Friday, May 25, 2012

Ruidoso New Mexico



Bonito Lake Ruidoso New Mexico
Ruidoso New Mexico

Want to escape the summer heat and humidity of the southern states?  Well, look no further than the cool mountains of southeast New Mexico.  At 7000’ Ruidoso offers it all; clean mountain air, golf, hiking and mountain biking, great shopping and restaurants, three casinos, good fishing and live racing Memorial Day through Labor Day at Ruidoso Downs race track.
If you are here during the winter season, Ski Apache offers excellent warm weather powder skiing and snowboarding.
There are many RV parks and campgrounds, B & B’s, cabins and lodges, condominiums, hotels and motels, ranging in price from economy to upper end.  We are staying at the Circle B RV Park, which is big rig friendly and offers 50amp full hookups, cable and WiFi as well as a full RV parts store and on site/mobile RV repairs.

Our site at Circle B RV Park
The history of the area is fascinating and stories abound about one of the local characters, Billy The Kid who made his presence known in the town of Lincoln which is located 35 miles northeast of Ruidoso.
Fort Stanton is another great find for history buffs and is located on Highway 220 and Billy The Kid Scenic Byway.  Fort Stanton has over 155 years of southwestern history ranging from a military garrison, an internment camp for German seaman during WWII, and as a hospital for tuberculosis patients.  The fort was used during the Civil War by both the Union and Confederate Army.  The Buffalo Soldiers, Billy The Kid, and Kit Carson also spent time at the fort.  The museum at the Fort Stanton is excellent and the docents are friendly and knowledgeable about the forts history.  During the month of July, Fort Stanton has military reenactments and historical presentations.

Check out the near by towns of Alamogordo, Capitan, Carrizozo, Cloudcroft, Lincoln, Mescalero and Ruidoso Downs all of which offer their own unique experiences and great day trips.


Ruidoso Downs has a Super Walmart which is located off of Hwy 70 and has big rig parking.  Casino Apache Travel Center and Casino off of Hwy 70 on the way to Alamogordo offers big rig parking and diesel fuel.  I have also noticed several rigs boomdocking in their large parking lot.  They have a shuttle that runs to the Inn of the Mountains Gods which offers big name entertainment, a golf course, a beautiful lake and excellent restaurants, and lodging as well as Vegas style gambling.    There is an RV park located near the casino, however, The Inn of the Mountain Gods is NOT rig friendly, park at Casino Apache and take the shuttle.
The Billy The Kid Scenic Byway Interpretive Center in Ruidoso Downs can provide you with information and maps of the local area.  Don’t forget to visit the Hubbard Museum of the American West which is located next door.
So much to do and see in the area you might have to return again and again and you can’t get much better summer weather than this!

                                          Check out the Ruidoso Web Cam               
                 www.fortstanton.org
Hiking area in Ruidoso

One of the many hikes in Ruidoso





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