Back to original page Printer Friendly Version of REDTT's: State Parks, National Parks and National Forests New Mexico has some of the most spectacular, diverse, interesting and historic State Parks, State Monuments, National Parks, National Monuments and National Forests found in the United States. Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands National Monument and the Gila Cliff Dwellings are just a few. They are each unique, each with it's own flora, fauna, history and geological formations. STATE PARKS Below is a quick list of all 34 New Mexico State Parks with the closest New Mexico city cited. For more detailed information, click here for the official New Mexico State Parks Web site. (Back to birding page) Bluewater Lake 28 miles W of Grants via I-40 and NM 412 (505) 876-2391 Bottomless Lakes 16 miles SE of Roswell via US 30 and NM 409 (505) 624-6058 Brantley Lake 12 miles N of Carlsbad via US 285 then 4.5 miles NE on County Road 30 (505) 457-2384 Caballo Lake 16 miles S of Truth or Consequences via I-25, exit 59 and NM 187 (505) 743-3942 Cimarron Canyon 3 miles E of Eagle Nest via US 64 (505) 377-6271 City of Rocks 28 miles NE of Deming via US 180 and NM 61 (505) 536-2800 Clayton Lake 12 miles N of Clayton via NM 370 (505) 374-8808 Conchas Lake 34 miles NW of Tucumcari via NM 104 (505) 868-2270 Coyote Creek 17 miles N of Mora via NM 434 (505) 387-2328 Eagle Nest ** 32 miles east of Taos of U.S. 64 (505) 377-1594 Elephant Butte Lake 5 miles N of Truth or Consequences via I-25, exit 83 (505) 744-5923 El Vado Lake 17 miles SW of Tierra Amarilla via NM 112 (505) 588-7247 Fenton Lake 33 miles NW of San Ysidro via NM 4 & NM 126 (505) 829-3630 Heron Lake 11 miles W of Tierra Amarilla via US 64, 84 and NM 95 (505) 588-7470 Hyde Memorial 8 miles NE of Santa Fe Plaza via Hyde Park Road / NM 475 (505) 983-7175 Leasburg Dam 15 miles N of Las Cruces via I-25, exit 19 (505) 524-4068 Living Desert Zoo and Gardens ** In NW Carlsbad off US 285 (505) 887-5516 Manzano Mountains 16 miles NW of Mountainair via NM 55 and 131 (505) 847-2820 Mesilla Valley Bosque ** Las Cruces, NM (505) 524-4068 Morphy Lake 7 miles S of Mora via NM 94 (505) 387-2328 Navajo Lake 25 miles E of Bloomfield via US 64 and NM 511 (505) 632-2278 Oasis 6.5 miles N of Portales via NM 467 (505) 356-5331 Oliver Lee Memorial 12 miles S of Alamogordo via US 54 (505) 437-8284 ** = Day Use Only Pancho Villa 35 miles S of Deming via NM 11 in Columbus (505) 531-2711 Percha Dam 21 miles S of Truth or Consequences via I-25, exit 59 (505) 743-3942 Rio Grande Nature Center ** I-40, exit 157A to Candelaria Road, Albuquerque. (505) 344-7240 Rockhound 14 miles SE of Deming via NM 11 and NM 141 (505) 546-6182 Also check their Friends of Rockhound State Park site Santa Rosa Lake 7 miles N of Santa Rosa via NM 91 (505) 472-3110 Storrie Lake 4 miles N of Las Vegas via NM 518 (505) 425-7278 Sugarite Canyon 5.5 miles NE of Raton via NM 72 & 526 (505) 445-5607 Sumner Lake 16 miles NW of Fort Sumner via US 84 and NM 203 (505) 355-2541 Ute Lake 3 miles W of Logan via NM 540 (505) 487-2284 Vietnam Veterans Memorial ** County Road B-4 Angel Fire (505) 377-6900 Villanueva 31 miles SW of Las Vegas via I-25, exit 323, then 15 miles S on NM 3 (505) 421-2957 Click here for the official New Mexico State Parks Web site   NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS New Mexico has some beautiful and historic National Parks & Monuments. Below find a brief description, but visit the National Park Service Web site for more detailed information, or call them in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at (505) 988-6011. Aztec Ruins National Monument - Large, multi-story archeological site dating from the early 1100's. Reconstructed Great Kiva. Self-guiding trail & museum. Near Aztec, NM via NM550 (505) 344-6174. City of Aztec information Web site Bandelier National Monument - Guided and self-guided tours of prehistoric ruins and cliff dwellings dated from early 1100s!. Campfire programs, night walks, educational outreach programs, 2000-volume library, picnic & camping! Located in Frijoles Canyon, 45 miles NW of Santa Fe. OR on NM4, 12 miles SW of Los Alamos (505) 672-3861 Capulin Volcano National Monument - 1,ooo-foot high volcanic cinder cone formed 65,000 years ago!! Trails around and into the crater. Visitor center. Located 30 miles east of Raton, 3 miles N of Capulin on NM Hwy 325 (505) 278-2201 Carlsbad Caverns National Park - One of the world's great cave systems. Coined the 8th wonder of the world! Looking for something different and exciting to do? The web sites below have many links about guided and self-guided tours in the many caves of the Carlsbad, NM (505) 785-2232 Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce site Check out these guided tours for the more adventurous type!! King Palace Guided Tours Slaughter Canyon Cave Left Hand Tunnel Lower Cave Spider Cave Hall of the White Giant Chaco Culture National Historical Park - 13 major archeological sites representing