Check out what there is to do in this super underrated state!
We visited New Mexico over spring break. We’ve never been to New Mexico and wanted to see all that it has to offer! We flew into El Paso (covered on our Texas page) and then headed into this wonderful state, full of National Parks, good food and interesting attractions!
This trip was taken March 2021.
Here was our itinerary – and check out our Texas page for content on El Paso and Guadalupe Mountains National Park!
- Day 1 – Arrive El Paso and head to Las Cruces
- Day 2 – White Sands National Park and Alamogordo
- Day 3 – Roswell NM and Carlsbad
- Day 4 – Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- Day 5 – Guadalupe Mountains National Park and El Paso
Check out our full vlog here:
Day 1 – Las Cruces
We spent one night in Las Cruces – but it was a super cute town. Our activities mostly consisted of exploring the area around Mesilla Plaza. It had a bunch of cute stores and a nice little park in the middle. We got some pistachio wine – actually pretty good – which I enjoyed later. The Billy the Kid gift shop was in the spot where he was tried and hanged – kind of morbid. But my son got a cowboy hat from the store, which he said he couldn’t live without – wore it all week and never since. Memories 🙂
We also visited the worlds largest chili pepper statue, because what is a road trip without a road side attraction. We picked up pizza to go from Roadrunner Pizza because we were tired.
Day 2 – White Sands National Park and Alamogordo
The next day we were up early and grabbed some coffee at a cute shop called Picacho. Then – we were on to the main attraction – White Sands National Park. It’s a really beautiful drive up to Alamogordo and we made a few stops to take in the views.
We arrived at White Sands before lunch and drove out to an area where we could sled. We had actually purchased some roll up plastic sleds before our trip, but they were honestly pretty terrible. I bought these ahead of time because I wasn’t sure we could find some in March at stores in town. I believe you can also rent from the visitor center – but call ahead to make sure. Or – maybe call a local Walmart before you go. Thankfully for us – some really kind people were leaving and gave us their sleds! They were the round disk ones and they worked great. After we were done for the day, we gave the sleds to the hotel we stayed at so they could pass on to other people.
We spend a few hours sledding, walking along the dunes and taking pictures, before finding one of the many picnic tables to make our picnic lunch.
After lunch we had a few activities planned in and around Alamogordo. First, we went to the New Mexico Museum of Space History – right in town. It was a really nice museum with interactive exhibits and some huge rockets outside.
Next, we visited PistachioLand! This was such a highlight (for me at least!). Not only can you see the worlds largest pistachio statue (ha), but they also give farm tours. We did not book ahead of time because we had no idea when we would get there, but they take walk-in’s. It was $5 per person and they had some openings. While we waited we browsed their really nice store where they had wine tastings and lots of pistachios you could try. So many flavors! We took home a few bags. The tour itself was really fun – they took us in a large golf cart around the property explaining how they grow and harvest the pistachios. We learned that 97% of the worlds pistachios are grown either in the US (primarily California and New Mexico) along with Turkey and Iran. Their climates are similar and good for growing pistachios. We came during a time when they were not yet in bloom(?), but the trees were super interesting looking even without the nuts on them.
Next – we headed towards the town of Cloudcroft. It’s a high elevation town (8600 feet+) with a super small population. It’s really cute and charming to walk around. We pickup some snacks and had a nice look around. There’s also the Apple Barn to visit on the way up also. We even saw some snow!
Finally, we grabbed a quick dinner at Hi-Di-Ho Burgers before heading back to White Sands for sunset. Would definitely recommend going both during the day and again at sunset. Really different experiences. Sunset was so quiet and nice. We found a secluded spot, setup our blankets and then waited for the sun to set.
Day 3 – Roswell NM and Carlsbad
Today we headed off to Roswell, NM – a town known for it’s alien sightings! This town is essentially a whole down themed with aliens, what’s not to love. Even the McDonalds and Dunkin have alien theme. We parked and walked around seeing some of the sites. Some were a little lame (looking at you, UFO space walk), but others like the UFO museum were awesome. We stopped in a few more stores, and then grabbed lunch at Peppers (decent). The town is cute – and it made for some funny pictures.
After lunch we still felt like we had some extra time, so we went over to the Spring River Park and Zoo. It’s a small zoo and fairly inexpensive ($10 adults, $4 kids). It only took us maybe an hour to walk through and wasn’t crowded at all. If I’m being honest, it was slightly sketchy. The enclosures were not very nice and the kids even mentioned they felt kind of sad for the animals. Not sure it was the nicest place for them to be.
Next we made our way down to Carlsbad. Right before the town, we made a stop at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. Now THIS was a great zoo. It had less animals and more plants that are native to New Mexico. It had a really nice pathway through, lots of nice enclosures and beautiful scenery. Similar cost $10 adults/$5 kids and was only open until 5.
We ended the day getting dinner at El Charro Mexican which was great 🙂
Day 4 – Carlsbad Caverns National Park
On our final full day in New Mexico, we explored Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We booked a time slot to enter ahead of time. We have an America the Beautiful Pass which gets you into all National Parks for free – great value if you plan to visit more than 2 National Parks in a year. The timed reservation was just to limit the number of people entering and was only $1 ahead of time. I think you could get in even without that reserved if you ask the front desk, but to be safe, I’d reserve it.
You walk down into the main entrance – it’s insane. The opening is really big and has switchbacks and then stairs to get in. It’s a long way down. Once you’re in there – it’s incredible. So many different cave features and interesting formations. Enormous rooms, tiny passage ways and more. It’s the most amazing cave we’ve ever been in, for sure. And hard to imagine how this amazing cave formation is under this kind of bland, flat landscape above. Few pics below – they don’t quite do it justice.
After completing our tour, we drove through the park a bit, and then down to the river to see Pecos River Flume, before finishing up with dinner at Red Chimney BBQ. Overall, our time in New Mexico was super fun, and had a ton of interesting things for our family.
