Going to be visiting NM (Albuquerque) for a week in late May and would like some ideas on what to do while there. Wife and I are going to be celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary while there also so looking for a nice restaurant to celebrate. I also want to bring about 10 pounds of roasted hatch green chilies home also so any ideas where to find that while visiting would be great also!

CSF

Some details would help...
First:
Do you already have accommodations planned/reserved?
Are you outdoorsy adventure type or indoor types?
How much actual free time will you have?

As for green chile, you're too late for fresh roasted so will have to find frozen roasted which will cost you a pretty penny.

If you're not locked into the hotel, I would suggest spending some time at a place like this for at least a few days....

http://www.desertwillowbandb.com/dragonflycottage.html

Or any of the other cabin/B&Bs in the Jemez Springs area which is is just a 30 minute drive from ABQ. Its a great hub to explore the area in a beautiful location.
Just a few things that are within a very short drive.

http://www.jemezmountaintrail.org
http://www.blm.gov/publish/content/nm/en/prog/NLCS/KKTR_NM.html
https://www.nps.gov/vall/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm
http://www.puyecliffs.com
http://www.lanl.gov/museum/
http://alltrails.com/trail/us/new-mexico/jemez-falls
http://www.nmhistoricsites.org/jemez

All of the above can driven to on Hwy 4 which a beautiful area in and of itself. All can be driven to and explored with just a short walk so you can spend as little or as much time as you like. You could spend 2 days or a week up there so its super flexible.

You could then take a very short drive up North and maybe do a day of rafting...
http://www.newmexicoriveradventures.com

Then another short jaunt up to Chama for a ride on the train...
http://cumbrestoltec.com
But that might not fit your schedule as they are just opening that week.

In Abq you can always do the Tram...
http://www.sandiapeak.com
But skip the restaurants at the top/bottom as they are overpriced and not particularly good.
The Atomic Museum, Natural History Museum, and Art Museums are also nice (good in case it rains). Our Zoo is pretty good as well.

For food in Abq...
Best breakfast burritos = Burrito Lady at Eubank and Lomas (weekdays only) She is old school New Mexican food aka, the real deal.
Best Mexican = El Modelo on S 2nd street, a great lunch stop the Tamales are awesome
Best dinner spot for New Mexican = El Pinto N 4th street
Best BBQ = Rudy's either location
Best Tacos = Taqueria Mexico on Lomas
Best Breaking Bad location = The Dog House on Central, Split a Chili Dog and a Frito-Pie
Best Chill = Kellys Brew Pub on Central and Marble Brewery on Marble

Just some C&P from another thread. Any questions just ask  

Hey Adriana,

Nice work, I'm a local and I'm going to try some of your recommendations.

Thanks

Go to Vernons.   Its a very nice steakhouse thats set up like a speak easy.  

Hiking is always fun as well.  The Tram is really cool.

Vic's Daily Cafe on Osuna is a great place to eat. Try their baja burger or their vaquero breakfast.

Thanks everbody!  Keep those ideas coming. I've been writing them all down.


CSF

Any more just ask

Here is something to not waste your time with.....
Albuquerque Old Town
Its essentially a tourist trap and not a very good trap at that. Things are overpriced and often mass-produced, even the 'native' stuff. If you really want the plaza experience, I hate to say it but go to Santa Fe. Still lots of tourist and over priced stuff but much less than in Abq. The native street sellers are usually legit and often the actual artist, prices are very good and most are happy to negotiate if you buy several items. About 1/3 of the stores are tourist crap, another 3rd are snobby 'art' shops that are absurdly over priced, the final 3rd often have legit stuff at reasonable prices and will usually negotiate.

Wind River actually is a pretty good one but be careful as some is mass produced. They like many shops have a 'sticker price' that is generally double what they will actually take for the item, if you come off like a tourist youll pay sticker, otherwise ask and they will try to make the sale. There are a number of other good shops with most not fronting the plaza but on the surrounding side streets one or two blocks away, those are the ones you want to go to.

