New Mexico Field Trips

El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail
¡Hola! Bienvenidos al Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail. Come on a journey that will carry you through 300 years of Texas and Louisiana frontier settlement and development.

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park - Alamogordo
Set against the desert foot of the dramatic Sacramento Mountains, this park features historic exhibits and a fully restored 19th century ranch house.

Petroglyph National Monument - Albuquerque
Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including volcanos, archeological sites and an estimated 20,000 carved images. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses; others are more complex. These images are inseparable from the cultural landscape, the spirits of the people who created, and who appreciate them.

Rio Grande Nature Center State Park - Albuquerque
Located on the central Rio Grande flyway, Rio Grande Nature Center State Park is winter home to Canada geese, sandhill cranes, and various species of ducks and other waterfowl. A trail system along the river, classrooms, and an extensive library with viewing areas add to this valuable public resource.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park - Angel Fire
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial provides veterans, and those who honor them, a refuge in which to reflect and heal. A representative from the Department of Veterans Affairs is present to offer assistance to veterans who require or request it. The 6,000 square foot visitor center/museum houses exhibits, videos and memorabilia. Veterans can use on-site computers to locate friends or loved ones. Tours are available, with advance notice by calling ahead, for schools and other groups wishing to learn more.

Aztec Ruins National Monument - Aztec
Follow ancient passageways to a distant time. Explore West Ruin, a center of ancestral Pueblo society that once housed over 500 masonry rooms. Look up and see original timbers holding up the roof. Search for the fingerprints of ancient workers in the stucco walls. Listen for an echo of ritual drums in the reconstructed “Great Kiva.” Adventure into the past.

Caballo Lake State Park - Caballo
The Caballo Mountains serve as a majestic backdrop for Caballo Lake State Park. The park boasts a full array of water recreation, winter waterfowl watching, and cactus gardens in bloom.

Percha Dam State Park - Caballo
Set in the intimate shade of towering cottonwoods, Percha Dam State Park features camping, picnicking, fishing and bird-watching on the Rio Grande.

Capulin Volcano National Monument - Capulin
Mammoths, giant bison, and short-faced bears witnessed the earthquakes and firework-like explosions which hurled molten rock thousands of feet into the air. Approximately 60,000 years ago, the rain of cooling cinders formed Capulin Volcano, a nearly perfectly-shaped cinder cone, rising more than 1000 feet above the surrounding landscape.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park - Carlsbad
As you pass through the Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas—filled with prickly pear, chollas, sotols and agaves—you might never guess there are more than 300 known caves beneath the surface. The park contains 113 of these caves, formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating some of the largest caves in North America.

Brantley Lake State Park - Carlsbad
Brantley Lake State Park, a southern desert park, is a refreshing place to fish and enjoy other water sports. The visitor center includes historical exhibits about the Wild West town of Seven Rivers.

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park - Carlsbad
Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park is an indoor/outdoor living museum displaying more than 40 native animal species and hundreds of succulent plants from around the world. While on the 1.3 mile self-guided tour, visitors discover many faces of the Chihuahuan Desert, from sand dunes and pygmy forest to the desert floor.

Clayton Lake State Park - Clayton
Set among rolling grasslands, Clayton Lake State Park offers excellent trout, catfish and bass fishing. Walk a half-mile to the lake's spillway and see the internationally significant dinosaur trackway, containing more than 500 footprints dating back more than 100 million years.

Pancho Villa State Park - Columbus
TRAVEL THROUGH TIME - The park is located on the grounds of former Camp Furlong from where Gen. John J. “Black Jack” Pershing launched 10,000 troops on an 11-months, 500-mile pursuit of Villa into Mexico. The Exhibit Hall tells the story that begins with the 1910 Mexican Revolution and ends with Pershing’s command of the Allied Forces when the U.S. entered World War I.

Conchas Lake State Park - Conchas Dam
Conchas Lake State Park offers a wide variety of water sport activities including boating, fishing and water-skiing at this refreshing, 25-mile long reservoir.

Rockhound State Park - Deming
Rugged slopes of the Florida and Little Florida Mountains are home to Rockhound State Park. Hiking trails offer views of nearby "sky islands." Agates and quartz crystals can be found at the park.

Cimarron Canyon State Park - Eagle Nest
Set in New Mexico's high country, where spectacular palisade cliffs and clear running waters dominate the landscape, Cimarron Canyon State Park is part of the 33,116-acre Colin Neblett Wildlife Area -- the largest wildlife area in the state.

