Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Real events too strange to have made the textbook.
Zuni, NM
This Pueblo of Zuni tribal museum interprets A:shiwi history and culture from a Zuni perspective rather than through an outside collection. Visitors should follow community photography, access and cultural rules while in Zuni.
Ramah, NM
A trail climbs above El Morro to the remains of Atsinna, a large ancestral Pueblo community built around the late 1200s. Rim conditions and weather can close the route even when lower monument trails remain open.
Aztec, NM
A remarkably intact ancestral Pueblo great house includes original roofs, T-shaped doorways and a reconstructed Great Kiva. Despite the modern name 'Aztec,' the site was built by ancestral Pueblo peoples, not the Aztec civilization of Mexico.
Los Alamos, NM
A trail from Frijoles Canyon climbs ladders roughly 140 feet to a ceremonial site set high in a cliff alcove. Ladder conditions and seasonal closures make it unsuitable as an always-open stop.
White Rock, NM
The detached Tsankawi unit follows worn ancestral footpaths across a mesa past cavates, petroglyphs and pueblo remains. The route is exposed and culturally sensitive, with ladders and narrow paths that can close in poor conditions.
Los Alamos, NM
The main loop at Bandelier passes Tyuonyi Pueblo, cliff dwellings and rooms carved into volcanic tuff. Shuttle requirements, weather and seasonal operations can affect access to the Frijoles Canyon visitor area.
Mesilla, NM
The present church anchors Mesilla Plaza on a site associated with parish life since the 1850s. Its twin towers and borderlands history make it one of the strongest architectural landmarks in the historic district; visitors should respect worship services.
Fort Sumner, NM
Billy the Kid is buried in the old Fort Sumner cemetery beneath a heavily protected grave marker. The site has become a pilgrimage point for outlaw history, but it remains an active historic cemetery and should be visited respectfully.
Portales, NM
This Eastern New Mexico University museum displays material from the Blackwater Draw excavations and explains why 'Clovis' became a foundational term in North American archaeology. It is a separate indoor stop from the excavation site itself.
Portales, NM
Excavations at Blackwater Draw helped define the Clovis culture through mammoth remains, stone tools and deeply layered evidence of human occupation. The outdoor archaeological site has seasonal hours separate from the university museum in Portales.
Albuquerque, NM
Short trails climb through volcanic boulders covered with hundreds of petroglyphs at the most developed part of Petroglyph National Monument. The site is highly accessible but the rock art remains protected cultural material.
Fort Sumner, NM
The memorial interprets the forced removal and imprisonment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache people at Bosque Redondo in the 1860s. It is an essential, sobering counterpart to the outlaw tourism found elsewhere around Fort Sumner.
Los Alamos, NM
Los Alamos National Laboratory's public museum covers Manhattan Project history, weapons science and modern laboratory research through replicas, instruments and interactive exhibits. It provides context for historic sites that remain behind security fences.
Nageezi, NM
This massive isolated great kiva is one of Chaco Canyon's most striking ceremonial structures. Visitors approach on designated paths and should not enter restricted archaeological areas.
Glenwood, NM
Metal walkways cling to a narrow canyon where a pipeline once carried water to mining operations. Flood damage and reconstruction have changed the trail over time, so current Forest Service conditions should be checked before driving in.
Nageezi, NM
This enormous Chacoan great house preserves distinctive masonry, colonnade remnants and a great kiva just east of Pueblo Bonito. It is a separate trail destination, not merely another room inside the same ruin.
Bernalillo, NM
The state site preserves Kuaua Pueblo and a reconstructed kiva associated with rare painted mural fragments, alongside the history of the Coronado expedition. Kiva access is usually supervised rather than unrestricted.
Largo Canyon, NM
Navajo petroglyph panels and defensive pueblito sites lie deep in Largo Canyon on BLM land. High-clearance four-wheel drive is recommended, washes can become dangerous, and visitors must never touch rock art or remove artifacts.
Cuervo, NM
I-40 cut through this former Route 66 railroad settlement, leaving abandoned houses and commercial ruins on both sides of the highway. Most structures are private or unstable, so OddWay should route to lawful public roads only and never encourage entry.
Dawson, NM
Rows of white crosses mark victims of catastrophic coal-mine explosions that devastated the company town of Dawson in 1913 and 1923. Access may be restricted and permission requirements can change, so travelers must obey gates and posted rules.
Las Cruces, NM
Ruins of the Van Patten Mountain Camp and later sanatorium sit below the Organ Mountains beside a spring-fed canyon. The blend of resort remains, health-history ruins and dramatic geology makes this one of southern New Mexico's strongest OddWay hikes.
Ramah, NM
For centuries, travelers carved names and messages into the sandstone poolside cliff at El Morro, leaving Indigenous petroglyphs, Spanish inscriptions and American emigrant signatures layered together. The inscriptions are protected and must never be touched or added to.
Elephant Butte, NM
The massive early twentieth-century dam transformed the Rio Grande and created New Mexico's largest reservoir. Travelers can view the structure from lawful public areas, but dam infrastructure and restricted zones should never be entered.
Pecos, NM
Tex Austin's former dude ranch later became the home of oilman E.E. 'Buddy' Fogelson and actress Greer Garson. The ranch is part of Pecos National Historical Park but normally accessible only through scheduled ranger programs.
