Ski Apache slopes on Sierra Blanca above Ruidoso

Ten drives worth taking.

Ruidoso keeps its calendar full in every season, in town and up the mountain.

Shops and restaurants along a Midtown Ruidoso street

Midtown Ruidoso

In town

Galleries, shops and restaurants along Sudderth Drive, close enough for an easy dinner run.

Grindstone Lake

5 to 10 min

Trails around the water, a swim beach, the Wibit course in summer and stocked fishing.

Grindstone Lake surrounded by pine forest
Horses racing down the track at Ruidoso Downs

Ruidoso Downs

About 6 min

Summer race meet from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the All American Futurity every Labor Day and a year-round casino.

Inn of the Mountain Gods

10 to 15 min

Casino, golf and the lake sitting directly below Sierra Blanca.

The lake at Inn of the Mountain Gods below Sierra Blanca
Red wine being poured into a Noisy Water Winery glass

Noisy Water Winery

15 to 20 min

Local wines and a patio in Alto.

Screaming Eagle Mountain Coaster

15 to 20 min

Five thousand one hundred feet of track with a 360-degree helix at up to 25 MPH, from $25 a ride. Drivers must be at least 9 years old and 52 inches tall.

The mountain coaster track winding through pines at Ruidoso Winter Park
The Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts in Alto

Spencer Theater

20 to 25 min

Performing arts in Alto.

Smokey Bear Historical Park

20 to 25 min

Capitan is the real bear's hometown, an easy drive down the hill.

Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico
Ski Apache slopes on Sierra Blanca

Ski Apache

25 to 40 min

Fifty-five runs and a gondola climbing toward 11,400 feet.

Lincoln

35 to 45 min

Billy the Kid country, with a preserved 1800s main street.

The preserved 1800s main street of Lincoln, New Mexico

Base camp is the easy part.

Every one of these drives starts and ends at your site on the terrace. Call the office and we will hold one for you.