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All the United States New Mexico

The Atlas Obscura Guide To New Mexico

184 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in New Mexico

Updated May 29, 2025

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Cities

Top Cities
Drivers have to go 45 miles per hour to hear the song.
Albuquerque
Chill forest
Santa Fe
Bandalier National Monument
Los Alamos
Roswell
Las Cruces
Nestled in the caves
Silver City
All Cities
  1. Abiquiu
  2. Alamogordo
  3. Albuquerque
  4. Carlsbad
  5. Cimarron
  6. Columbus
  7. Deming
  8. Fort Sumner
  9. Jemez Springs
  10. Las Cruces
  11. Lordsburg
  12. Los Alamos
  13. Los Cerrillos
  14. Madrid
  15. Magdalena
  16. Mogollon
  17. Ramah
  18. Roswell
  19. Santa Fe
  20. Silver City
  21. Taos
  22. Taos Ski Valley
  23. Truth Or Consequences
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

10 Out-of-This-World Places You Can Reach in Your Car

Sponsored by GMC Terrain

The best road trips are those that seem to take you to new worlds: surreal-looking beaches, wondrous parks, and roadside oddities that make you do a double take. For instance, in Wisconsin, a local plumber has rigged a natural aquifer into a series of ice sculptures; in Utah, erosion has created a series of rock formations that look like something between an army of goblins and a series of abstract landscapes; and in New Mexico, rippling white sands stretch out to the horizon as far as the eye can see. The best part? You can reach these—and eight more—places by car (with the occasional walk from the parking lot). So pack some snacks, pull up this itinerary, and hit the road.

View Itinerary
The painted hills create a natural colorscape in Oregon’s desert.

Unusual Attractions in New Mexico

Chill forest

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.
The landscape is pure geological eye candy.

Bloomfield, New Mexico

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area

The land is full of geologic eye candy, such as otherworldly spires, mushroom-shaped hoodoos, and prehistoric fossils.
Sand dunes…NOT snow!

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.
Ra Paulette’s Hand-Carved Caves

New Mexico

Ra Paulette's Hand-Carved Caves

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

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."

Roswell, New Mexico

International UFO Museum and Research Center

A museum dedicated to the alleged Roswell Incident.
Santa Rosa Blue Hole

Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Santa Rosa Blue Hole

A clear blue swimming hole with hidden caves, still unexplored.
See All 184 Things To Do in New Mexico

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in New Mexico

Roswell McDonalds

Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell McDonald's

This fast-food outlet is the only space and UFO-themed McDonalds in the world.
World’s Largest Pistachio

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.
The No Scum Allowed Saloon.

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 12 Places to Eat in New Mexico
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore New Mexico

Geology 28
Native Americans 21
Museums 17
Art 17
History & Culture 16
Ruins 13
Geological Oddities 13
Outsider Art 12
Architecture 12
Rocks 12
Roadside Attractions 10
Sculptures 10
Unique Restaurants & Bars 2
Places To Stay 2

New Mexico Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. mikewalker
    37
  2. syabek
    10
  3. ianlefk
    6
  4. Liz Fox
    4
  5. Tony Dunnell
    4

Places Edited

  1. mikewalker
    66
  2. icatsstaci
    36
  3. breaingram
    19
  4. tylercole
    19
  5. Collector of Experiences
    18

Places Visited

  1. mikewalker
    169
  2. icatsstaci
    135
  3. andycarlos
    134
  4. 85wombats
    91
  5. ldt007
    89

Recent New Mexico Activity

  • jlandwehr1012

    wants to go to Chiricahua Desert Museum

  • jlandwehr1012

    wants to go to Carlsbad Caverns

  • boatfixerguy

    has been to Chaco Culture National Historical Park

  • boatfixerguy

    has been to Aztec Ruins National Monument

  • michaelparsons

    has been to 109 East Palace

Stories About New Mexico

Eroded rocks of the badlands in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park.

Arizona’s Petrified Forest Is Changing What We Know About the Dawn of the Dinosaurs

New discoveries of small animals that lived more than 200 million years ago are changing how paleontologists think about biodiversity in the Triassic.
by Shaena Montanari
May 23, 2025
Food with a face is disconcerting. With fangs? Even more so.

Gloriously Gruesome Confections for Halloween–and the Rest of the Year

A new cookbook offers recipes that are both wholesome and horrifying.
by Anne Ewbank
October 15, 2024

Podcast: Looking Toward the Sky with Summer Ash

Fall in love with black holes.
by The Podcast Team
May 30, 2024

Podcast: The Lightning Field

This installation in the New Mexico desert is a bucket list destination for art nerds.
by The Podcast Team
November 16, 2023

Podcast: Chile Pepper Institute

How New Mexico became a chile pepper wonderland.
by The Podcast Team
May 19, 2023
Ken Armijo preparing to solar-roast his chiles using heliostats.

Why Solar Roasting Could Be the Future for New Mexico’s Chiles

It may be the key to cutting down 7,800 metric tons of annual carbon emissions.
by Diana Hubbell
August 4, 2022
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
March 22, 2022
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

Lists Featuring New Mexico

Winter Solstice 2019
The Spiral Jetty
Double Negative’s north trench

A Tour of Spectacular 1970s Art Made From the Landscape Itself

Eight places to witness the incredible ambition of the Southwest land art movement.

8

Including Sun Tunnels, The Spiral Jetty, and Complex City

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