118 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in New Mexico - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico

House of Eternal Return

An immersive environment that is part haunted house, part choose-your-own-adventure, and part jungle gym.

La Madera, New Mexico

Ra Paulette's Hand-Carved Caves

One man has carved a number of natural New Mexico caves into psychedelic sandstone temples.

Alamogordo, New Mexico

White Sands National Park

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

Bloomfield, New Mexico

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area

The land is full of geologic eye candy like otherworldly spires, mushroom-shaped hoodoos, and prehistoric fossils.

Farmington, New Mexico

Bisti Badlands

Seemingly grown on some other world, these New Mexico rock formations look like a disused science fiction set.

Carlsbad, New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns

Second largest cave chamber in the world, discovered in 1898 by a sixteen year old and his friend known as "pothead."

Roswell, New Mexico

International UFO Museum and Research Center

A museum dedicated to the alleged Roswell Incident.

Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Santa Rosa Blue Hole

A clear blue swimming hole with hidden caves, still unexplored.

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Unique Food & Drink in New Mexico

Chocolate Daisy

This wildflower releases a cocoa fragrance each morning.

Pueblo Bread

Baked in traditional adobe hornos, this bread is a staple of the American Southwest's Native Pueblo people.

New Mexican Sundae

Frozen custard gets topped with green chile sauce and salty pecans to make this Las Cruces specialty.

Blue Corn Mush

Adding juniper ash to this traditional Navajo dish gives it as much calcium as a glass of milk.

See all 9 things to eat in New Mexico See all 9 things to eat in New Mexico

Atlas Obscura Trips

Private Trip: Immersive Art and Otherworldly Landscapes of Santa Fe

Explore the flourishing art scene, intriguing cultural heritage, and magical setting that have captivated artists from Georgia O’Keeffe to Judy Chicago.

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Stories About New Mexico

Pine cones lie strewn on the floor of a ponderosa pine forest in New Mexico, nearly three decades after fire moved through the area and scarred the tree in the foreground.

The Climate Isn't Just Worsening Wildfires, It Can Hobble Forests' Ability to Recover

"What we’re most concerned about is things can still get worse.”

September 24, 2020

Orange pin flags indicate the location of ceramic pottery sherds collected for analysis after a prescribed burn in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico in 2012.

What Wildfire Archaeology Tells Us About the Burning American West

Archaeologists in New Mexico are studying past wildfires through tree rings and pottery sherds.

by Stephen E. Nash

September 15, 2020

This lightning flash with an upward branch, observed south of Langmuir Laboratory, helped researchers understand the mechanisms by which lightning can escape clouds.

Can America’s Premier Lightning Lab Revive Its Renegade Spirit?

“We want to continue triggering lightning. We’re in no way done with that.”

by Elizabeth Miller

September 9, 2020

The kiva at Chaco Canyon was the site of political meetings and spiritual gatherings.

Ancient Fingerprints Help Unravel Just Who Was Making Pots at Chaco Canyon

New research shows it wasn't as gendered as once thought.

by Jonathan Carey

A page of the Navajo Treaty from the copy in the National Archives.

The Historic Treaty That Ended Navajo Imprisonment Has Been Returned

One of just two copies thought to survive is back in Navajo Nation.

by Evan Nicole Brown

Dunes on the move!

The Secret Lives of Sand Dunes

They're not actually alive, of course, but they do migrate.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

El Potrero Trading Post sells chimayó chile powder.

The Prized Pepper That Comes From a Single New Mexican Town

But can it be grown anywhere else?

Pepper plants made for a hotter holiday.

When the Christmas Plant Was a Pepper, Not a Poinsettia

Chilis were once holiday must-haves.

December 20, 2018

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