Things to do in Las Cruces New Mexico

If you only have time for the highlights, the best things to do in Las Cruces, New Mexico are chasing sunset over the gypsum dunes at White Sands National Park, touring the launch site at Spaceport America, wandering the adobe streets of Old Mesilla, birdwatching at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, and stocking up on world-famous Hatch chile. Keep reading for the full list, plus tips on timing your visit and getting around.

Las Cruces is the second-largest city in New Mexico, and it offers a little bit of everything for travelers. Activities vary from outdoor adventures to historic landmarks, museums, shopping centers, and more! For such a small town, the area around Las Cruces, New Mexico, is packed with things to do.

We spent one week in the area and found it almost like an onion; we kept peeling back great things to visit. Here are the highlights of places to go and activities in and around Las Cruces that I think are noteworthy.

What's new: This guide was refreshed in September 2026 with current hours and fees, a couple of corrected place names, and a brand-new section on touring Spaceport America, one of the most distinctive things to do anywhere near Las Cruces.

Visit White Sands National Park

Just an hour outside of Las Cruces you'll find the beautiful dunes of White Sands National Park (it was redesignated from a national monument back in 2019). It is an astonishing place of 275 square miles. When you walk through the sands it is as thick as snow in some spots, and while it is very cool to the touch, you won't get wet sloshing through it.

Given Mr. Misadventures' proclivity for sunrise and sunset shots, we were a little disappointed that the park doesn't open until after sunrise and closes at sunset.

There are very few activities in the winter given that it is so cold, but there is tons to do during the other seasons. Of course, there is always sledding, and who can complain about that! I did it as a child many decades ago and would have loved the opportunity to do it again if only I had a sled!

Good to know before you go: the park is open daily year-round except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, though exact gate hours shift with the seasons, so it's worth checking the current schedule before you drive out. Entrance runs $25 per vehicle (or $15 per person if you're on foot or bike), and that pass covers you for seven days.

Tour Spaceport America

One of the newest additions to any Las Cruces itinerary is a tour of Spaceport America, the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport and Virgin Galactic's home base. The site itself sits roughly fifty miles north of town, but you don't have to drive yourself; the tour departs right from Las Cruces.

Guided tours run about four hours total, including drive time, with roughly two hours spent on site. You'll get into mission control, drive out onto the 12,500-foot runway, and see the spacecraft and hangar facilities up close. Tours currently depart from the Visit Las Cruces visitor center on Main Street on Fridays (there's also a Saturday departure from Truth or Consequences), so book ahead since each location only runs once a week. Tickets run about $50 for adults and $30 for kids 12 and under.

If you're even a little bit into space, this is one of the most genuinely unique things to do in the entire state, not just Las Cruces.

Birdwatch at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

To be fair, the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is two hours away from Las Cruces, but it makes a fabulous day trip. I have never seen so many birds! You can observe them in multiple areas along a 12-mile loop. Trails and platforms make bird-watching easy and unobtrusive.

There are huge flocks of cranes, herons, and geese – in the morning, they swarm the sky; it's incredible to see!

If you're planning around the birds, late fall through winter is peak season for the crane and goose migrations, and dawn and dusk are the best times to catch them in motion. The refuge lands are open one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset daily, and a day vehicle pass runs $5.

I loved it so much I went back for more; you can read about that return trip here: Bosque del Apache Redux.

Travel tip: Make sure you have a full tank of gas before heading out to the park; there are practically no gas stations, especially if you take the US-54/US-380 route.

Visit Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument

As a protected monument, the Organ Mountains have been protected since 2014, but wow, are they spectacular. We spent time in various spots for sunrise and sunset in this area of Mesilla Valley, part of the Chihuahua Desert. Several moderate hikes offer views of the five mountains that make up the national monument: Robledo Mountains, Sierra de las Uvas, Doña Ana Mountains, Organ Mountains, and the Potrillo Mountains.

The colors are gorgeous with rich greens and deep browns, especially when the sun hits them. I bet it is spectacular in the spring when the cacti are blooming.

If you want trail maps or more hiking info before you head out, the Dripping Springs Visitor Center is open year round, except winter holidays, from 8am to 5pm.

Check out the Chiles in Hatch

The chiles grown in the Hatch Valley are world-famous for their taste and quality. The chile is the state vegetable for New Mexico, and you may have heard “Red or Green?” which is the official New Mexico state question. Hatch offers both. The town is small, but there are plenty of stores/stands where you can buy all kinds of chile products.

