Life in Albuquerque

Albuquerque Outdoors
Albuquerque is uniquely situated among varied geologic formations, climates and cultures offering many avenues of escape from city life. The Sandia Mountains are dotted with hiking trails such as La Luz and Embudo Canyon, which wind up the steep west face of the mountain through three different bio zones. For those who want a more leisurely pace, the Tree Springs Trail climbs the gentler slope of the East Sandias.

The Rio Grande runs through the city west of the Sandias and offers opportunities for walking and horseback riding on well-marked trails. In the winter months skiing is available in the Sandias as well as in several other areas just north of Albuquerque in Santa Fe, Taos and Red River . New Mexico is also home to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, 57,191 acres set aside in 1939 near Socorro, two hours to the south, "as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife."

Opportunities for boating are available in several large reservoirs, including Elephant Butte which takes its name from a large elephant-shaped rock formation in the reservoir.

For armchair archaeologists, Albuquerque is within day-trip distance of many well-preserved sites left by the Anasazi, the predecessors of today's Pueblo cultures. To the Northeast is the spectacular Chaco Canyon National Monument , the location of Pueblo Bonito, a site last lived in 1,000 years ago.

Also nearby is the VLA – the Very Large Array Radio Observatory – an array of 26 radio telescopes seen in the sci-fi thrillers like Contact and 2010 .