Local Tours in South Central New Mexico
Here you’ll find New Mexico tours for every adventure. Let an expert guide show you our main attractions and hidden treasures! Raft this Rio Grande or climb our desert peaks. This comprehensive listing of local tours has something for everyone.
General Tours
La Morena Walking Tours
Preciliana Sandoval, a fifth-generation native historian, conducts walking tours of historic Old Mesilla. Experience adobe buildings dating back to the days of Billy the Kid.
Southwest Expeditions
A variety of tours in the Las Cruces area are available. Take epic hikes and camping trips in the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument, experience the paranormal, travel down El Camino Real, and more.
Ted Turner Reserves
Are you looking for an Eco Tour? Visit Ted Turner’s Armendaris and Ladder Ranches and experience the flora and fauna of the desert Southwest.
White Sands National Park
Monthly moonlight hikes through the gypsum sand dunes are led by park rangers. Moonlight hikes are offered March through November on nights surrounding the full moon. Tickets are required.
Science & Technology Tours
Botany Tours
Join Kirsten Romig of the Jornada Experimental Range on bimonthly botany tours exploring the flora of the Chihuahuan Desert. Tours will take place in the Las Cruces, New Mexico area.
DinoTracks
Insights Science Center provides tours of these 97 million-year-old dinosaur tracks near the US-Mexico border.
Magdalena Ridge Observatory
The MRO is a closed facility. Sign up for an official tour during the yearly open houses in the spring and fall.
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument
Join the Bureau of Land Management’s monthly guided hikes to see world-renowned track fossils!
Spaceport America
Spaceport America is a closed facility. Sign up for an official tour. Tours leave from Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Very Large Array
The Very Large Array is open daily. Guided tours are available on the first and third Saturdays of the month.
Rafting the Rio Grande
Summertime is for rafting the Rio Grande! Winding your way through our rugged desert landscape with your family and friends is something you don’t want to miss.
Southwest Expeditions
Southwest Expeditions provides rafting trips in the greater Las Cruces area. Short trips and longer trips are available during the summer months.
Rio Grande River Trips
Whitewater Weekends provides rafting trips in the Truth or Consequences area. Six mile trips are offered to groups both large and small. Rafts, kayaks, and float tubes are available.
Raft the Rio
If you like rafting the Rio Grande as much as we do, sign up for the annual Raft the Rio event. The Kiwanis Club of Las Cruces hosts this event each year. Groups and individuals build and decorate rafts using a variety of innovative materials according to each year’s theme. Others join in and float down the river in traditional watercraft too!
Fishing & Hunting
South Central New Mexico is home to Elephant Butte Lake – New Mexico’s largest lake! The lake is known for record-breaking bass, walleye, catfish, crappie, white and black bass, and stripers. Fishing opportunities abound!
Fishing Guides
Fishing guides are available in Elephant Butte for all of your fishing adventure needs.
Big Game Hunting
South Central New Mexico is also an excellent location for your next big game hunt! Big game include antelope, bighorn sheep, bison, deer, elk, mountain lion, and oryx. The oryx is a popular trophy hunt. These majestic animals were first brought to New Mexico from Africa in the 1960s.
A list of hunting outfitters in Sierra County can be found here. Hunting outfitters in the rest of our region include Big Rim Outfitters, LOH Outfitters, NM Arrowhead Outfitters LLC, S.O. Hunts, South Peak Guide Service, and Tierra Encantada Outfitters/Guides.
Adventures on Horseback
Acacia Riding Adventures
Tour canyons, mesas, petrified sand dunes, ghost towns, and the banks of the Rio Grande near Socorro, New Mexico. Visit San Lorenzo Canyon on horseback. Full moon riding tours are available.
Concho Hills Guest Ranch
The Concho Hills Guest Ranch is located in the foothills of the San Mateo Mountains near historic Magdalena, New Mexico. A stay at this dude ranch includes horseback riding, western ranch activities, and historical tours.
Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch
This dude ranch is located in the heart of the Gila National Forest. Stay in cabins nestled among the ponderosa pines and explore the area on horseback, including the most picturesque canyons.
Miller Horse Farm & Riding Academy
Located in La Union, this family-owned and operated business offers several riding options for all levels of riding experience. Enjoy a ‘ride and wine’ tour to nearby La Vina Winery, New Mexico’s oldest winery.
Birding Tours
Bosque del Apache
The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico is a birding hot spot. It is renowned for the tens of thousands of cranes, geese, and ducks who winter at the Bosque each year. Free, naturalist-led tours of the birds, reptiles, and mammals are available year-round. The annual Festival of the Cranes is held each year and features guided tours, hikes, and photography classes.
Mesilla Valley Audubon Society
Bird walks are hosted throughout the year at the Mesilla Bosque State Park, Tellbrook Park, and Leasburg Dam State Park in the greater Las Cruces area. Field trips to additional locations in the region are also available.