Fun things to do in New Mexico

A curated list of the best upcoming events in New Mexico.

White Sands Moonlight Hikes

Through November Leave your flashlight in the car on monthly ranger-led tour of sand dunes that shimmer under the full moon. Rangers discuss plants and animals, astronomy, and history along the Dune Life Trail. The hike is limited to 50 participants. Tickets are made available 2 months before the day of the tour and often sell out within minutes. $8 plus park entrance fee ($25 per vehicle). White Sands National Park.

Shiprock Marathon

May 3–4 Legendary New Mexico scenery, good weather, and accommodating organizers are among the reasons why USA Today rates this race “One of the 10 Best Marathons in the USA.” All activities, beginning with registration and the 5K race ($40) on Friday, are within sight of Tsé Bitʼaʼí (the Navajo name for Shiprock). On Saturday, the marathon ($95) and half-marathon ($75) begin between 7 and 8 a.m. Bands energize runners throughout the courses, and a feast with more entertainment awaits at the finish. Top winners take home Native American pottery. Shiprock.

Adobe Whitewater Club’s Mother’s Day Races

May 10–12 Expect thrills, and (hopefully) not spills in exciting whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, and stand-up paddleboarding races on the Rio Grande’s challenging course, south of Taos. Campers at Rio Bravo Pavilion in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area share a potluck meal Friday evening. Saturday is devoted to competition, and Sunday is for self-organized trips. Race fee, $20. Pilar.

Mayfair

FREE! May 25–26 As most of New Mexico’s temperatures soar, consider an escape to Cloudcroft—elevation 9,000 feet—in southeastern New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains. Add a juried art show featuring original creations from artisans throughout the state. Forty vendors and food trucks are scattered around spacious Zenith Park. Leashed pets are welcome at the Memorial Day weekend event, not far from the village’s charming business district. Cloudcroft.

"Butterflies and Bees: The Power of Pollinators"

Summer Step into the flurry of pure color at the Butterfly House in the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden and suddenly you’re among hundreds of butterflies, native bees that don’t sting, and fig beetles. Ask questions at the education table and learn about the role of pollinators in our food supply. This exhibit typically opens for the season in late May. Botanic Garden admission, $10 for adults (for New Mexico residents). Albuquerque.

Brewdoso

June 15–16 This popular weekend bash in Ruidoso’s Wingfield Park celebrates the arrival of summer. Outdoor concerts are the main draw, along with plenty of brewery choices as well as regional wines. Check the website for ticket prices. Ruidoso.

Student Fishing Contest

FREE! June 15–16 Calling all kids from kindergarten to high school seniors! If fishing is your thing, sign up for the Junior Open Fishing Tournament and try to catch the largest or the smallest anything, except for carp, stripers, or catfish. Fishing kids need their own boat and are divided into age groups for the competition on Elephant Butte Lake. Registration, a hamburger meal, and a meeting that spells out tournament regulations is from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday. Competition is Saturday from 6 a.m. to noon. Elephant Butte Lake State Park.

Summer Solstice

June 21 Visitors to Chaco Culture National Historical Park on the solstice will come away with an unforgettable experience. Arrive predawn to be led by rangers to the Casa Rinconada ruins to witness the sunrise pour through a window opening and then beam into a niche on the opposite wall. Park rangers provide a brief overview of the yearly event and often schedule special presentations. Gates open at 5:15 a.m. so visitors can catch the 5:55 a.m. sunrise. The 9 p.m. closing allows time for hikes among other massive structures that Ancestral Puebloans constructed between 850 and 1150 AD. $25 per vehicle. Check website to confirm event details. Chaco Canyon NHP.

Mountainair Jubilee

FREE! June 29 Celebrate Fourth of July twice this year! The Mountainair Jubilee is the weekend before the national holiday. Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto promises another year of music, good food, family fun, and “tons of vendors.” The celebration begins at 10 a.m. with a parade. An impressive fireworks display begins at dark. Mountainair.

4th of July Celebration and Fireworks

FREE! July 3–4 Claim your space on Solano Avenue before dark to watch a procession of glowing vehicles during the popular July 3 Electric Light Parade. This is Las Cruces’ kickoff to its 2024 Rockin’ in the USA celebration. Gates open July 4 at 4 p.m. at the Pat and Lou Sisbarro Community Park on the New Mexico State University campus for concerts featuring headliner The Black Jacket Symphony, with Prince and Saturday Night Fever tribute performances. Fireworks begin at 9:45 p.m. Bring a chair for the best overhead view. Las Cruces.

