7 Most Unconventional Towns In New Mexico
The most unconventional towns in New Mexico also happen to be some of the best destinations you can explore in a state named after the Aztec god of war, Mexitli. In Silver City and Taos, you can immerse yourself in the various epochs that shaped the town and learn about the legendary figures who braved the treacherous badlands of New Mexico. In Los Alamos, you can uncover the scientific secrets that triggered the creation of one of mankind's most dangerous weapons in history. Finally, in small towns like Truth or Consequences, you can figure out why these places have unusual names or have unusual features and quirks that make them some of the most unconventional towns in New Mexico.
Silver City
Silver City is a small, Wild West-themed town that has unconventional access to the present landscapes characterizing New Mexico and to insightful periods of the past. Some of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West, like Billy the Kid, “Dangerous” Dan Tucker, Geronimo, and Judge Roy Bean, once roamed Silver City’s dusty streets. More importantly, the Mogollon people once built ancient stone houses in the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument beside the Gila River, which you can visit and explore. Silver City became popular because of the Central Mining District, one of the oldest mining areas in the US, which contains Santa Clara, Fort Bayard, and Hurley, which are historic places of interest from the violent days of the Wild West.
Though the past is long gone, the surrounding features of Silver City remain perennially beautiful destinations for trekkers and explorers to enjoy. From the Gila National Forest to the foothills of the Pinos Altos Mountains, you will not be exhausted from all the exhilarating walks through these areas. Even more adventures are in store at both the City of Rocks State Park and the Mimbres Valley of the Chihuahuan Desert. However, if you do get exhausted from all the tours into the past and the present, you can always recharge at either the Serenity House, Palace Hotel, or LuLu Hotel Silver City.
Truth or Consequences
Believe it or not, there is a town in New Mexico with an unconventional name: Truth or Consequences. Even weirder is the unconventional origins of the town’s honest and consequential name. Originally called Hot Springs, the town soon changed its name when a popular quiz show called "Truth or Consequences," hosted by Ralph Edwards, became live in the 1900s. For years, Truth or Consequences thrived as a wellness tourism site renowned for its hot springs, which the town was originally named after.
Even now, Truth or Consequences continues to attract hundreds of tourists due to the appealing recreational areas around places like Elephant Butte Lake and Caballo Lake. Although the name itself is an unconventional feature, Truth or Consequences also has the world's first commercial spaceport called Spaceport America. This unusual industry promotes tourism in space and is dedicated to researching and developing technologies that will one day allow people to explore Earth's orbit. There are many weird and unorthodox things to find in Truth or Consequences, although you will not be bothered by these strange attractions in simplistic lodgings like the Rocket Inn or Sierra Grande Lodge & Spa.
Taos
Nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains lies the strange and wonderful small town of Taos. It is home to the Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site over thousands of years old, and contains a multistory adobe complex once home to the Native Americans of New Mexico. Furthermore, Taos is home to a longtime artist colony whose historic masterpieces you can tour in places like the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House, a former dwelling place of a Russian artist named Nicolai Fechin. The Hacienda de Los Martinez Museum, meanwhile, is a hacienda-style gallery that showcases the Spanish colonial era that was prevalent in Taos.
Those with an affinity for adventure can traverse the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, the fifth-highest bridge in the US, hovering over the Rio Grande River and which leads to scenic destinations like the Carson National Forest and Río Grande del Norte National Monument. Moreover, Taos is one of the few spots in the hot deserts of Mexico where you can go skiing, particularly in the world-class snow resort of the Taos Ski Valley. Only about 70 miles from the city of Santa Fe, Taos endures as one of the most pleasant and delightful small towns in New Mexico, which you can visit once you book a room at either the Historic Taos Inn, the Old Taos Guesthouse, or El Pueblo Lodge.
Las Vegas
Strangely enough, New Mexico has a small town that shares its name unconventionally with Las Vegas in Nevada. Although the small town of Las Vegas beside the Santa Fe Trail lacks the gambling casinos of Sin City, this unconventional small town about 77 miles away from Taos nevertheless is renowned for its "landmarks, legends and lore." For example, there are the legends of the Rough Riders, around 21 men from Las Vegas and other small towns in New Mexico whom President Theodore Roosevelt recruited for the Spanish-American War. The Rough Rider Memorial Collection chronicles each of the Rough Riders who volunteered in the wartime job.