I spoke with a farmer at the Hatch Chile Market to get the scoop on all things chile, and she also recommended Sparky's as the best place to try a green chile cheeseburger; plus, they have delicious BBQ as well. If nothing else, they are very fun to visit, they have tons of retro signs and memorabilia in and around the store, we saw some very cool stuff!

Good to know: Sparky's is open Thursday through Sunday, 10:30am to 5:30pm, and closed Monday through Wednesday, so plan your chile run accordingly.

Travel tip: If you take NM-185 back to Las Cruces, you will see tons of pecan trees and can buy some, too.

Visit Old Mesilla

Mesilla is a tiny town with a long history situated right next to Las Cruces. It was literally 3 minutes away from the RV park we stayed in. Mesilla was the last Mexican town to be taken over by the US after years of back-and-forth. It's got deep cowboy history with visits from Billy the Kid, Pancho Villa, and more, probably because it was at the crossroads of two stagecoach routes (robbery, anyone…), and it was known for its cantinas and festivals, nothing cowboys like better.

During the Civil War, it was both Confederate and Yankee, which must have made for some real identity crisis!

Today it is a quaint town with excellent food (we ate at two restaurants there) and cute shops. The plaza is a national historic landmark, and when we visited, it was full of people, probably because it was Ash Wednesday and the Catholic Church faces onto the square.

There are still a lot of adobe-style buildings and homes, definitely worth walking around and checking out.

Bonus: Valley of Fires

If you drive from White Sands to the Bosque del Apache Refuge on US-54, you will drive through the Valley of Fires (not to be confused with the Valley of Fire near Las Vegas), one of the youngest and best-preserved lava fields in the US. It is also known as Carrizozo Malpais, but it's not very well known.

There is a visitor center and picnic areas (camping too), and we stopped for lunch and a quick walk around, but we didn't have time for further exploration. Definitely, something to return for.

It's a $5 day-use fee per vehicle, and it's open year-round. If you've got extra time, Ruidoso is less than an hour further down the road and worth the detour, here's what we got up to there: Explore Ruidoso New Mexico.

Best Time to Visit Las Cruces

Spring (April and May) and fall (October and November) are the sweet spot, with highs generally in the mid 60s to mid 70s and none of the desert's extreme heat. Summers run hot, with June through August regularly climbing into the mid 90s, so if you're chasing time outdoors at White Sands or the Organ Mountains, plan for early mornings or evenings. Winters are mild during the day but chilly overnight, and it's also the best window for the crane and goose migrations out at Bosque del Apache.

Getting Around Las Cruces

You'll want a car for this trip. Most of what's covered here, White Sands, Bosque del Apache, Hatch, Spaceport America, and the Valley of Fires, sits anywhere from forty minutes to two hours outside of town, and none of it is reachable by public transit. Las Cruces has a local bus system, RoadRUNNER Transit, which covers the city itself, but it won't get you to the attractions that make the area worth visiting in the first place.

More things to do in Las Cruces

We explored a lot but certainly didn't get to everything; here are additional things to do in Las Cruces that we will check out on our next visit!

Parks, Monuments, and Nature

• Fort Seldon State Monument
• White Sands National Park
• Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park
• Dripping Springs Natural Area
• Prehistoric Trackways National Monument
• Soledad Canyon Day Use Area
• (Hiking at) Lake Valley Historic Townsite
• Corralitos Trail Rides

Museums

• Railroad Museum
• Las Cruces Museum of Art
• New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum
• Museum of Nature and Science
• The Zuhl Museum

Markets, Food & Wine

• Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market
• La Vina Winery
• Rio Grande Vineyards and Winery
• Amaro Winery
• Double Eagle Restaurant (If you love exploring haunted buildings!)

Cultural Fun

• Fountain Theater
• Rio Grande Theatre
• Art Obscura
• Branigan Cultural Center
• No Strings Theatre Company (puppets!)
• Southern New Mexico Speedway
• Basilica of San Albino

Insta-worthy

• Las Cruces Water Tank Murals
• Recycled Roadrunner Sculpture

Frequently Asked Questions

How about you? Did any of my five things to do interest you? Have you been to Las Cruces and done these or other activities? Do you think you want to visit in the future? Do tell!

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