Fiesta de Los Niños

July 20–21 The past comes to life for children romping from one living-history activity to another on the 500-acre El Rancho de las Golondrinas. All ages delight in mini adobe house construction, tin stamping, and make-your-own-tortilla classes. Visitors flock to storytellers and artisan demonstrations. Entertainment runs throughout the day, with food trucks and arts-and-craft vendors on site. Tickets, $10. Santa Fe.

Clay Festival

FREE! July 22–28 Ceramicists and potters exhibit work, demonstrate technique, sell their wares, and help newbies fashion their first clay creation. Fans from throughout the state and beyond attend hands-on workshops with established artisans, including Jared Tso, a fourth-generation Diné potter. Fees are charged for these workshops (starting at $300); registration available online. Downtown Silver City.

Gallup Route 66 Freedom Ride Flight Cruise

FREE! July 26–28 Gallup’s annual festival is packed with entertainment at the downtown Courthouse Square. The first of several slow cruises begins Friday night, and a vintage, classic, and street rod car show takes place Saturday morning. Wise Fool circus performers and bands are scheduled until 11 p.m. throughout the day. At sunset, balloonists create a “tunnel of fire” with their burners to welcome motorcycle riders who traveled the western half of New Mexico on Route 66 to honor veterans. Red Rock Park hosts daily balloon mass ascensions. Gallup.

Green Chile U-Pick

FREE! August–October Bring the family to Big Jim Farms to pick the freshest, most perfect green pods for chiles rellenos. In late September and into October, red chile for enchiladas or posole is abundant, and you can learn how to string your own multicolored ristra during weekend classes. This popular U-pick garden also offers tomatoes, melons, squash, and sunflowers late summer into fall, and pumpkin patch activity begins in October. Los Ranchos.

Enchanted Circle Bicycle Tour

August 10 This bicycle challenge is real—up to 100 miles of hairpin turns, mountain passes that include Palo Flechado Pass, and one of the state’s highest mountain roads: Bobcat Pass. Veterans of the demanding tour keep coming back for the crisp mountain air and dazzling views of forests and distant horizons. The loop begins and ends in Red River, passing through Questa, Angel Fire, Taos, and Eagle Nest. Fee, $100. Red River.

Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival

FREE! August 16–18 One day for a visit to the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino may not be enough time. In addition to 400 artists offering pottery, weaving, jewelry, soaps, and regalia clothing, visitors are treated to live music, traditional dances, poetry, and a fashion show put on by the Poeh Cultural Center. Sit in on short films created by Indigenous filmmakers, with Q&A panels afterward, and visit the variety of food trucks, where fry bread is always an option. Pueblo of Pojoaque.

Franciscan Festival of Fine Arts

FREE! August 31–September 1 Located in a peaceful setting amid a pecan orchard, this weekend event at Holy Cross Retreat Center offers shade, good food, and curated work of 80 to 90 artists at Mesilla Park. All creators of artwork are on hand to talk to visitors. Hungry? In addition to food booths, the retreat center offers an enchilada dinner. Mass is at 9 a.m. on Sunday. Las Cruces.

A Play of Candlelight

FREE! September 7 Follow characters in period dress from Fort Union National Monument’s past during A Play of Candlelight evening tours. Knowledgeable staff and volunteers carry lanterns and discuss the life of 19th-century New Mexico. The 45-minute tours begin at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. Watrous.

Dragonfly Festival

FREE! September 7 Delicate dragonflies are voracious and aggressive—they eat anything and everything smaller than they are. Damselflies are smaller versions whose wings are different. Both are present at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge in early September. Learn all about these amazing flying insects at this Saturday festival during lectures and tours of the refuge wetlands. Kids adore the visitors center, where they can practice archery, play in the streams- and-rivers exhibit, fish for trout in their own pond, and gently release butterflies into the wild. Roswell.

Blossoms and Bones Ghost Ranch Music Festival

September 13–14 With a backdrop of the mesas and mountains artist Georgia O’Keeffe painted, the Blossoms and Bones Ghost Ranch Music Festival is a scenic location to enjoy a slate of varied artists. This year’s lineup includes Mavis Staples, Lucinda Williams, and Vance Joy. Reserve tickets online and choose among overnight options: tent or RV camping (rates start at $95 for 2 nights). Single day passes, $135 plus fees; 2-day passes, $235 plus fees. Abiquiú.

Pie Festival

FREE! September 14 After an early-morning PiK (3.14K) run, the 42nd annual festival gets underway as registration opens for kids’ games, pie baking, and pie eating contests. By 10:30 a.m., mouthwatering pies entered in the contest are displayed, and the games begin. The public is welcome to bid on entries. The pie-eating contest is a messy, fun-to-watch afternoon event. Later, competitors bring their own reptile for the Horned Toad Race. A dance (cover charge collected at the door) is 7–11 p.m. Pie Town.