While you are there walk south down Old Santa Fe Trail to Upper Crust Pizza, it is outstanding!
You are better off skipping the rest of the restaurants around the plaza as they are mostly tourist and not particularly good.

If you bum around SF long enough to get hungry again, on the same block is Santa Fe Bite. The owners ran a locals spot for decades called Bobcat Bite that served some of the best Green Chili Cheese Burgers ever to grace a plate, but closed that 60+year location to open the new one off the plaza. Not quite the same as the old place but still serve awesome GCCB's.

But if you only have time for one meal in SF make it Upper Crust, skip looking at the menu.....just order the Chicken Pesto or the Margarita.....trust me.


You might be told to go to Madrid (the little town from Wild Hogs) its pretty much a yawn. If you want to drive the back way to Santa Fe up Hwy 14 its an okay place to poke around for a bit, a few ok shops, but you can be in & out in an hour and spend the rest of the day elsewhere. I would suggest any of the other places Ive mentioned instead.

There is one place on Hwy 14 that is pretty cool and dare I say a 'must stop' for any man worth his man card spending time in Abq......Tinkertown Museum.
Its just 15 minutes through the canyon and a couple bucks to get in. I would try to make it, but if you drive up to Sandia Crest you have to stop there no matter what.

Anyone else?  Got about a month before I arrive.

Thanks!

CSF

Is there a particular activity you're looking for, or looking to avoid?
That might help a bit to narrow things down or broaden the options.

One of the best places to visit in New Mexico is Chaco Canyon ( https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm )
You can explore it pretty well with a long day (incl drive time to/from ABQ), but I HIGHLY recommend an overnight stay.
You can rent an RV, bring a tent, or simply throw a blanket on the ground depending on how rough you like it.
Plan your stay to include one of their weekly 'night sky' tours as the dark sky there is one of the best in the nation. Even if your not into astronomy it is still spectacular, bring a pair of binos and download 'GoSkyWatch'.

Make sure you get a reservation before hand, plan ~3 hours to get there so you can arrive early afternoon. Set up camp, hit the visitor center to get an idea of what you want to see, how things are laid out, etc. Go back to camp, make an early dinner, then go do a bit of quick early evening exploring, the light/shadows make for excellent photography. Time things so you can be back in time for the 'night sky' tour, once that is done you can head back to camp and enjoy the spectacular sky on your own. I've taken people there who had no interest in astronomy or even the outdoors that ended up being blown away by the night sky and didn't want to go to bed.

Then be up early the next morning to go out into the park, take some of the guided tours but also head off on your own, a mix of both is great for newbs. Stay until it gets too hot, until you get tired, or until dark, then head back to ABQ. I've always said that a night out in Chaco should be on everyone's bucket-list (especially if they are city-types), everyone we've ever taken was enthralled by the park and blown away by the night. About the only spoiler would be the weather but you'll know in advance if rain is a possibility (doubtful), our rains are usually short lived and actually add to the fun. The on,y real zinger is wind (which can suck) but you should be good to go late May. We had one trip ruined by wind but our guests returned the next year and they loved it.

I would consider it equal to Bandelier Nation Monument in terms of 'must see', but they are very different places. If I was me, knowing what I know, visiting NM, I would actually go to both. Chaco is remote, stark, and rugged, but that actually adds to the visit IMO, especially the night. While Bandelier is more crowded (you should be ok late May, esp weekdays) and improved, but it is a greener location. I would rather spend my time at both of those locations than at say SF Plaza shopping, but that's just me, heck we live here and we visit both at least once a year on our own

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60730-d146366-Reviews-Bandelier_National_Monument-Los_Alamos_New_Mexico.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60767-d123082-Reviews-Chaco_Culture_National_Historical_Park-Nageezi_New_Mexico.html

Just trying to see some beautiful scenery.  I'm up to hiking but my wife is limited due to a bad knee so the hiking needs to be pretty easy for her..  We want to shop for local artist stuff and eat some fine cuisine.  

CSF

Chaco is pretty easy to walk around...









White Sands is awesome also....

For frozen green chile, go to the Fruit Basket on 4th Street just north of Montano.  They have small and large ziplock bags of it that aren't that expensive.  Sadie's is a great messican restaurant on 4th that is a block north, on the other side of Montano.

