Ruidoso vs Cloudcroft in Summer?

8,763 Views | 16 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by jamesf
jpb1999
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AG
We are looking to take the kids (4 and 6 year old boys) to New Mexico to get their first experience with mountains and get away from the Texas heat. Only time I have been to NM was to go skiing in Taos about 20 years ago, so really know nothing about these places. We are wanting to stay in a house/cabin with a nice view and to be able to hike from the house or at least have some nearby easy hiking for the kids. Probably mid/late June.

We are driving, so the I am trying to find the closest available mountains. Might stop at or visit either Carlsbad caverns or Roswell as well?

Is one better than the others as far scenery or activities? Would rather stay in a less crowded place, but don't mind some "crowds". Any other place around the same driving distance better than these 2? We would be driving from the Temple/Belton area, and it is showing about 9.5 hours.

Anything else cool in the area to do with kids? Any lakes or rivers to hike to or fish? I am a little worried about doing anything to intense with the 4.5 year old.

TIA!
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Spane Bohem


CanyonAg77
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Quote:

I am trying to find the closest available mountains
Starting from where?
jpb1999
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CanyonAg77 said:

Quote:

I am trying to find the closest available mountains
Starting from where?


From Temple / Belton area.
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Spane Bohem


CanyonAg77
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First, sorry. I could have sworn I read your post carefully, and no starting point was mentioned.

Massive fail on my part.

I asked because my experience is more in northern NM, and I was curious exactly how much different the travel times would be. And yes, you probably don't want to add 340 miles to the round trip by going to Red River, instead.

What little I've been in Ruiodoso it seems like a mess in the summer with traffic and people, but so is any resort. It's close to Lubbock, so expect to be overrun by Techsters. But massive crowds usually mean there are a lot of activities.

Cloudcroft is definitely smaller and more laid back. There is an observatory nearby (Sunspot) that might be open for tours. Down in Alamogordo is a Space Museum the kids might like. If you catch a cool day, spend a little time at White Sands, but it is generally brutal in the summer. The WS Rocket Museum is way off on the other side of the Sands, unfortunately.

Carlsbad is spectacular, your 4-year-old might be just on the edge of being able to enjoy it. I think he could handle it, but it is a long tour, so judge for yourself. The evening bat flight is worth watching.

There's a cool area at Sitting Bull Falls, it's about an hour's drive from the caverns.

Roswell.....meh. If you want to stop for the fun of it and laugh at the UFO Museums, it's a little bit of kitschy fun, but don't expect anything great.

I'm a history nut, so I love visiting Lincoln (Billy the Kid) but I'm not sure kids would get it at that age.


Again, sorry for the reading comprehension fail.
Al Bula
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With kids -> Ruidoso
For mom and dad alone -> The Lodge in Cloudcroft

Grew up going to ruidoso. The billy the kid and Smokey Bear/Lincoln National Forest are all easy day trips from Ruidoso. Carlsbad and white sands might be more like you do one driving there and one on the way back to texas.
jpb1999
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Kings Palace Tour

So if we book a tour like above, would this avoid the long lines, etc.? I think I read on here a while back that the lines to the elevators, etc. can be really long in the summer?

Not sure even doable, but I would want to leave really early, like 5 AM, and get to the caverns around noon (google maps is saying 7.5 to 8 hours?) with the time change, for the last tour at 1:30 PM? Is that too much for the kids? I would want to do it on the way, so then we wouldn't have to stay the night in carlsbad or drive 2 hours (or whatever it is) back from Cloudcroft.

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Spane Bohem


jpb1999
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Shife said:

With kids -> Ruidoso
For mom and dad alone -> The Lodge in Cloudcroft

Grew up going to ruidoso. The billy the kid and Smokey Bear/Lincoln National Forest are all easy day trips from Ruidoso. Carlsbad and white sands might be more like you do one driving there and one on the way back to texas.
Why Ruidoso with kids? Just more activities.. like what? Are the trails/hiking more kid friendly there?