City of Rocks State Park

Visualize streets and buildings in this 1-square-mile metropolis of volcanic rocks that formed almost 35 million years ago. Wide trails weave around weirdly shaped boulders, oak trees, and wildflowers to camping and picnic sites. Fall days are generally warm, but watch out for snakes. For camping, reservations are required. $5 per vehicle. Faywood.

Discover Ancient Cliff Dwellings

FREE! Ongoing Climb back in time to where the disappeared Mogollon people lived from 1276–1300. Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument interprets that life and how natural caves were utilized to construct multigenerational living spaces. A moderately difficult loop trail leads to the remaining structures, with a few good photo stops for those who don’t want to hike the entire steep, 1-mile loop. Schedules of ranger-led tours are listed online; the well-stocked visitor center offers video introduction and books. End of Highway 15 north of Gila Hot Springs.

Georgia O’Keeffe Landscape Tour

Hop aboard a narrated bus tour into the red hills and cliffs that inspired artist Georgia O’Keeffe during her stays at Ghost Ranch. There are 3 stops along the way, where you can walk beside the peaks and landforms that dominate her paintings. You’ll also see the outside of her small adobe house at the 21,000-acre Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center, 15 miles north of Abiquiu. Tour tickets include a day pass and entrance to 2 museums. Adults, $39. Abiquiu.

Hit the Slopes

Ongoing With 9 ski areas sprinkled throughout the state, there’s probably one within easy driving distance of your home. Depending on the weather, ski season is underway at easier, family-friendly terrain (perfect for learning) and the serious vertical descents at Taos Ski Valley. Over 80 trails and nighttime skiing are offered at Angel Fire and Sierra Blanca. Albuquerque skiers ride the tram to their nearby slopes. Ski prices vary. New Mexico.

King’s Palace Tour at Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Ongoing While any trip to this underground wonderland is rewarding, join an intimate tour of the ornate King’s Palace, the deepest portion of the cave open to the public, which most visitors never see. A ranger points out the variety of formations—draperies, helictites, columns, and soda straws—on a 1-mile trek through 4 chambers. Experience absolute darkness when lights are momentarily extinguished. Tickets, $8, in addition to park entrance fee. Carlsbad.

Kit Carson House and Museum

Ongoing Explore the life and living quarters of New Mexico’s famous frontiersman during a walk-through of his 4-room Taos home, which is almost 200 years old. Kit Carson and his large family lived in the thick-walled adobe from 1843 to 1866, and the museum is now filled with period artifacts and a few personal possessions. A short biography video examines the life of this trapper, guide, soldier, and Indian agent. Tickets, $10. Taos.

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park

Get acquainted with the zoo’s 40 resident critters, which include a Mexican wolf, a black bear, a bobcat, mule deer, pronghorn, bison, and prairie dogs, along with a variety of snakes at this park featuring mostly Chihuahuan Desert animals. Hundreds of native plant species populate the botanical gardens along the scenic 1.3-mile trail. Parking, $5. Carlsbad.

Magdalena Historic Walking Tour

FREE! Ongoing Traveling through the quaint town of Magdalena is fascinating, as the old buildings, train station, warehouses, and hotels depict a thriving community born in more prosperous days. Most of the buildings date to the early 1900s, when the town bustled with cowboys, pioneers, and miners. Magdalena became a shipping hub for cattle, sheep, and ore when a railroad spur connected with Socorro. A detailed brochure of the structures and their histories is available at Magdalena businesses or online. Magdalena.

Monday Bird Walks

First Monday of each month Grab binoculars and join a local Audubon Society walk to identify and learn about bird species at Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park. You’ll likely spot a roadrunner, New Mexico’s state bird, along with curve-billed thrashers, pyrrhuloxias, ladder-backed woodpeckers, cactus wrens, verdins, and hummingbirds. Join the group at 8 a.m. at the park’s exhibit hall, where displays explain the Rio Grande’s history, geology, plants, and animals. $5 per car. Mesilla.

Mineral Museum

FREE! From glittering crystals and geodes to New Mexico’s own gold, silver, and turquoise, this extensive collection of Southwest and worldwide minerals rocks! Check out fluorescent samples in the ultraviolet room, and learn about meteors’ galactic origins. Make an appointment to have your own treasure identified or email its photo to staff. New Mexico Tech campus, Socorro.

New Mexico Museum of Space History

Explore outer space without leaving the planet at this futuristic museum filled with rockets, space science, flight gear, and a section called “Living and Working in Space,” where you can learn what it’s like to be an astronaut. Start at the top floor, where an expansive view of White Sands unfolds. Catch a show at the New Horizons Dome Theater and Planetarium. Admission, $6–$8. Alamogordo.

