Shiprock: The Sacred Monolith That Rules the Horizon
Rising 1,500 feet from the flat desert of the Navajo Nation, Shiprock is a landmark, a legend, and a place to be admired only from a respectful distance.
Section
Outdoors & Nature
Canyons, dunes, and dark skies across the wide-open Southwest.
Sleeping Under the Milky Way in the New Mexico Backcountry
There's no better way to experience New Mexico's dark skies than to camp beneath them. A guide to a night under the stars in the high desert.
The Big Empty: Finding Solitude in New Mexico's Open Country
Beyond the parks and landmarks lies the real New Mexico — vast, empty basins where the silence is total and the horizon runs on forever.
The Piñon-Juniper Woodland: New Mexico's Quiet Signature
It's not as showy as the dunes or the peaks, but the piñon-juniper woodland defines the high desert — and gives the state its unmistakable smell and taste.
The Evening Walk Into White Sands
As the crowds leave and the heat fades, an evening stroll deep into the dunes becomes a private, meditative experience. How to time the perfect sunset walk.
Hiking the Hoodoos of Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks
Cone-shaped rock formations, a narrow slot canyon, and a mesa-top view. One of New Mexico's most beloved day hikes packs wonder into a few short miles.
The Golden Hour Belongs to the Desert
When the low sun sets the high desert ablaze, ordinary scenery becomes extraordinary. A love letter to New Mexico's most magical light of the day.
The Wild Heart of Rio Grande del Norte
Where the Rio Grande has sliced an 800-foot gorge through the volcanic plateau, a national monument protects whitewater, wildlife, and staggering open space.
Life in the Dunes: The Surprising Ecology of White Sands
It looks lifeless, but the gypsum dunes of White Sands teem with specially adapted creatures — including lizards and mice that evolved to match the sand.
Why New Mexico Has Become a Stargazer's Promised Land
Low humidity, high elevation, and vast stretches with almost no light pollution make New Mexico one of the best places on Earth to look up. Here's where to go.
Cabezón Peak: The Giant's Head on the Horizon
A dramatic volcanic plug rising above the Rio Puerco valley, Cabezón is a striking landmark and a demanding scramble for adventurous hikers.
Red Rock Country: The Crimson Cliffs of the Zuni Lands
In the state's west, dramatic red sandstone cliffs rise above the high desert, sacred to the Zuni people and glowing like embers in the evening light.
Ancient Astronomers Under the Chaco Canyon Sky
A thousand years ago, the builders of Chaco aligned their great houses to the sun and moon. Today it's a dark-sky park where you can see what they saw.
Tough and Beautiful: The Desert Plants That Define New Mexico
From the state-flower yucca to the prickly pear, New Mexico's plants are masters of survival. A field guide to the flora that makes the desert bloom.
Into the Badlands: Hiking New Mexico's Otherworldly Rock Country
Eroded hoodoos, petrified wood, and landscapes that look borrowed from another planet. A guide to exploring the state's strange and beautiful badlands.
Chasing the Light Around Shiprock
The great volcanic monolith of the northwest is a photographer's obsession. A respectful guide to capturing Shiprock and the vast desert around it.
The Bat Flight: Carlsbad's Nightly Wildlife Wonder
Each summer evening, hundreds of thousands of bats spiral out of Carlsbad Caverns into the dusk. It's one of the great wildlife spectacles in North America.
The View From White Rock: Where the Rio Grande Cuts Deep
A short walk from a quiet town leads to a dramatic overlook where the Rio Grande carves through black basalt hundreds of feet below. A perfect easy adventure.