In terms of landmarks, Las Vegas has a handful, as seen in the Fort Union National Monument, formerly a headquarters for General Stephen Kearny during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. Landmarks, legends, and lore are all in store in the unorthodox town of Las Vegas, so consider spending your weekend or summer vacation in one of the town's quaint abodes like the Historic Plaza Hotel, the Castaneda Hotel, or the Historic El Fidel Hotel.
Los Alamos
Los Alamos may seem like an ordinary town approximately 33 miles from the city of Santa Fe, but this desert destination was where Robert J. Oppenheimer and his team of scientists invented the nuclear bomb. The clandestine operations of the Manhattan Project needed to be in a discreet and somewhat unknown location during World War II, and Los Alamos was an ideal location to birth the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos National Laboratory elaborate on the struggles, the science, and the successes Oppenheimer and his team underwent to create the first nuke in history.
Although the landscapes outside Los Alamos were the testing sites for the atomic bomb, visitors need not worry about radiation. In fact, scenic areas like the Valles Caldera National Preserve and the Santa Fe National Forest continue to be enchanting and vibrant regions for you to gallivant around. Additionally, Los Alamos was formerly a settlement for Native Americans, as evidenced by pre-Columbian petroglyphs and artifacts found at the Bandelier National Monument. Whether for the history or the outdoors, Los Alamos will enlighten newcomers with its unconventional moments in the past. In any case, you can always book a room in places like the Canyon Inn for a more comfortable vacation in Los Alamos.
Aztec
The small town of Aztec is undoubtedly an unconventional town due to two distinct and disparate cultures prevalent in the area. Naturally, there are associations with the enigmatic cultures of the Anasazi, the Ancient Ones, of New Mexico, which you can find in the 11th-century Puebloan ruins at the Aztec Ruins National Monument. However, Aztec culture is also associated with the riveting cultures of Ireland, which you can see and experience during the annual Highland Games and Celtic Music Festival, which takes place on the first weekend of October. This town close to the southern state border of Colorado is certainly a town of parallels and paradoxes.
Mainly, Aztec is predominantly a historic small town not only because of the Anasazi but because of other Native American ruins like the Great House in the Chaco Canyon, a 900-year-old home with over 400 masonry rooms containing North America’s largest constructed great kiva. The outdoors are equally delightful destinations that tourists all over can enjoy, as seen in areas like the Animas River Walk, the Alien Run, and the Navajo Lake State Park.
Chimayo
Pilgrimages are sacred journeys to sacred destinations, and the small town of Chimayo is one of the most holy, if not unconventional, pilgrimage sites in the US. Located halfway between Los Alamos and Taos, Chimayo, or Tsi-Mayoh, was once a spiritual gathering place for the Tewa Native Americans in the hills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. When missionaries from Spain built a Catholic town in 1813, Chimayo soon developed into a community that many say is "no doubt the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States."
Each year, over 300,000 Catholic worshippers flock to both the Shrine of Santa Nino de Atocha and the Santuario de Chimayo to pray their woes away. Even during World War II, the US soldiers who survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines once came to Chimayo to relieve themselves of the horrors of war. The Chimayo Museum explains much of the founding history and individuals who made Chimayo a sacred spot. Finally, amicable establishments like the Casa Escondida Bed & Breakfast are one of the many refreshing reasons that will make you stay a long while in Chimayo.
Even though many tourists might prefer to see the weird UFO attractions in Roswell or the International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, the most unconventional towns in New Mexico are places of interest that you should definitely visit. Between the memorable histories and cultural influences to be found in places like Chimayo and Los Alamos, as well as quaint and humble retreats like Las Vegas and Aztec, these small towns in New Mexico offer a motley of strange and spectacular attractions for you to experience. Visitors from all over will certainly not be disappointed by the most unconventional small towns in New Mexico.
