Adventuring in New Mexico: An Awesome (Underrated) State

_{Hi there! While spending the winter months in Florida with family, we are catching up on some posts we’ve had in-process for a while. It’s been fun reliving old adventures and trying to catch up to the present. This post looks back on three years of exploring in the “Land of Enchantment” and attempts to explain why we are so… well, enchanted with the place.}

As nomads, we hear about Arizona all the time: Quartzite, Yuma, Lake Havasu, etc etc. It seems that everybody and his brother heads out that way over winter. Ditto for southern California, the Baja Peninsula, and the Big Bend of Texas.

But New Mexico? Not so much.

There are a few obvious reasons. The state is less predictably warm and more than a little off the beaten path. People drive through on their way to the more usual spots further west, hitting White Sands National Park, Carlsbad Cavern, Taos and Santa Fe, maybe the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. But that’s about it.

Maybe that’s why New Mexico was such a pleasant surprise when we first camped here in November of 2022. We returned the following year, exploring whole new parts of the state. And we did it again in 2024.

Nowadays, arriving in New Mexico feels a little like coming home. We love this state: its wild areas, scruffy deserts and quirky, artsy, half adobe half ramshackle towns.

We may even settle down here some day ...though not anytime soon of course!

In this post, we’ll share some of our adventures in the “Land of Enchantment” and detail some of the things we love about this most underrated western state.

Love at First Sight?

Nope.

It took us a little while to become enchanted with the “Land of Enchantment”. We arrived in New Mexico after a lovely stretch of boondocking across the deserts of southern Arizona.

Driving through dust storms and buffeting winds on the New Mexico section of I-10, we parked up at Rockhound State Park in Deming.

This place had been on my radar for a while. The name alone conjures up a world of awesome … to me anyway. A WHOLE park dedicated to rockhounding? I’m in!

Alas, Rockhound State Park was not for us.

It did have lovely services (showers, flat gravel sites, flush toilets). But it was designed for RV campers, with sites close together and little privacy for those of us who spend most of our time outside our rigs. And the rockhounding was, well…. underwhelming.

We packed up the next day and east headed to Las Cruces, passing falling down ranches and trailers and dust storm warnings.

So, yeah. Our first impression of New Mexico was not great.

But then we found a lovely, inexpensive BLM campground not too far from town and spent a few days hiking beautiful mountainous trails with views of jagged, dramatic mountains and wide desert expanses. New Mexico began to grow on us.

Later, we checked out the Chile Pepper Institute, and the quirky town of Hatch, home of the famous Hatch Chiles. We caught a festive farmers’ market in Las Cruces’ teeny downtown area, visited the historic town of Mesilla, and ate some over-the-top Mexican food amidst kitsch and fish tanks full of piranhas.

Best yet, we caught a few rainy days, rare in this part of the world. I still remember the wonderful smell of the wet desert, and totally get why so many air freshener scents are labeled “desert rain” now. The real thing, as it turns out, smells so much better!

Another Awesome Autumn in New Mexico

In our 2nd year on the road, we looped around the US and Canada and found ourselves back in New Mexico in late autumn. This time, we stayed at a different state park, the fabulous City of Rocks, and explored the small town of Silver City.

We fell in love with this little town nestled up against the vast Gila National Forest and Gila Wilderness. We checked out the local coffee shops, galleries, and downtown microbrewery.

But Southern New Mexico did not have the balmy weather of spots further west.

It was too cold for our style of no-frills camping, with temperatures dipping into the low 20s at night.

So we headed for… hot springs!

The quirky town of Truth or Consequences, to be exact, where there are several lovely hot spring options. We found free camping along the Rio Grande and soaked in a peaceful, fairy lit paradise. Turns out there are a lot of hot springs in New Mexico, too.

Then we headed to Caballo Lake, another state park campground. “Why so many state parks?” you ask. We usually avoid these places like the plague. Well maybe not exactly like the plaque, but they are a last resort (or a “we really need showers and electricity” resort, anyway).

Turns out, that New Mexico’s state parks are a bargain at $10 a site for non residents. (FYI: They state raised state park fees January 2025 so not quite as much of a bargain now).

Caballo Lake had the added benefit of proximity to some beautiful wild lands full of agate and jasper. We spent a few days exploring and rockhounding here.

Then we did something a little crazy. We took a quick detour back to Silver City to look at land. (Yes, we liked it there THAT much.) It didn’t turn out to be what we wanted, but we are keeping this maybe-someday idea in the “back pocket”.

Leaving Silver City late in the day, we parked up at a roadside rest area, and discovered another reason to love this state. Turns out that New Mexico has awesome, safe-feeling rest areas too. Unlike some states (achem, Texas) there are small rest areas along less traveled roads with picnic areas AND bathrooms… heated bathrooms.