the highest point of Pueblo pre-Columbian civilization. Founded in 1907. Located in San Juan County, in NW New Mexico, between Gallup and Farmington. Open daily 8-5pm (505) 786-7014 Chaco Canyon Photos Questions and answers about Chaco Canyon history El Malpais National Monument - Lava flows, lava tubes, ice caves, sandstone bluffs, Ventana Arch and various archeological sites! Located near Grants, NM (505) 783-4774 AmericanSouthWest.Net Discover Grants - Cibola County Chamber of Commerce. Information about El Malpais and local vacation information. El Morro National Monument - Hundreds of petroglyphs, names and messages carved into the base of Inscription Rock document the ancient Puebloans, Spanish explorers, U.S. Army officers and American immigrants moving West. Visitor Center. Located near Ramah, NM, 40 miles west of Grants, NM (505) 783-4226 Fort Union National Monument - Adobe ruins of a U.S. military outpost that provided protection for travelers along the western end of the Santa Fe Trail. Interpretive trail and visitor center with exhibits, history talks, demonstrations and more. Also listed in forts section. Watrous,NM (505) 425-8025 Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument - Remains of dwellings built into natural caves by the Mogollon people between 1270 and 1280 AD. Camping nearby. Located 44 miles north of Silver City on NM15 OR 66 miles north on US Highway 180 (505) 536-9461 or 9344 "On-Route" magazine article Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Actually located in SW Texas, it contains portions of the world's most extensive and significant Permian limestone fossil reef, tremendous earth fault, lofty peaks, unique flora and fauna! Located 55 miles SW of Carlsbad, NM via US Highway 62/180 (915) 828-3251 Visitor Center Pecos National Historical Park - Pecos National Historical Park contains the ruins of the ancient 15th-century Pueblo of Pecos, the remains of two Spanish missions built in the 17th and 18th centuries, and numerous archaeological sites in a landmark area on the Santa Fe Trail. Two units preserve the sites of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass. Located 2 miles south of Pecos, NM on NM63 (505) 757-6032 Petroglyph National Monument - More than 15,000 prehistoric and historic Native American and Hispanic petroglyphs stretch across 17 miles, along Albuquerque's West Mesa escarpment. Trails and visitor center. Located just west of Albuquerque, NM (505) 899-0205 Desert USA site The Collectors Guide to NM Art site Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument - Three associated Pueblo / Spanish Colonial sites with extensive ruins at Abo, Qyuarai and Gran Quivira. Self-guiding trails and visitor centers. Located near Mountainair, NM (505) 847-2585 Visitor Center Library and Photo Gallery - beautiful pictures!! White Sands National Monument - Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world's largest gypsum dune field. Hiking trails & visitor center. Lots of events all year long. See "events schedule" below. Located just west of Alamogordo, NM (505) 479-6124 or 679-2599 Special Events Schedule: Full Moon Programs, Lake Lucero Tour, Astronomy Programs, White Sands Star Party, Moonlight Bicycle Tours White Sands National Monument Home Page   NATIONAL FORESTS Carson National Forest - Northwest New Mexico Snow play site Scenic driving tour Cibola National Forest - In central and western New Mexico Recreation.gov site Gila National Forest - in south western New Mexico "On-Route" magazine article Lincoln National Forest - in south central New Mexico. Home of Smokey Bear (505) 682-2551 Sitting Bull Falls - 16 miles of hiking trails through waterfalls, springs and a beautiful canyon. Caving opportunities with permits. Picnic tables, grills and restrooms. Camping in the Lincoln National Forest but not at the falls. At Brantley Lake, north of Carlsbad, take HWY 137 about 25 miles north to Sitting Bull Falls Road. Take that road another 6 miles. Day use area open 8am - sunset. $5 per vehicle. Near Carlsbad, NM (505) 885-4181 Southern NM On-line pictures and article Santa Fe National Forest - in north central New Mexico NATURE PARKS Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park - a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing scientific literacy by fostering an understanding of the Chihuahuan Desert. The park provides hands-on science education programs for more than 12,000 students throughout southern New Mexico and West Texas each year. Visit the parks Web site at www.cdnp.org. Las Cruces, NM (505) 524-3334 RELATED WEB SITES New Mexico Public Lands Information Center - Information about National Parks and Monuments, wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management land, State Parks, State Lands, game and fish lands. Plus: maps, books, guidebooks and licenses (505) 345-9489 in Albuquerque, (505) 438-PLIC in Santa Fe, (505) 627-0210 in Roswell, NM. USDA National Forests home page - New Mexico forests Back to original page   .