Explore the Past and See the Future in New Mexico

New Mexico is rich in old mining, ranching and railroading towns. The ghosts of Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, John Chisum, and even Pancho Villa, all famous (or infamous) figures in New Mexico history, can be felt in many of the towns. Visitors can travel to these old places on the state's beautiful scenic byways, stopping at one (or several) of New Mexico's national and state parks and monuments along the way. There are dormant volcanoes, ancient lava flows, ice caves, fossil sites, archeological digs, and unique geology throughout New Mexico, just waiting to be explored. 

But New Mexico isn't all about the past. New Mexico continues to be on the leading edge of new science and technology. The state is home to Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, the Very Large Array, and several observatories. The clear night sky offers an amazing view of the stars. Speaking of stars, New Mexico will soon be the launch pad to them. The new Spaceport America is a visionary project many years in the making. New Mexico’s weather and wide-open spaces have been ideal for the aerospace industry since Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, began conducting research in Roswell in the 1930s. He was followed by Wernher von Braun in the 1940s, and NASA in the 1980s. With the founding of Space Port America, the nation's first purpose-built commercial spaceport, New Mexico stands on the brink of the new space age.

Monuments & Trails

Monuments: Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Coronado State Monument, Capulin Volcano National Monument, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, El Malpais National Monument, El Morro National Monument, Fort Union National Monument, Fort Selden State Monument, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Jemez State Monument, Lincoln State Monument, Old Spanish National Historic Trail, Petroglyph National Monument, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, Santa Fe National Historic Trail, White Sands National Monument

State & National Parks

National Parks: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Chaco National Historical Park, Pecos National Historical Park
State Parks: Bluewater Lake, Bottomless Lakes, Brantley Lake, Caballo Lake, Cimarron Canyon, City of Rocks, Clayton Lake, Conchas Lake, Coyote Creek, Eagle Nest Lake, Elephant Butte Lake, El Vado Lake, Fenton Lake, Heron Lake, Hyde Memorial, Leasburg Dam, Living Desert Zoo & Gardens, Manzano Mountains, Mesilla Valley Bosque, Morphy Lake, Navajo Lake, Oasis, Oliver Lee Memorial, Pancho Villa, Percha Dam, Rio Grande Nature Center, Rockhound, Santa Rosa Lake, Storrie Lake, Sugarite Canyon, Sumner Lake, Ute Lake, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Villanueva

Natural Hot Springs

Battleship Rock & McCauley Hot Springs, Black Rock Hot Spring, Bubbles Hot Springs, Frisco Box Hot Spring, Gila Hot Springs Vacation Center, House Log Canyon Hot Springs, Lightfeather Hot Spring,Manby Hot Springs, Montezuma Hot Springs, San Francisco Hot Springs, Spence Hot Springs, Turkey Creek Hot Springs

Science & amp; Technology

Apache Point Observatory, Bradbury Museum, Frank T. Etscorn Campus Observatory, The Lightning Field, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Atomic Museum, National Solar Observatory, New Mexico Museum of Space History, Sandia National Laboratory, Enchanted Skies Star Party, Trinity Site, University of New Mexico Campus Observatory, Very Large Array (VTA)

link to http://newmexico.org/ for additional data and reservations or New Mexico informationals and links