What to do in New Mexico

Santa Fe Plaza is a spacious gathering point with markets, a bandstand and a park at the heart of the city. At the square’s center find an arts stage and a statue that acts as an American Indian War Memorial. Many musical performances and political events take place in the lively square. Around the plaza are restaurants, boutiques and galleries. Use the benches and tables in this tranquil, grassy haven for a picnic.

Spectacular dunes of snow-white gypsum sprawl as far as the eye can see at the White Sands National Monument. This spectacular natural landscape lays claim to being the largest gypsum dune field in the world and extends for 275 square miles (712 square kilometers) of desert.

Explore Carlsbad Caverns National Park’s underground ecosystems. Rainwater passing through soil has formed acids. These solutions dripped through native limestone, picking up minerals and then creating fascinating deposits called speleothems.

The origin of the helix-shaped staircase in the 19th-century Loretto Chapel continues to baffle historians more than a century after its construction. The Sisters of Loretto and the site’s many visitors consider the enigmatic construction of the stairs a miracle. Others offer more practical explanations. The former church, which is of Gothic Revival design, is now primarily used as a wedding chapel and a museum for the staircase.

The Taos mountain invites you to strap on your ski boots, slip into your parka, and purchase your lift tickets to spend the day exploring all 1,249 acres of terrain. Featuring 113 total marked trails, this resort is every skier and rider’s utopia as it offers beginner, intermediate, and advanced slopes.