New Mexico cities, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe, will definitely steal your focus, but Las Cruces is yet another Southwestern spot to add to your wish list of road trips.
It is indeed a desert wonderland, along with mountain peaks, vast countryside, fun festivals, and perhaps a relaxed atmosphere. Also, it is well known for its delicious cuisine, welcoming hospitality, and wealthy local culture as a part of the country.
So, if you want to understand New Mexico a little better and everything it has to offer, these are some of the best things to do in Las Cruces.
Mountains of Organs, National Monument to Desert Peaks
If you enjoy hiking and nature, then in the Southwest, a visit to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, which is a National Monument, will be great.
The national monument covers some 496,000 hectares and does everything from historical buildings to old rock formations. Sometimes you can hike along with your dog, but be sure to check the weather for intense heat and bring enough water with you.
Indeed, the Org Mountains are incredible for bouldering when you want to get into a little rock climbing exercise and get some knowledge of bouldering along with other things to do in Las Cruces.
Las Cruces Farmers, even Crafts Market
If you happen to have been in Las Cruces on a Wednesday or Saturday, watch out for souvenirs or anything fresh to eat from the local farmer’s market and craft fair. It is indeed a beautiful place to browse jewelry, beauty products, ceramics, and wood crafts.
As well as the fresh produce that comes in from the area’s local farmers. The market has been located in downtown Las Cruces from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and also spans seven blocks around the other main street. It is also on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Plaza de Las Cruces.
The significant part of such a local tradition would be that the local musicians, farmers, or even craftspeople from New Mexico’s Dona Ana County grow, craft, or make everything in the industry, and you can enjoy many other things to do in Las Cruces.
Art Obscura: One of the best things to do in Las Cruces
Theirs is an art gallery called Obscura, which should be checked out by visitors when they are in Las Cruces. It is indeed a gallery for strange souls who enjoy antique browsing, handcrafted jewelry, and collectibles.
During the year, the gallery showcases events that are enjoyable to join and addresses current shows on their website. There is no fee for getting in and looking around. You may stop from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Thursday through Sunday, but from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Art Obscura would also purchase antiquities from people by showing works by artists at no upfront cost, only a commission off all the sales made, and there are many other best things to do in Las Cruces. Look at the website of the gallery to see just what will happen while you are in town or are planning to visit.
Old Mesilla
If you’re traveling south with Las Cruces, you’ll learn about the Mesilla village, culturally significant for becoming the place wherein the infamous Billy Kid was brought to trial and one of the best things to do in Las Cruces.
Old Mesilla as a whole has lovely shops selling handicrafts from the area, and if you’d like to try much Mexican food, then you’ve come to a different place.
It is known as a haunted place through miners, including historical figures that suffered and died in the city in the early days, so if you’re feeling brave, you can take a guided tour of the downtown square area that people think is full of ghosts.
Fort Selden State Monument
Since 1865, the United States Army has constructed Fort Selden, which is just a fortification to safeguard the local population that has settled throughout the Mesilla Valley area.
Many of the forts have gone sometimes, but the adobe-style cement fortifications still occur for visitors to examine, and there’s even a fascinating and informative visitor center that has a continuous exhibition that illustrates everything about life on the frontier.
If you happen to be alone on the weekend, there are a lot of things to do in Las Cruces with live events that will leave you feeling like you’re back in time.
Railroad Museum
Head down to the Santa Fe Depot, this historically significant part of Las Cruces, but you’ll discover the Railroad Museum, the best place for train lovers.
Their Railroad Museum does have a collection of permanent exhibits that tell stories of railroad history all across Las Cruces, and souvenirs of the times are on display.
Already on display are model railways with model tracks and railway line maps. It is the best known among the best things to do in Las Cruces.
La Vina Winery
Many Las Cruces tourists don’t recognize that perhaps the weather here renders it the ideal place to make bread because the dry heat enables the grapes to grow and develop.
As a result, Las Cruces is home to a variety of wineries, like La Vina Winery, which is known for hosting a famous wine festival that is held each year in October.
La Vina Winery sponsors the festival, but if you decide to visit the unit and the wineries at a different time of year, you can also check out the new blend of grapes for such a particular vintage, and this makes it an exciting place where there are many best things to do in Las Cruces.
White Sands National Monument: One of the best things to do in Las Cruces
Forty-five miles east of Las Cruces, tourists will encounter the largest gypsum canyon field in the world. The monument is described as a scene from any other world by travelers to the area. The dunes give an insight into the local plants and the wildlife that thrives in such arid and harsh conditions.
Its white dunes below are natural and unspoiled, and picnic areas are accessible with the prospect of surfing or tobogganing down the dunes.
New Mexico Heritage Farm but also Ranch Museum
The New Mexico Farm, one of the best things to do in Las Cruces with the Ranch Heritage Museum, is ideal for guests wishing to learn as much about the rich agricultural history of the area, which dates back an incredible 3,000 years.
The museum provides a learning environment for both younger and older visitors, and there are illustrations and descriptions of dairy farming throughout the area, with demonstrations of local farming and cooking methods such as hand-milking of cows.
The Zuhl Museum, Las Cruces: One of the best things to do in Las Cruces
A part of that same State University for New Mexico, the Zuhl Museum was both an art exhibition and a famous museum of ecology, which should be on your list of best things to do in Las Cruces.
With over 1,800 rare samples of fossils, petrified wood, and minerals, it is the residence of the Zuhl collection. Herb or even Joan Zuhl gave the group a present to the university.
Much of the samples are on display in the Department of Geological Sciences, Zuhl Museum, and even Zuhl Library, including Gardiner Hall. Almost all of the collection consists of fragments of petrified wood, from a few centimeter-long twigs to logs with a diameter of more than one meter.
Lake Valley Historic Town site
Lake Valley had been a busy mining town in 1876, with nearly 4,000 people searching for wealth from those on earth. One vein, titled “Bridal-Chamber,” alone yielded nearly 2.5 million troy grams of gold. The silver was gone by 1883, the enraged Apache caused trouble, and the vacation was over.
Gradually, the people left, but Lake Valley officially has become a ghost town if first wondered out in 1994. Your Land Management Bureau may have returned not only the schoolhouse but also the chapel to deliver an early 20th-century peek at life.
Picacho Avenue Antiques Mall
Downtown Las Cruces and Picacho Avenue apartment lines filled with antique shops filled with ancient artifacts are just waiting for you among the things to do in Las Cruces. Prices are likely to be that much cheaper than those of comparable Albuquerque stores.
Fountain Theatre: One of the best things to do in Las Cruces
The Fountain Theater would be the oldest film house in the capital, only a few blocks away from Mesilla Plaza. It was constructed in 1905; the elegant adobe building is a prime example of conventional New Mexican architecture, and the Mesilla Valley Film Company still screens films nearly every day there. Apart from this, you can find other great things to do in Las Cruces.
Branigan Cultural Center: One of the best things to do in Las Cruces
The Branigan Cultural has a bit of that if you’re trying to find out anything about the Las Cruces region, particularly in the arts. You can find the Museum of Fine Art, Couture, and even the Las Cruces Historical Gallery as a portion of the Branigan Cultural Center. Still, there are also catalogs in the center that include local art such as sculptures, pictures, local fabrics, and historical memorabilia.
Recycled Roadrunner Sculpture
It is one of the most exciting things to do in Las Cruces, as it is made up of old shoes, cell phones, tennis rackets, bicycle parts or waste tires, and many more things.
Conclusion Thus, enjoy various things to do in Las Cruces and feel the trip to be an awesome trip of your life.
