Spanish colony and a Mexican colony, and still retains a strong individual identity within the United States. The landscape is breathtaking, the food incredible, and there is a thriving cultural scene, all of which makes New Mexico, and Santa Fe in particular, a great place all year long.
Restaurants in New Mexico
1. World Balloon
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,147 reviews
World Balloon is Albuquerque's original balloon ride! We pride ourselves on providing World Class Balloon Rides in the Albuquerque area year round. Please join us for the experience of a lifetime!
2. Wheeler Peak
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 61 reviews
An extremely challenging, eight to ten mile hike (one way).
Reviewed By 2gonesomewhere - Marathon, United States
New Mexico's highest peak at 13167 (13161?13159? anyway it's the tallest). Shortest trail is up the Williams Lake side - about 1/4 mile before the lake hang a left. Well marked. I measured about 9.5 miles round trip from trail head at Williams Lake parking area, including a short detour to Mt. Walter which shares saddle to Wheeler and as second highest (13141) should easily be honored with a visit. Great views of Williams Lake area, and Red River area on the other side. Another trail leaves from the Taos Ski Valley parking lot and is much longer via Bull-of-the Woods Trail. This is a nice hike too - we went part way to visit Fraser (Frazer) Mountain at 12163'. Nice hike too, bighorns around. If you go to Wheeler this way it is more like 13-14 miles round trip.
3. Big Room
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 982 reviews
The largest cavern in Carlsbad Caverns.
Reviewed By 277vincentm - New Orleans, United States
My review will focus on what to expect during the Covid pandemic. My caving has gone from Mammoth—the largest cave complex under earth on Earth—to Phra Nang Cave—hardly big enough for pirates to bury a decent-sized chest in, but notable as the sanctuary of a deity who probably pre-dates Buddhism. I’d been to Carlsbad before, but was going cross-country with a buddy and decided take a detour to the cavern. The main event at Carlsbad is the Big Room. Normally there are two ways to get to it: (A) hike down via a diabolically steep and arduous “Natural Entrance” path that goes past the Devil’s Spring and Devil’s Den, ending 750 feet underground, a 1.25 mile / 2-km hike taking you an hour or more; or (B) take an elevator down; normally the line moves reasonably fast. Where the natural entrance reaches the underground floor of the elevator, normally you have three more options: you can (C) take a ranger-guided tour through several spectacular chambers including the King’s Palace and Queen’s Chamber, (D) hike the Big Room route, or (E) do ‘em both. Either (C) or (D) will take you about 75 minutes: so you can do both in under 3 hours. Depends how long you stop to take in the views, and whether you read all the placards—I recommend you do. If you’re in a wheel-chair, you take the elevator down and then do half of the Big Room tour. You have to take a short-cut back, so you won’t see the Top of the Cross, Totem Pole, and views of the lower cave, Mirror Lake, and “bottomless pit.” Tough, but the NPS is right: just past the wheelchair barricade there’s a steep drop. Seeing the Big Room of Carlsbad Caverns really is worth the trip in itself. Three weeks ago, when I checked the website, the Covid-related rules were: (1) the Ranger-guided tours were cancelled—scratch off the royal cave-family. (2) you had to hike down via the Natural Entrance path—the only folks allowed to go by elevator were mobility-impaired visitors. (3) You had to arrive before 1:30 to be allowed in. A week ago, restrictions were relaxed a bit. All visitors can now take the elevator either up or down, but lines are slow, because (a) the elevators take several minutes to go up or down 750 ft, (b) a work crew is frequently wiping down one of the two elevators putting it out of service, and (c) Rangers limit passengers to 2 or 3 per trip—no packing everyone in like sardines. All good reasons. One plus: because folks can now take the elevators both up and down, the last entry time was changed, from 1:30 to 2:45 if memory serves me right. Unfortunately social distancing requirements will probably kill ranger tours, as they should, until the pandemic’s over. The NPS emergency rules are sensible and commendable. You could wait a year or two. I’d say, see Carlsberg now if you can. But my #1 recommendation is that you check the NPS’s Carlsbad Caverns webpage for the latest information, both as you’re planning your trip, and a day or two before your intended arrival. A single Visitor Center ranger contracting Covid-19 might shut the Cavern down.
4. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,563 reviews
ALERT: The Monument is currently closed due to COVID-19. For updates visit: https://www.blm.gov/alert/nm-covid-19-updates
Reviewed By prashant_newaskar - Dallas, United States
Santa Fe - the capital of New Mexico is a unique city in the US. It is the oldest capital city in the US. At an elevation of 7,199 feet above the main sea level it is also the highest capital city in the US. Although it has a population of about 84,000 it has about 250 art galleries and many museums. Approximately two million visitors stay over night in Santa Fe. There are many attractions in and around Santa Fe such as the Bandelier National Monument, kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Taos Peublo, Taos Plaza, Rio Grande River Gorge Bridge, Valles Caldera, Jemez Peublo, Manhattan Project National History Park, Bradbury Science museum, Sky slopes etc.
5. Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloon
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,850 reviews
"The Experience of a Lifetime Happening Right Now!" Rainbow Ryders Inc. Hot Air Balloon Company is proudly celebrating over 35 years of flight experience. Offering hot air balloon rides first thing in the morning at sunrise year round, and sunset flights in the winter months. Enjoy your hour long flight over the beautiful Rio Grande Valley, upon landing you will be welcomed back to the ground with a celebratory toast and a light continental breakfast as you are presented your commemorative flight certificate. We have proudly flown over 170,000 passengers and are the official balloon ride operator of the Worlds Largest Balloon Event. Flying in PHOENIX, LAS VEGAS, and ALBUQUERQUE year-round, and seasonally in COLORADO SPRINGS!
6. New Mexico River Adventures - Day Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,013 reviews
Come rafting with New Mexico River Adventures through the Rio Grande Gorge or the exquisite Rio Chama canyon. NMRA offers everything from family floats to wild whitewater! We have top notch guides who are excited to share knowledge of New Mexico nature and history. NMRA is the only company offering private secure parking, photos right after your trip and riverside snack. Join us for a fantastic day on the river with New Mexico River Adventures!
7. Carlsbad Caverns National Park Visitor Center
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,120 reviews
Reviewed By melissabubash - Cincinnati, United States
CCNP is so unique which is why I would put it in my top 5 favorite parks. It won't take a long time to really visit the park which is nice too. Two days is plenty but you could still see a lot in just one day. I would highly recommend booking a tour for Hall of Great White (requires crawling and climbing with a headlamp) which takes half a day and doing a self guided tour through the Big Room and Natural Entrance.
8. Middlefork Lake
9. Angel Fire Bike Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 24 reviews
Angel Fire Bike Park is the largest Bike Park in the Rocky Mountains and has been voted Best in the Southwest by MTBparks.com 7 years in a row! Come experience our 2,000+ vertical feet, 60+ miles of purpose built lift-served terrain featuring the best skinnies, jump lines, manicured flow and super chunk trails the United States has to offer.
Reviewed By JTRobinHC - Vidor, United States
Me and my Dad decided to stop here on our way from Colorado to Texas. We’re very glad we did! The setup was great. You walk into the bike rental shop, rent your bike and safety equipment (helmets are mandatory), and then you head down the slope to the chair lift. At the top of the mountain, you’ll find a large sign showing you all the trails and their difficulty level. They range all the way from beginner to pro, and the trails are very well marked. This was our first time to do this, so we asked for the easiest run. They told us to do Easy Street. It’s definitely a fun ride for beginners. It’s mostly smooth, and there’s enough switchbacks to make it fun. Not too steep, and the trails are wide. For our second run we did Ziggy, Easy Street, Combi, and Boulder Dash. Ziggy was rough, but still fun. As I said already, Easy Street was great. Combi was good as well, but Boulder Dash was excellent!!! If you’re a beginner looking for some mild jumps, Boulder Dash is perfect for you! If you’re a beginner, I certainly DON’T suggest doing Da Vinci’s Code!!! Neglecting to look at the difficulty level, we decided to try it. We immediately began to regret it. After that, we took Chutes and Ladders. If you like speed and pretty crazy drops, this one’s for you! You DO need to have a bit of experience in order to do this one. It’s probably not great for beginners either. Overall, my favorite track was either Boulder Dash or Chutes and Ladders. Out of the trails we rode, here’s how I would rank them: Beginner: Easy Street, Combi, Ziggy, Boulder Dash Medium: Chutes and Ladders Hard: Da Vinci’s Code The staff do such a great job, and they’ll keep you as safe as possible. Please don’t read this and decide not to come because it sounds too dangerous! Many of their trails are completely safe! What I like about this park is that YOU get to decide how crazy you want to get. If you’re uncomfortable with fast, crazy rides, there’s plenty of safe bike trails for you. Easy Street, Boulder Dash, and Combi are very safe. Don’t be nervous about doing them. It was my first time, but I had a blast! My compliments to the staff for making everything so enjoyable! That said, if you’re in the area (and even if you’re not), you absolutely have to try this! Come prepared for pure awesomeness!!! ????
10. Sandia Peak Tramway
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,943 reviews
Ride to new heights on North America's longest aerial tram ride. Sandia Peak Tram takes visitors 2.7 miles or 10,378 ft up the Sandia Mountains. Breath in the fresh mountain air and enjoy breathtaking views of over 11,000 square miles of New Mexico.
Reviewed By kellysD6459NT - Winchester, United States
The tram is a little pricey but worth it. We arrived a little before sunset and there was a long line. It moved fairly quick although they could really use a better set up to purchase tickets. The tram operators were great giving a lot of info on the ride. There is a temperature difference from bottom to top so a jacket is a good idea. The sunset ride and the city lights from Albuquerque and Santa Fe are a beautiful sight from top!