Next day, we zipped through the eastern half of the state, not really feeling the vibe. Maybe Roswell was cool, but it was dark and stormy and we were in a bit of a time crunch. The eastern part of the New Mexico is still an unknown for us.

3rd Time’s the Charm

This is the year that our love affair with New Mexico got serious.

In the past, we arrived in the state late in the season and were limited to the warmer, southern parts. This year, we settled down at Heron Lake State Park, just south of the Colorado border in early September.

We didn’t plan to stay long. But we loved this quiet spot, chock-full of cretaceous fossils and ended up sticking around for a full week.

Then we visited Taos, camping for a few days beside the Rio Grande, a busy area by new Mexico standards. During the day, we ate tamales and Navajo tacos, perused the artsy shops and worked in the lovely town library. Towards sunset, we returned to camp and hiked beside the super scenic Rio Grande Del Norte.

After Taos, we visited Georgia O’Keefe’s adopted hometown of Abiquiu, and did a little rockhounding at the Corps of Engineers’ Riana Campground. This busy, highly developed campground wasn’t for us, but we did enjoy the generous amounts of colorful agate in the hills nearby and the amazing views.

Then it was on to Bandelier National Park. Though we missed out on longer hikes in the canyon due to recent flooding, we caught a spectacular sunset amid lesser-known ruins while hiking the canyon rim.

In Los Alamos (which, btw, is a really strange town with a government checkpoint for entry) we did our laundry in an awesome coffee shop/video store/laundromat …which tells you all you need to know about New Mexico, really. Quirky in all sorts of ways.

We hiked the unique landscape of Valles Caldera National Preserve amid the bugling of autumn elk, and boondocked under pine trees in a quiet spot in the national forest nearby.

The next day, was a nail-biter. We headed out on a paved forest service road that, 20 miles in, became a dirt road which became a washed out sideways, mountain-hugging track. Too late to turn around. We just kept on… and on…. and on. I did not get photos of the rough parts because I was a little… preoccupied.

When we finally emerged onto blacktop, it was mid afternoon; time to find a place to camp! The iOverlander suggestions nearby were either too muddy from recent rains, behind locked gates, or along a series of raised tire tracks on a slippery rutted road.

This is the kind of van-living that you DON’T want to do. But it happens sometimes. and you gotta just roll (and bump and rattle and slide) with it.

After what seemed like hours of puttering around on bad roads looking for a spot, we decided to head an hour or two west. Which turned out to be an awesome call, as we discovered one of our favorite-ever spots, Angel Peak Recreation Area: A tiny, free campground, perched on the rim of an immense badlands. We ended up staying put a few days to explore.

From there, we headed to the Bisti/De-Na Zen Wilderness where I thoroughly exhausted myself crawling around in this magical place full of fossils and hoodoos and colorful badlands. It was super hot and windless, and I barely made it back in one piece. But it was also lovely.

Free camping is allowed at the parking area here and along the roads nearby. So that’s what we did.

Then we had a sudden change of direction: My mom needed some help in Washington state. So we made an abrupt U-turn, drove to Alburquerque in preparation for a quick flight out. We stayed overnight at a hoppin’ Harvest Host microbrewery where we shared a table with some friendly folks who loved their town and gave us some great recommendations. We even got to watch a little football, which was not something we do very often. Fun night!

And Once More with Feeling

We returned to Alburquerque a week later, tired and hungry after a day in rushing through airports. Luckily, we had those recommendations from the friendly folks we met at Starr Brothers Brewery.

Sadie’s Mexican Restaurant was everything we hoped it’d be… and more. A whole lot more!

I ordered a la carte, an enchilada and burrito, and somehow ended up with two full meals… and there were complementary chips and sopapillas. For some reason, we also ordered a side of rice and beans(!)

We ate leftovers for a few days after this amazing meal!

Then we set off to explore another place we’d longed to see: Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, an important archaeological site for the ancient Puebloan culture.

This park is a bit challenging to get to. There are two roads in, but they are both rough. The southern one is longer, with alternating sections of mud, rocks, ruts and washboard. And the northern one is just straight up washboard… for 20 miles.

We drove both of them in our shaky, heavy, two-wheel-drive beast of a van. And it was exactly as bad as you’d expect. (We definitely recommend calling the park rangers to check road conditions before heading out for this park)

But Chaco Canyon itself was fabulous. Though we arrived around three in the afternoon (thanks to that very long, slow going southern road) we lucked into a spot at the park’s small campground without a reservation. Definitely don’t try this during the busy season, the campground is tiny, by national park standards, and it has a friendly last-outpost feel.

We thoroughly enjoyed hiking in Chaco Canyon. We had the trails to ourselves as we explored the Wijiji Ruins and Pueblo Alto Loop along the canyon rim.

