things to do in Las Cruces in April

[MThuntr]

Looks like I'm going to Las Cruces for a substantial chunk of April for work training. It sounds like a significant portion of the days will get long but there should be some free time in the evenings and on the weekends.

To anyone with experience in the area, what would you recommend for activities, places to eat, etc? I won't necessarily have access to a vehicle but I could rent one pretty easily.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Go hike the Organ Mountains, bring plenty of water. Go see White sand missile range. Cloudcroft is about an hour and 15 min away and my favorite place to chase to elk in NM. You can probably find some sheds near High Rolls. Oh and find some hole in the wall mexican food joint that serves red chile. If your up for a bit more of a drive, the Billy the Kid museum in Ruidoso is cool, as well as the town itself.

 

[genesis273]

Go hike the Organ Mountains, bring plenty of water. Go see White sand missile range. Cloudcroft is about an hour and 15 min away and my favorite place to chase to elk in NM.

If you do go to Cloudcroft, Mad Jack's has some really good BBQ! But get there well before they open to get to the front of the line.

 

[MThuntr]

sweet thanks for the suggestions.

 

[elkduds]

The Farmer's and Art market on Main Street every Saturday is bigger than expected. The old village of Mesilla has some civil war history. Fishing @ Elephant Butte Reservoir, even guided fishing. Hot springs along the Rio Grande @ Truth or Consequences. Pecans, pistachios, red chile, green chile, empanadas, rellenos, carnitas, stacked enchiladas... Weekend trips to Santa Fe, Bandelier Natl Monument, Ojo Caliente ,Tombstone AZ.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

juarez...

 

[redwoood]

I like El Sombrero Mexican restaurant and Lorenzo's Italian. The Git n Go on University has really good breakfast burritos. Dripping springs is a good hike up to the old TB clinic/camp, Organ Mountains, white sands is fun if you've never been. Tons of BLM to go out and shoot on. Jack rabbits are always fun...I always shoot and a few and bring them home when I'm down there...not bad eating if you take the time to cook them right...low and slooooooow.

I've always wanted to drive over to the Floridas and see if I could get some glass on some Ibex but haven't done it yet.

 

[hank4elk]

Go to Hatch ,home of real NM Chile & enjoy.
Some good loop drives into the Greater Gila area if you'll have more than just a rental & time. `152 I believe goes right up between the Aldo Leopold & Gila Wilderness'. You could go walk on both in one trip.
Cowboy History Museum is cool.

 

[waygoner]

There is a dive restaurant called Chopes south of town on NM 28. One of my favorite haunts in college. Old Mesilla is worth checking out.

 

[bobbydean]

I was a freshman at NMSU in 71/72, I spent a lot of weekends in Juarez. Totally fun. You could not pay me to go there now.

Food, La Posada been serving great food for 70 years. Looong wait. Some of the hole in the walls serve just as good.

White Sands is a must see 40 miles north. Miles of white sands.

There is an enchilada festival in the spring. A must go in you like enchiladas.

Trinity site is close. A 100 mile drive?, but historically a must. Do not know when it is open.

It is New Mexico. Visit with the town folk and enjoy. Friendly town.

 

[cedahm]

I was working with a client in El Paso/Juarez last year and while I didn't have a month or weekends, I did make time to get out and about that part of NM a few times. I would concur with bobbydean that there is not much incentive to visit Juarez - although it is nothing like the horror show that it was 10 years ago, and I now have a network of friends and clients there - it's just not somewhere I'd go if I wasn't being paid to do it.

• I'm a beer nerd/geek, and I went up to Bosque Brewing (near NMSU) once a week for dinner for about a month. Great beers in a great little spot.
• Mesilla has been mentioned a few times and I concur. It's very close, has a neat history thats easily consumed - most of it right in the main square (and also has a very good brewery (Spotted Dog) )
• One weekend, I flew in a day and a half early and used the extra time to spend an evening in Lincoln (probably 2.5hrs away) - as a Lincoln County War/Billy The Kid history buff, that was the highlight of the project for me. Nearby, Fort Stanton and the 'Smokey The Bear' sites around Capitan are also well worth visiting. Walking the streets of Lincoln and hiking into the John Tunstall murder site (the real one, not the sign on the highway) was something I'll always remember.
• The drive to/from Lincoln takes you around/through the White Sands area which is otherworldly
• I don't know when the El Paso Chihauhaus (AAA baseball affiliate of the Padres) start up, but I went to a bunch of games there, and if you like baseball, it's a great ballpark and atmosphere

 

[MThuntr]

great tips guys! I too like beer so I'll be hitting breweries where I can. White Sands is part of our training...Soil Geomorphology

 

[jmgraham1986]

Some great suggestions so far, but above all, I'd recommend driving into the gila and seeing the Gila Cliff dwellings. The prize for this trip is the drive in. Take a rod with you and try to catch a Gila Trout while you're at it.

 

[NM34R]

I recommend Cloudcroft area for some hiking, pm me if you need some info I live in Alamogordo. Oh and Turkey season starts April 15. I was up there for about 3 hours on Friday and they were all over the place.