148 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.

Ra Paulette's Hand-Carved Caves

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

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.

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.

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

The second-largest cave chamber in the world was discovered in 1898 by a 16-year-old and a friend known as "Pothead."

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Musical Highway

If drivers cross the rumble strip on this stretch of Route 66 at just the right speed it plays "America the Beautiful."

Roswell, New Mexico

International UFO Museum and Research Center

A museum dedicated to the alleged Roswell Incident.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in New Mexico

Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell McDonald's

This fast-food outlet is the only space and UFO-themed McDonalds in the world.

Alamogordo, New Mexico

PistachioLand: World's Largest Pistachio

This is one really big nut.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Indian Pueblo Kitchen

Eat like pre-Columbian Native Americans in this New Mexico restaurant within the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.

White Oaks, New Mexico

No Scum Allowed Saloon

In a largely deserted ghost town, a little brick building recalls its history as a gold rush hub and haven for outlaws.

See all 11 places to eat in New Mexico See all 11 places to eat in New Mexico

Atlas Obscura Trips

Santa Fe: Immersive Art and Otherworldly Landscapes

Join us in the mysterious desert landscapes that have captivated artists from Georgia O’Keeffe to Judy Chicago.

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Stories About New Mexico

Wildlife biologist Serra Hoagland has studied the Mexican spotted owl throughout her career.

The Wildlife Scientist Finding Innovation in Ancient Ideas

Biologist Serra Hoagland bridges Indigenous traditions and modern methods.

by Gemma Tarlach

George McJunkin, a self-taught naturalist, found numerous ancient stone tools, ceramics, and animal bones while working in New Mexico.

The Story of George McJunkin, a Hidden Figure in North American Archaeology

The self-taught naturalist found a site that would transform scientific views about Native Americans in North America.

by Stephen E. Nash

February 21, 2022

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 Atlas Obscura

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

The steep face is shielded from the brunt of the wind.

The Secret Lives of Sand Dunes

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

by Jessica Leigh Hester

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