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

After moseying around Utah, Nevada and Arizona, we returned to New Mexico a week shy of Thanksgiving. This time, we explored the Gila National Forest just north of Silver City. It was surprisingly rugged and windy and wild up there– just the way we like it!

The 40 miles of windy, up and down, hairpin turn-y road took us a full morning. Of course, we stopped to check out several free national forest campgrounds along the way, and a ton of boondocking spots. But it was cloudy and we needed to top off our Jackery Power Station so we opted for a $15 stay at Lake Roberts with a (rare for us) electric hook up.

And we managed a quick hike along Purgatory Chasm before it got dark.

Then it was on to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, which was spectacular. The hike into the ruins was short, but super steep. There were volunteers available on site to help visitors understand (and respect) the place. We spent quite a bit of time asking questions and learned so much more than we would have if we had hiked through by ourselves.

Just before sunset, we found a free campground along the Gila River, and parked up for the night.

Then we headed back to Silver City for a Thanksgiving Buffet at Little Toad Creek Brewery.

Once again, we enjoyed walking around this small, artsy town, checking out the murals and comfy hammock seats at Eastern New Mexico University.

Then we wandered over to the Chihuahuan Desert to boondock for a spell. After so many days on the move, we felt very thankful for a few days spent in one place, rockhounding, working, and exploring the Fluorite Ridge.

Then we headed back to the familiar city of Las Cruces to work in the library and do the usual nomad chores (laundry, showers, propane, water and groceries).

It’s kind of nice to know an area well enough to feel like you’re coming home. Southwestern New Mexico are starting to feel a little like that. And our adventures in New Mexico are not over yet. I’m sure we’ll swing back around to explore some new (favorite) places next year!

7 Awesome Things About New Mexico

Why do we keep returning to explore New Mexico? There are many things that make this state one of our favorites. But if we had to boil it down to a seven, here they are, in no particular order:

Less Crowded

This one is a biggie. We don’t much enjoy crowded places, even extremely beautiful crowded places. In our experience, the wild lands of New Mexico tend to be less crowded. Maybe this is because New Mexico’s landscape is more muted than that of its flashier neighbors. Its desert is scruffier than Arizona’s. Its rocks are less red than Utah’s. Its mountains and canyons are less dramatic than Colorado’s, and its wildlife is less obvious than Wyoming’s.

Art Everywhere

New Mexico is a seriously artsy state. Much of the art is connected to its indigenous and Spanish heritage (see below) but some is just… art. Many artists live here, and even small towns have murals and artists co-ops, and other cool things. We are not artists ourselves, but we sure do appreciate the vibrant New Mexico art scene.

Diversity: Cultures and Biomes

New Mexico has an interesting and unique history. Its culture blends indigenous, Hispanic and Anglo-American traditions. This can be seen in its art, architecture, language and food. We really love this aspect of the state. Also, New Mexico is a “blue state”, which is rare in the mountain west. The more accepting, live-and-let-live vibe is a big draw for us Western Mass expats.

In addition, New Mexico has a diversity of biomes: Deserts, badlands, lush riparian zones and high altitude pine forests, to name a few. You can explore so many different landscapes here without having to drive too too far.

Affordability

Compared to other western states, New Mexico is a bargain. There are many free boondocking spots in the National Forests and on BLM land, and many free national forest campgrounds as well. Gas is relatively inexpensive, as are groceries and restaurants. Real estate too. There are a few pricey upscale towns (Taos and Santa Fe come to mind) but most of New Mexico is cheap and “scruffy”– not a bad scene for us nomads.

The Food

This state has great food! How could it not, with such a mix of cultures? We really enjoyed New Mexican style food, heavy on the Hatch green chiles (of course!)

There are excellent microbreweries and coffee shops too… and lots of fancy drinks. There are probably other great foods here, but (so far) we just keep searching out those chiles… and margaritas!

Cool Rocks!

We had great luck rockhounding in New Mexico. There are many (many) acres of public lands to explore and a wide variety of cool rocks and fossils. We’ve found agate, fluorite, picture jasper, chalcedony, obsidian, and a variety of other cool things.

Not Totally Enchanting…

Notice that “Weather” isn’t on this list?

It can get really cold in New Mexico. Winter nights are often below freezing (sometimes waaayyy below freezing) and there’s snow in winter. It warms up nicely in the heat of the day, but balmy it ain’t.

In the summer, of course, parts of New Mexico are sweltering. … so not perfect, weather-wise. But, still pretty awesome, weather-wise, compared to places farther north… or south.

A Great Place to Explore

In short, New Mexico is a wonderful, underrated state. If you love to explore off the beaten path and don’t mind a few gnarly roads, check it out. You might love it here as much as we do.