Hike Falls Trail
The trailhead to Falls Trail sits at the end of Backpacker’s Parking Lot, near the visitor center. A 3-mile out-and-back hike, the trail descends 400 vertical feet to Upper Falls. The trail is beautiful year-round, but if you want to see the falls in action, consider visiting mid-spring when the snowmelt is at its peak. However, if the region is in a drought, there might not be any water.
Falls Trail is a great way to experience the geologic history of the Bandelier area and see layers of volcanic rock and tuff. There are steep drop-offs, and plank bridges across the creek,. Visit the Tsankawi section of Bandelier
After lunch, drive to the Tsankawi section of Bandelier National Monument, located 12 miles away. Tsankawi was home to Ancestral Puebloans during the 1400s and 1500s, Hike the Tsankawi Loop Trail, a 1.5-mile hike along the mesa, where you’ll walk carved ancient paths, view cavities, and spot petroglyphs along the rock walls. 
You’ll need to be able to climb ladders, and the path narrows in certain spots. The trail is exposed, providing little shade or protection from the elements. Similar to the Pueblo Loop Trail, a trail guide is available for purchase; or you can access the guide virtually. Depending on your speed and maneuverability, plan to spend 1 to 3 hours here. 
History buffs will want to visit the town of Los Alamos on their way to Tsankawi from Frijoles Canyon.
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Start your visit at the Los Alamos Visitor Center, where a volunteer will direct you to different sites within the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The visitor center is only open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday to Monday. If it’s closed, NPS has a map that you can use to walk around town.Where to stay
If you’re looking to stay nearby, your best bet is to camp at the Juniper Family Campground located within Bandelier National Monument. Other campgrounds in the area include the American Spring Dispersed Camping sites in the Santa Fe National Forest and Riana Campground in Gallina, New Mexico.
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Bandelier National Monument is open year-round from dawn to dusk. The visitor center, park store, and restaurant are open daily during regular business hours. Check for closures due to fire or snow before visiting. Valid entrance passes ($15 to $25) are required and can be purchased on Recreation.gov.
Cox Canyon Arch just North of Aztec, NM. climb a steep trail and scale 2 15 ft. rock ledges to get there.

