Las Cruces Recreation

With over 350 days of sunshine a year, Las Cruces provides visitors with an opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities year-round. Golf some of southern New Mexico’s finest courses or learn about the life in the desert with a trip to the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park. Spend the day shopping at the Mesilla Valley Mall, Laguna Seca Plaza or the Mesilla Plaza.

Additional opportunities for fun are offered by the Sun Lanes Bowling Alley, Tommy's Las Cruces Roller Rink, Club Fusion and the city's Allen movie theaters. A shooting range, riding stables and an auto racing speedway are also available outside of town.

Hiking and camping facilities are also accessible within a short drive. Roughly, 15 miles north of town, campers can enjoy swimming, kayaking and hiking at the Leasburg Dam State Park, open year-round. To the east of town, near San Augustin Pass, the Aguirre Springs campground offers beautiful views to those who enjoy hiking, mountain biking and outdoor cookouts. It is important to bring water, which is not available at the site.

Closer to town, the Organ Mountain Preserve offers a challenging and historical hike that reaches the ruins of a once-famous resort and a large, mysterious cave with a history of its own. The Dripping Springs resort was a well-known nineteenth century hotel that attracted notorious characters such as Pancho Villa and Sheriff Pat Garrett. Likewise, La Cueva was the unlikely home of an eccentric Italian nobleman who lived as a hermit until he died of suspicious death, probably murdered.

Outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy relaxing on the water can visit Caballo Reservoir and Elephant Butte Lake, both on the Rio Grande near the neighboring town of Truth or Consequences. Boating, bird watching, fishing and swimming are popular, year-round activities. Elephant Butte State Park also hosts an annual balloon regatta over the lake.

Abundant outdoor opportunities also abound in the sprawling Lincoln National Forest, about 100 miles northeast of Las Cruces. Hiking, camping, hunting, fishing caving, mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing and snowmobiling are just a few of the activities that draw visitors to the forest each year. Area animals include mule deer, turkey, elk and black bears. The forest's most famous black bear was the original Smokey Bear, a small, badly burned bear cub rescued after a forest fire in 1950. Smokey Bear soon became America's beloved symbol for fire prevention.

~ Source: Las-Cruces.com