Eagle Nest Lake State Park - Eagle Nest
Set in the scenic Moreno Valley and surrounded by two of the state's highest peaks, Baldy Mountain and Wheeler Peek, this 2,400-acre lake is known for its kokanee salmon and rainbow trout fishing.

Elephant Butte Lake State Park - Elephant Butte
The largest and most popular lake in New Mexico, Elephant Butte Lake State Park provides a setting for every imaginable water sport. The visitor center offers regional interpretive exhibits. The mild climate of the area makes this park a popular year-round destination.

City of Rocks State Park - Faywood
Formed of volcanic ash welded together 30 million years ago, then sculpted by wind and water into rows of monolithic blocks, these incredible rock formations give City of Rocks its name. New hiking trails and a new public night sky observatory add to this unique destination.

Sumner Lake State Park - Fort Sumner
Sumner Lake State Park offers many activities, such as camping, hiking, swimming, wildlife viewing and fishing. The lake is home for many warm water species including walleye, bass, crappie, and channel catfish.

El Malpais National Monument - Grants
El Malpais means the badlands but this volcanic area holds many surprises. Lava flows, cinder cones, pressure ridges and complex lava tubes dominate the landscape. A closer look reveals high desert environments where animals and plants thrive. Prehistoric ruins, ancient cairns, rock structures, and homesteads remind us of past times. Visitors need to be prepared for exploring this rugged place.

Coyote Creek State Park - Guadalupita
Coyote Creek State Park is nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along a meandering stream. Enclosed by a forest of spruce and pine, the small valley displays abundant wildflowers and beautiful fall foliage. The park is ideal for fishing, family camping and leisurely nature walks.

Morphy Lake State Park - Guadalupita
Sitting pretty at 8,000 feet among ponderosa pines and surrounded by mountains, Morphy Lake is the perfect place to get away from it all, catch a few fish and enjoy the scenery.

White Sands National Monument - Holloman AFB
Like No Place Else on Earth - Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that have successfully adapted to this constantly changing environment.

Fenton Lake State Park - Jemez Springs
A popular year-round retreat surrounded by beautiful ponderosa pine forests, Fenton Lake features a cross-country ski and biathlon trail and wheelchair-accessible fishing platforms.

Storrie Lake State Park - Las Vegas
Favorable summer breezes attract colorful wind-surfing boards to Storrie Lake State Park, which is also popular for fishing and boating. The visitor center features historical photos of the Santa Fe Trail and 19th century Las Vegas.

Ute Lake State Park - Logan
Ute Lake State Park, a Canadian River reservoir, offers some of the best walleye fishing in New Mexico. Anglers can also try their luck for bass, crappie, and catfish.

Bandelier National Monument - Los Alamos
The People of Bandelier - Bandelier has a long human history and links to the modern Pueblos. Traditions which began in the distant past are still practiced today. At Bandelier, evidence of the Ancestral Pueblo people can be found in the dwellings, artifacts, and continuing culture of the modern pueblos. Early Spanish settlers, the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC), and the National Park Service also left their mark on the local landscape.

Heron Lake State Park - Los Ojos
A picturesque lake set among tall pines, Heron Lake State Park has been designated a "quiet lake" where boats operate at no-wake speeds only. This park is known for its excellent sailing, fishing, cross-country skiing, and hiking.

Salinas Pueblo Missions - Mountainair
Once, thriving American Indian trade communities of Tiwa and Tompiro speaking Puebloans inhabited this remote area of central New Mexico. Early in the 17th-century Spanish Franciscans visited the area and found it ripe for their missionary efforts. However by 1677 the entire Salinas District, was depopulated of both Indian and Spaniard alike.

Manzano Mountains State Park - Mountainair
Nestled in the wooded foothills of the Manzano (the Spanish word for apple tree) Mountains, Manzano Mountains State Park is an excellent place for fishing, bird watching, photography, hiking and cross country skiing.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park - Nageezi
Chaco Canyon was a major center of Puebloan culture between AD 850 and 1250. The Chacoan sites are part of the homeland of Pueblo Indian peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi Indians of Arizona, and the Navajo Indians of the Southwest.

Navajo Lake State Park - Navajo Dam
Navajo Lake is New Mexico's second largest lake--more than 15,000- acre ft. capacity --and offers the full gamut of water sports and services. Early Inhabitants - Evidence of some of the earliest known villages in the Southwest are found in the area.