New Mexico Wildlife Center

Drop by this wildlife rehab center and prepare to be inspired by dedicated staff who treat 650–900 injured and orphaned animals annually. All ages are welcome to view some of the 120 species and visit ambassador animals for daily presentations. Closed Mondays. Adults, $5. Española.

Prehistoric Trackways National Monument

FREE! Ongoing While visitors won’t see dinosaur footprints, which are mostly removed and on display at Albuquerque and Las Cruces museums, guests can wander up Prehistoric Trackways National Monument’s steep arroyos to find Paleozoic fossils from millions of years ago among the rock. Motorized travel allowed on designated roads only. Las Cruces.

Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area

Ongoing Sitting Bull Falls, an “oasis in the desert,” tumbles 150 feet from spring-fed pools. Water collects at the base of the waterfall and is perfect for a dip during the summer heat. It’s an easy quarter-mile hike from the parking area and covered picnic tables. The trek to the upper pools and spring, where visitors can swim, is a steep, half-mile climb. $5 per car. Closed Tuesdays. Near Carlsbad.

Smokey Bear Museum and Historical Park

Nicknamed “Hot Foot Teddy,” a small bear with burned feet was rescued from the fire-ravaged Lincoln National Forest in 1950. He became the beloved Smokey Bear, an ambassador of fire safety. His message of protecting woodlands is especially relevant today, and park exhibits explain how firefighting methods have changed over the years. Memorabilia fill the compact museum, and the grounds where Smokey is buried honor firefighters killed in action. Adults, $2. Capitan.

Splashing around Blue Hole and Park Lake

FREE! The sapphire waters of the Blue Hole attract scuba divers to explore the lake's 81-foot depth. In the summertime, they're joined by swimmers, who often cliff jump into the constant 62-degree water. Park Lake, also spring-fed, is the destination for boating, a floating obstacle course, food vendors—and Fourth of July fireworks. Parking, $10. Santa Rosa.

Star parties

Monthly At Rockhound and City of Rocks state parks, explore the night sky of Southwestern New Mexico and expand your knowledge beyond the Big Dipper. Local astronomers point out celestial bodies, then share telescopes for close-up views. Camping is available at both Rockhound and City of Rocks, which features a 14-inch telescope in its new observatory. $5 per vehicle. Deming and Faywood.

Thursdays Are Yours

FREE! Every Thursday Young children, older siblings, and adults are invited to explore the Santa Fe Children’s Museum for free from 4–6 p.m. on Thursdays. Meet Cornelius the Corn Snake and tackle a larger-than-life Lite Brite, among 35 other interactive experiences. “There’s lots of fun to be had here,” says Hannah Hausman, executive director of the nonprofit facility. Santa Fe.

Tour Athentic Shakespeare Ghost Town

Ongoing Five adobe buildings in the thirsty desert near Lordsburg represent a once-bustling town that prospered in the mid-1800s. Shakespeare’s frontier days come alive when town co-owner Dave Ochsenbine describes its former glory, when prospectors, cowboys, and outlaws hung out (and were hanged). His stories include notorious characters from Shakespeare’s past: Billy the Kid, Johnny Ringo, Sandy King, and the Clantons. Mondays and Tuesdays. Tickets, $15. Lordsburg.

Trek history sculpted in bronze

FREE! Visit Artesia’s Chamber of Commerce at the old train station and pick up a brochure detailing the 11 massive bronze sculptures that line the Main Street District. In a few steps, discover 3 pieces depicting the town’s cowboy beginnings. Farther down, historical figures come into view, including bronzes representing the region’s oil exploration and development. Walk by the library to see Max the Bulldog and a large mural by Peter Hurd. Artesia.

Walking Tours of Historic Santa Fe

Ongoing The City Different, established in 1607, claims a vibrant past with 3 cultures and adobe buildings that have a history all their own. Friends of History docents are trained to recount Santa Fe’s former lives during 1.75-mile walking tours. Group and specialty tours, such as the Spies and Assassins trek that focuses on Manhattan Project espionage, are popular. Register online to reserve your spot. Tickets, $25. Santa Fe.

Zuhl Museum Spotlights Geologic Wonders

FREE! Ongoing Don’t judge the compact New Mexico State University Museum by its size. This world-class collection of minerals, petrified wood, and fossils is captivating, especially in the gallery named WOW. Learn about the sparkling geode formations, mineral-infused quartz, and petrified wood slabs at the Zuhl Museum. Discover rare fossils of a baby wooly mammoth and a towering ground sloth with enormous claws and teeth in the History of Life room. Las Cruces.