I like the idea of Cloudcroft being higher and cooler than Ruidoso, but may not be a big deal...?

Thanks for the advice!

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Spane Bohem


CanyonAg77
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Sorry, been a long time since I've been there. Best to follow folks with more recent experience. I kind of like the other guy's suggestion, instead of trying to do the Caverns at the end of a road trip, do it on the way back. Get up early and beat the crowds. Then maybe drive back to Abilene or something rather than the Caverns and the drive in one day.
jammer262
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Ruidoso has far more lodging options and more to do with the kiddos. There are go karts, mini-golf, horseback riding. We enjoy going up to the ski area and taking the gondola to the top and hiking around. They are only an hour apart and the drive between the two is gorgeous, so a day trip to Cloudcroft is perfect, and from there it's a quick hop down to Whitesands. Go an hour before they close to avoid the heat.

There are several neat towns to explore north of Ruidoso as well. Get to the caverns as early as you can. The lines for the elevator do get long at the bottom (only 2 are working), but it's not that big of a deal really. The hotel rates in Carlsbad and the surrounding area are really high, expect $200+ for a days inn type place. Plan that part of your trip accordingly. Avoid the Hwy 285 from Pecos to Carlsbad at all cost. The road from Andrews-Jal-Carlsbad is a much better option, and it's a bit out of the way but the hwy to Hobbs is divided the whole way. Truthfully, I would hit the Caverns on the way back and miss the madness of the Permian Basin.

You will see more Texas license plates than New Mexico plates in that part of the state. At one point in the 90's the Lubbock paper outsold the Albuquerque paper 2 to 1 in Ruidoso. We really enjoy going there, the likelihood your kids get to see a live bear is 100% if you stay in the upper canyon.
jpb1999
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Really appreciate it!

Where is the upper canyon?
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Spane Bohem


SW AG80
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The Upper Canyon is part of Ruidoso. It is where you can rent cabins that are on or close to the Ruidoso River. Really more of a creek. It is scenic in that area. Still very close to town and restaurants. I grew up going to Ruidoso too. Love going there still. There is little to nothing to do in Cloudcroft.
Pro Ag
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In addition to the activities mentioned above your boys might like the horse races or https://flyingjranch.com.
aggiedata
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One more vote for Ruidoso. Drive over to Cloudcroft for the day to visit. As a kid, that was all I needed. There not that much to do fun wise then and still just a small town.

At least there was putt putt and go carts in Ruidoso.
JLB93
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I've been going to Cloudcroft for over 40 years. My kids are all grown now, but they always loved it. It's smaller and a good bit higher (cooler.) It's also cheaper for lodging. There is lots of hiking trails in the area that are kid friendly. It is also centrally located, and we always take day trips to both Ruidoso and Alamogordo (White Sands.) It is a very scenic drive from Cloudcroft to both places.
nosoupforyou
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if you do Ruidoso, I have 2 amazing hikes that I can share details for you - we took the kids when they were your kids ages - if you do it, print this out and take it with you - I've done them both several times - it's so great! Towers Hike is so memorable

  • South Fork Hike -moderate/ easy hike You will cross over a creek twice and end up in a beautiful meadow good hike to take the kids on takes about 90-120 minutes round trip, longer if you enjoy it, take pictures, etc. Don't miss this one!
    • Take Hwy 48 and go right onto Hwy 37.
    • Go 1 mile on Hwy 37 and turn left at the Bonita Lake sign.
    • Go 4.9 miles around and slightly past the lake. Turn left at the South Fork Sign which takes you onto National Park land
    • Go straight until you end up in a small parking lot. Park. Walk straight to beginning of trail (there are signs/trail maps). If you hike in the summer, you will be able to go through the gate to the campground and park you do not have to pay unless you're staying the night.
    • We let the kids hike IN the creek starting at the first crossing and all the way to the 2nd creek crossing and even a little farther they LOVED it.
    • Once you start hiking, after the 2nd creek crossing, take the high trail when it splits. After about 10 minutes, will come to alpine meadow. Stop. Enjoy. Total time to meadow & back about 1.5 hours. You could continue on if you want.