Pecos National Historical Park - Pecos
Pecos preserves 12,000 years of history including the ancient pueblo of Pecos, Colonial Missions, Santa Fe Trail sites, 20th century ranch history of Forked Lightning Ranch, and the site of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass. For several centuries the Upper Pecos Valley has been one of those rare places where the impact of geography on human experience is strikingly clear.

Oasis State Park - Portales
A true oasis on the expansive, grassy plains of east-central New Mexico, Oasis State Park is set among cottonwood trees and shifting sand dunes. Points of interest include a small fishing lake and prairie trails.

Bluewater Lake State Park - Prewitt
Rolling hills studded with pinon and juniper trees encircle the lake, which is stocked with trout and catfish. Bluewater Lake State Park is popular for boating and year-round fishing. Geology Galore. Bluewater Lake is situated on the north flank of the Zuni Mountains in the Las Tusas Basin. The reservoir is located in a valley carved in shale and limestone. The latter of which contains snail and brachiopod fossils.

Leasburg Dam State Park - Radium Springs
Leasburg Dam State Park offers camping, picnicking and bird watching. From mid-March to mid-October the park offers fishing, canoeing and kayaking.

Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park - Radium Springs
Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park is New Mexico's 34th state park and broke ground on its new Visitor Center in December 2005, with an expected completion in fall 2008. A remnant of riverside woodland and restored wetland along the Rio Grande, this park is a haven for migratory birds and for people seeking walking trails and quiet enjoyment of nature.

El Morro National Monument - Ramah
A reliable waterhole hidden at the base of a sandstone bluff made El Morro (the headland) a popular campsite. Ancestral Puebloans and Spanish and American travelers carved over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages, and petroglyphs for hundreds of years. We invite you to make El Morro a stopping point during your travels.

Sugarite Canyon State Park - Raton
Located on the Colorado border, Sugarite Canyon State Park features heavily wooded mountains and meadows painted with wildflowers and butterflies. Visitors can fish and boat (electric motors only), observe the plentiful wildlife, hike scenic trails,cross-country ski, camp and picnic.

Bottomless Lakes State Park - Roswell
Actually several small lakes bordered by high red bluffs, Bottomless Lakes State Park offers a variety of activities including hiking, swimming, fishing and scuba diving. The lakes are water filled sinkholes in the local gypsum terrain. Odd geology and water chemistry create homes for unusual plants and animals, like the Pecos Sunflower.

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail - Santa Fe
Savor 300 years of heritage and culture in the Southwest.

Hyde Memorial State Park - Santa Fe
Beautiful scenery, a quiet natural setting, and easy access make Hyde Memorial State Park a favorite picnic area, campground, respite, and base camp for excursion to the surrounding Santa Fe National Forest.

Santa Fe National Historic Trail - Santa Fe Trail
Take a journey between western Missouri and Santa Fe on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. You'll find adventure and evidence of past travelers who made this remarkable trip before you!

Santa Rosa Lake State Park - Santa Rosa
The centerpiece of Santa Rosa Lake State Park is a large reservoir on the plains of eastern New Mexico. The park offers a variety of water recreation. Anglers are known to catch bass, catfish and walleye. Corps of Engineers visitor center has displays about area history, creation of the dam and natural history.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument - Silver City
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument offers a glimpse into the homes and lives of the Mogollon people who lived in this area over 700 years ago.

Old Spanish National Historic Trail - Southwestern US
Take a journey across the Southwest on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail between Santa Fe and Los Angeles for history, culture, and scenic beauty.

El Vado Lake State Park - Tierra Amarilla
Located in New Mexico's northern mountains, El Vado Lake State Park offers fishing, boating, water-skiing, and winter cross-country skiing.

Villanueva State Park - Villanueva
Villanueva State Park is a charming riverside park situated in a canyon of red and yellow sandstone cliffs. Towering cottonwoods and a variety of other native trees and shrubs add additional color to the landscape. The park's adobe-style picnic shelters were designed and grouped to resemble a Spanish hamlet, similar to those that existed in the area in earlier times. A footbridge gives hikers access to trails leading along the river to other sites, including a prehistoric Indian ruin and a cliff-top vantage point.

Fort Union National Monument - Watrous
Fort Union was established in 1851 as the guardian of the Santa Fe Trail. During its forty-year history, three different forts were constructed close together. The third Fort Union was the largest in the American Southwest, and functioned as a military garrison, territorial arsenal, and military supply depot for the southwest. The largest visible network of Santa Fe Trail ruts can be seen here.