El Pinto is another great place to eat.  It is on 4th Street about two miles past Alameda.

How has no one mentioned the fucking great beer?

If you're a beer snob you could spend almost your entire time here drinking the beer and eating from amazing food trucks.  Throw in a couple forays into the jemez, maybe a trip to santa fe or taos and you have the whole new mexico experience.  Don't waste your time seeing or doing anything other than drinking in abq.  Place is a damn wasteland.

ETA: +1 for chaco

Your best bet is still the NM4 loop, along with several of its offshoots along the way.
It will give you a taste of almost everything NM has to offer and can be easily accessed by car and short walk. Most of the stops can be expanded if you like, from 5-10 minutes poking around near the road taking pix, etc, all the way to full day hikes, or anything in between.

That's kind of a bad week to come due to the holiday as most areas will be packed with early season vacationers. For perspective, we own a number of rental properties in the area including in the Jemez along the river and over in Truchas, they are nearly all booked up for the rest of the year by March. But it won't be as bad as most tourist type places, just a bit crowded by NM standards.

I've already mentioned the two 'plazas' reference shopping for local art stuff, but here are two other options...

Memorial Day weekend Jemez has their arts fair at 'red rocks' on the north side of the pueblo (you'll know it when you see it). I would suggest doing your exploring of the NM4 loop during the week when it will be much MUCH less crowded, and then go back for just the art fair on Saturday (it's only 20min from ABQ). Do not think combining the weekend fair and NM4 exploring on the weekend is a good idea, it's not, everything up 4 will be crowded. Drive over to the fair Saturday then head back to ABQ or elsewhere to avoid the crowds.

A second place for art shopping (overlooked by most visitors who just go to ABQ/ Santa Fe plaza) is what's known as the 'high road to Taos'. The best time to go is late summer (the locals season) but now will be fine as well. Nambe/503 is about 90min north of Albuquerque and the start of the road, do not make Taos the destination, the real destination are all the little towns, the little shops, the short turn-offs, the views, etc, along the way to Taos. Take your time, plan to spend the better part of a day just poking along. Taos itself is over-hyped and a bit of a trap IMO, I would head back South or West over the gorge (watch out for HK's while crossing) . Yes the so called 'enchanted circle' is spectacularly beautiful but it will also be crazy nuts up there as there is a big motorcycle rally (20-30k) that week, so unless you like crowds, skip it.

High Road to Taos

One very common mistake people make when coming here is underestimating this states size. People look at a map (which is usually reduced in scale much more than most states) and think 'oh we can just make this short drive over here'. Of course they get here and that 'short drive' ends up being 2-3 hours each way. Do not try to pack in a ton of stuff in a bunch of different places or you'll just burn out from all the driving and not actually enjoy yourself.

Simple Example
Spend your first full day exploring the White Mesa/NM4/Jemez/Caldera area
Overnight in Los Alamos
2nd day- in Banbelier NM, then maybe a stop at the Puye Cliff Dwellings on your way down the hill
Overnight at one of the casinos North of Santa Fe
3rd day- shopping/exploring on the High Road to Taos
Overnight at one of the casinos in Taos
4th day- raft the Racecourse or Taos Box, afternoon shopping/eating Santa Fe plaza
Overnight back in ABQ
5th day- in/around ABQ balloon ride, eating, ride tram, eating, Tinkertown, eating, Pertoglyphs, eating, or some combo thereof, rent RV/tent/tarp
Overnight in ABQ
6th- day Chaco Canyon
Overnight in Chaco
7th day- back to ABQ and fly/drive out
Or reverse the order, or mix it up, etc....just an example

That right there would be busy but without a crazy amount of driving but still a fair amount, anything further out from ABQ or in another direction would be difficult at best. If you've already limited yourself by trying to operate solely out of a hotel in ABQ, the above is still doable but you'll be adding a couple hours of driving each day. You may burn yourself out and have to cut some stuff short or eliminate entirely.

Just some random ramblings as I'm sitting at the airfield killing some time