  • Towers Hike -strenuous hike with multiple steep terrains and high altitude- amazing hike you don't want to miss, but it's not for everyone. Make sure each person on the hike has their own water and closed toe shoes.
    • Google Buck Mountain, Alto, NM to find the spot -
    • Take Hwy 48 south towards Ruidoso. When you see the Shell Gas Station on the right, take that road, Ski Run Road to the right toward Ski Apache.
    • Go up, around, winding, up the mountain pay attention to the mile markers. When you get almost to the top, but before Ski Apache, you will see Mile Marker 10. Just before you would get to Mile Marker 11 and a sign that says Buck Mountain, on your right is a side dirt road you will take go up that road for 50 feet and park just outside the gate. It's fine.. park and start walking.
    • Walk under the gate and start hiking along the road for 5 minutes, then the forest clears on the right and there is a telephone pole (a bit farther is the Ski Resort down the mountain on your left). Look right and start hiking up the mountain at that spot and go straight up until you get to the top. Then you will hike left towards the towers. On your way you will see the first rock 'altar' we built by plling up a bunch of rocks. Just before you get to the towers final summit, there's a great hill to stop where you will find the 2nd rock piler -take a break, enjoy some wine/cheese from this spot. Then head on up all the way to the tower we made a 3rd rock pile in front of the tower that you may find and add a stone to it... kinda fun to say 'we were here!". It takes about an hour to hike to the towers with a break or two included.
    • When you hike down, you can come down below the towers across a field of stones be careful and you can hike right down those stones until you get back to the dirt road. Go for it! When you get to the dirt road, walk along that road to the left until you end up at the same spot that you hiked up the mountain, but instead keep walking down that road 5 minutes back to your car. Takes about 20-30 minutes to hike back down the mountain.

jpb1999
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Great info, thanks!

So did your kids do the Tower hike? Can a 4 and 6 year old manage?

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Spane Bohem


nosoupforyou
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they would love it - even if you decide not to make the last part of the trek up the hills to the actual towers, the different terrains and views are just so great.. just take breaks and let them explore

walking down the stones is the memory they won't forget - just hold hands for stability - it's not steep but they move a little - it's really fun/different.. we have done this hike 5-6 times now ..

the one time it was scary was when we went in the winter and it was super windy - that was too much - but in the summer when it's sunny and nice, it's the best (and not too long)

have fun putting down stones in a pile - if ours is still there, that'd be fun to see
jamesf
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We went to Cloudcroft two years ago with a six year old, a three year old, and a baby. It was a very nice, relaxing vacation. With kids that age, we focused on doing one "big" thing per day and had lots of downtime. Some activities we did:

  • Hiking in the National Forest
  • Sacramento Mountains Museum (pretty cute outdoor museum in Cloudcroft with a bunch of old buildings)
  • Went to White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo and slid down the sand dunes
  • Visited the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo
  • Went to Carlsbad Caverns on the way home
  • There are several fairly decent parks/playgrounds in Cloudcroft
  • We went to a melodrama play that the community theater was putting on
  • Downtown area is pretty cool to walk around and they also have several restaurants
  • Some of the best barbecue I have ever had was at Mad Jack's Mountain Barbeque in Cloudcroft. It is owned by a guy from Lockhart who moved here to open a barbecue restaurant. I think he imports his meat and even his wood from Texas.

Ruidoso is only an hour away, so you can always visit there, although we never made it during our trip. The only downside to Cloudcroft was that it was so small that the closest thing to a grocery store was Family Dollar. If you wanted a real grocery store you would have to drive to Walmart in Alamogordo (20-30 minutes).
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