Spectacular Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains national parks. Use the town of Carlsbad, N.M., as your base to explore Carlsbad Caverns just 18 miles away, as well as Guadalupe Mountains National Park, 40 miles across the New Mexico-Texas border.
White Sands National Park – Just 50 miles Northeast of Las Cruces, explore the otherworldly beautiful miles of sparkling white gypsum sand dunes at one of the Nation’s newest national park—perfect for hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, picnicking and sledding. Trails are dog-friendly and entrance fees are $25/vehicle, $15/person if only one adult (16+) in vehicle, $20/motorcycle and $45 for an annual pass. A free day-use permit is required for horses. In the middle of March next year. I want to get in to capture the blue hour and sunrise. Sunrise will be at 7:18 that day. i would like to be in the park by 6 or so but the gates don't open until 7.
it is a $50 per hour (or any fraction thereof) fee to get the permit. I find that the best color starts about 45 minutes or so before the actual rise. I like to be at my spot 1 hour before sunrise (which is why I do photoshoots mostly without my wife. She doesm't want to sit around for an hour or more waiting on the light).
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument – Explore the Ridgeline, Discovery, and SST trails with options for intermediate to moderately skilled hikers and mountain bikers. Trails are dog-friendly and free. Some OHV-friendly trails as well. In the Robledo Mountains a few miles northwest of Las Cruces.
Bar Canyon/Soledad Canyon – Hike, ride horses, observe wildlife, and take in the stunning views of the Organ Mountains and the Southern Mesilla Valley on a variety of trails, ranging in difficulty from beginner to experienced. Trails are fee free.
Tortugas “A” Mountain – A quick three miles from New Mexico State University, “A” Mountain features a beginning hiking trail and an advanced mountain biking trail that are free and easily and quickly accessible from town.
Aguirre Springs – Hike a variety of trails ranging from beginning to experienced, camp, enjoy picnics, and observe wildlife at the Aguirre Spring Campground on the east side of the Organ Mountains. Fees are $5/vehicle and $15/bus; camping is $7/campsite.
Baylor Canyon – For moderately skilled hikers, Baylor Canyon offers two hikes—a 2.5-mile out and back trail or a 6-mile trail across the pass leading to Aguirre Springs for camping and picnicking. Trails are dog-friendly and fee free.
Dripping Springs – Beginning hikers will love the four miles of leisurely hiking trails at Dripping Springs. Enjoy Dripping Springs Trail to take in the desert vegetation and piñon-juniper and oak woodlands, as well as a plethora of local wildlife. $5/vehicle, $15/bus.
Sierra Vista Trail – Experienced to advanced hikers and bikers will enjoy the scenic views of the mountains and the Rio Grande Valley on the extensive, fee-free Sierra Vista Trail. Complete the trail to connect with Franklin Mountain State Park.
Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park – Enjoy 2.5 miles of trails ranging from beginner to intermediate, as well as bird watching and sightseeing along the Rio Grande. Dogs are allowed if leashed, and the entrance fee is $5 (fee is waived if you bicycle in). Currently only open to NM Residents.
Doña Ana Mountains – Featuring 15 miles of mountain biking trails, 7 miles of horseback trails and a variety of hiking trails ranging in difficulty levels from beginner to
Dripping Springs Trail in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument
the Doña Ana Mountains are located five miles to the north of Las Cruces and have no entrance fee.
Kilborne Hole – Located in Southern Doña Ana County and a National Natural Landmark, Kilborne Hole offers the chance to explore the remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption. Trails range in difficulty from beginner to experienced.
Picacho Peak – With options for skill levels from beginning to experienced, Picacho Peak is 7 miles west of Downtown Las Cruces and offers hiking, biking and equestrian trails without a fee.
Slot Canyon – While you will need a state recreational access permit to hike Slot Canyon, these intermediate to moderate dog-friendly hiking trails offer incredible views and chances to spot wildlife.
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in Las Cruces, New Mexico
This is one of the newest additions to the national monument family, established in May 2014 by former President Barack Obama (and jeopardized by President Trump’s executive order). The designation covers the Organ Mountains, the Dona Ana Mountains, the Sierra de las Uvas Mountains Complex, and the Greater Potrillo Mountains. The jagged ranges rise like razor teeth over Las Cruces, making them viewable from almost anywhere in the city. Sunset is an especially good time to look, when the rocky faces take on unreal pink, purple, and blue blazes.
For a full list of hikes, visit https://www.lascrucescvb.org/explore/hiking/.
Slaughter Canyon Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National ParkOnce part of a reef in an inland sea, Carlsbad Caverns has more than 119 limestone caves, including the Big Room, which is as large as six football fields. While its disputed whether White was the first Anglo to enter the caves, one thing is clear: this national park is stunning. And the good news is unlike White’s days where people were lowered into the caves in guano buckets, there are elevators and stairs to access the caves today.
At Guadalupe Mountains National Park, you'll find a rich palette of landscapes from pink blooming desert cacti to striking peaks, including the highest four peaks in Texas. Head to Pine Springs Visitor Center before choosing a trail to hike. For a challenge, gain 3,000 feet of elevation on the 8.5-mile, round-trip hike to the top of the 8,751-feet-high Guadalupe Peak. 
Or take Devil’s Hall Trail for a moderate 3.8-mile out-and-back path through steep canyon walls and past toweringtrees. For something short and easy-to-moderate, take the 2.3-mile Smith Spring Loop, which leads you to the verdant oasis of Smith Spring.The adventurous will want to venture out to Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area an hour outside Carlsbad. Here, a majestic 150-foot waterfall plummets into natural pools, creating the perfect swimming holes in the middle of the desert. The scenic 100-mile Guadalupe Ridge Trail goes through Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area, providing the perfect opportunity for day hiking or longer backpacking trips. This desert trail takes you through both Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park on the full 100-mile excursion.
The directions are on a couple, well at least one, of websites under Lybrook Badlands. The key is to read the directions carefully. One says x miles or keep going past an oil and gas site. The mileage is PAST the site and there are several along the way. The to which it refers is on the right and a large one. Best direction I can give is to take the road number to the left just past the turnoff to Chaco as indicated in the directions. Keep going on that road until it looks like it ends. The road keeps going but it is very bad. Don't go on. There is a large parking area and large oil and gas works on your left and a road to the left. The road you are on, takes a sharp turn to the right and up a hill. Don't go there. Park at the oil and gas works on the left, or depending on your vehicle, you can drive a ways on the road to the left. There is a hoodoo visible in the distance. It is about a mile hike on the road to the left to the first hoodoos if you park in the parking area.

The Catwalk, Glenwood, NM Once part of a mining operation in the late 1800s, Whitewater Canyon was used to transport the gold and silver discovered in the mountains towering over it to a mill near what is now the town of Glenwood. Since the canyon is deep and narrow and Whitewater Creek has a tendency to rush madly when it is high, a system of bridges and catwalks were used to keep foot traffic well above the water. In the 1930s, the CCC rebuilt the walkways and suspension bridges so that people could hike up the canyon safely and connect with the wilderness trail system beyond this spectacular stretch. In April of 2014 a good friend and I just HAD to see Whitewater Canyon. Signs everywhere reminded us that the trail was closed, since it was gone, and for good measure chain link had been stretched across the canyon in a very thorough fashion. Somehow we found ourselves on the other side of it, and we took a tour. At the end of this set I've included a few shots from that day. They're crummy, but they give a good sense of raging water's power

In the intervening years the Catwalk trail has been partially, and beautifully, restored. You can only go so far before signs and barricades discourage you from continuing on, and if you did continue on you'd find the trail, high along a steep slope at that point, obliterated by a rockslide. The other choice is to continue on up the creek at its level, and people do, but it's kind of tough going.
As a 100% Dine' owned company, Navajo Tours USA offers interpertive tour guiding with Dine' guides.. Walk amonust, and learn about, the thousands of naturally sculpted toadstools, mushrooms, tent rocks, and spires at the Bisti/De-Na-Zin /Wilderness. Learn how to the Ancestral Puebloans practiced archeoastronomy by alighning architectural works to solar and lunar cycles at Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
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What started as a humble tribute from a son to his father, this giant pistachio has turned into quite the tourist destination. At McGinn’s PistachioLand in Alamogordo, you can feast your eyes on the World’s Largest Pistachio before treating yourself to PistachioLand’s delicious pistachios and pistachio-flavored treats.