The Perfect Alpine Escape

Hike a deserted mountain path beneath golden aspen, fragrant spruce, and towering fir as you stare down 4,000 vertical feet (deeper than the Grand Canyon!) to the White Sands Basin below. Much on delectable German pastries and incomparable mountain-berry pies at the Mountain Mercantile. Have dinner with Rebecca, the resident ghost in the century-old Cloudcroft Lodge. Kick back to the relaxing sound of falling water at Bluff Springs Falls.

Quick Tips:

Cloudcroft is hardly EVER crowded, but DO try to avoid holiday seasons, especially 4th of July. There aren't a plethora of restaurants in town, so unless you're staying at The Lodge, your best bet is to rent a cabin in the woods away from town. This means you'll make some of your meals, but HEY this is a backwoods sort of destination anyway. You can get groceries at The Merc (Mountaintop Mercantile) and you can splurge a few mornings with pastries at the Merc and splurge a few evenings with dinner at The Lodge. You'll find Cooking in the Clouds to be much more relaxing and effortless than in your home kitchen...especially when there are fresh wild strawberries in the front yard to garnish with! And do yourself a favor and drive down the mountain to Alamogordo for an evening...enjoy some wonderful Mexican food and romp in the dunes at White Sands. It's a very unique experience!

Best Way To Get Around:

There's really no way to get around up here besides a car. The closest major airport is El Paso (2 hours), next would be Albuquerque (3 hours). You can rent a car over the weekend (from noon Thursday through noon Monday) for about - per day. Once you're up here, a basic automatic car can get you around on virtually all the roads, even the dirt ones. A standard will help with some of the steep grades on the highway, but it's not necessary. Gas is usually about .10 more expensive in Cloudcroft than it is down the mountain in Alamogordo (20 miles). In the village, most things (except for the Lodge) can be accessed on foot, so just find a parking spot and you can walk everywhere.

Every mountain town has its premier lodging facility. These tend to be large, luxurious, expensive, and usually overcrowded.

Not so in Cloudcroft. Matching the laid-back, rustic atmosphere of the village, The Lodge is the embodiment of the concept of "retreat."

Built in 1899 by the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway to house guests escaping the heat of the desert, the Lodge's architecture retains the flavor of its European designers, a cross between Bavarian castle and Victorian country mansion.

The interior is cozily decorated in rustic southwestern style with occasional but readily apparent European flair. It's like Santa Fe meets Versailles, but it WORKS!

The common area is warmed by a large and roaring fireplace, and the rug-accented hardwood floors creak a song centuries-old as you stroll along the halls.

The main Lodge building houses only 61 rooms, each entirely unique in its decoration. From the regular guest rooms to the Honeymoon Suite, each room is so romantic you can just barely stand it.

Ask the front desk for the old skeleton key to "The Tower" and you can climb the winding staircase high up above the main Lodge to the observation room at the top of the tower. Here you are granted a vista across the mountains to the White Sands basin, almost a vertical mile below you.

The Lodge has recently completed a couple of additional buildings, one which houses groups, and another which is operated as a Bed and Breakfast. Each has rates a bit lower than the main Lodge.

Rates vary according to season. Obviously summer is considered high season, as is fall when the aspens turn gold. Regular rooms start at $105 per night, up to the Honeymoon Suite which will run you $239 in high season.

The Lodge is host to Rebecca, a beautiful young woman who died nearly 70 years ago, but whose ghost still quite visibly roams the halls. Sightings occur with rather alarming frequency here, but Rebecca isn't there to scare you. Most people are more intrigued or saddened by an encounter with her.

The award-winning restaurant at The Lodge is named after her, and you can dine sumptuously on cuisine featured in worlwide culinary magazines. See the restaurant entry entitle Rebecca's for more info.

The Lodge also owns the highest elevation golf course in America, along with Cloudcroft's ski area Snow Canyon. See their respective entries, as well.

I can hardly recommend an alpine resort anywhere in North America more heartily than The Lodge. It sits atop a mountain high above the sleepiest little German alpine village imaginable, and offers its guests a luxurious and eclectic getaway unmatched by anything I've yet encountered. Just ask Judy Garland, Clark Gable, or Pancho Villa. They've all stayed here, and I'm sure their ghosts wander back to the rustic charm of this perfect mountain getaway.

Go.

Yes, yes, I know. The Mountaintop Mercantile (affectionately called 'The Merc' by those of us who frequent it) is a grocery store.

But...

They happen to make the best pastries, bread, and pies on the planet.

And once you've been there, you'll realize that's no exaggeration!

I'll start with their German pastries and donuts. You get these fresh in the morning (they're still warm around 7am...and a second batch comes out around 8 or 9 in high season or holidays) and there's just nothing to compare. Their cinammon rolls are the size of your head. The strudels and eclairs are perfectly flaky, tender, and not too sweet. Even the plain glazed donuts and muffins are quite simply perfection manifested in pastry. But they go fast...

However, they don't go as fast as the homemade breads that come out at the same time! People come to the Merc to get pastries for breakfast and bread for lunch and dinner. And since they don't make as much bread, they are usually sold out by 10am.

The star of the kitchen is their world-famous Chile Cheese Bread. It blows my mind, but this sounds gross to some people. It's basically a giant french bread loaf stuffed with sharp cheddar cheese and native New Mexico chiles. It's so moist and flavorful you just won't believe it. And it's also the first bread to sell out.

If you call the day before, they will bake a loaf or two and reserve it for you, especially if you order a few pies, as well. And I've heard they've actually started SHIPPING the bread across the country, though I don't know how well that can go. If I recall, a loaf is $3.

PIES! The drive into Cloudcroft past cherry and apple orchards is enough to tell you that the fruit pies here at the Merc are TOTALLY fresh and simply unbelievable. They have a wide variety, from Rhubarb to Mountain Berry, and with prices starting at $3 per pie, you can't beat it.

Not only should you come to The Merc to buy all your groceries, you won't be able to resist the temptations of their bakery...IF you arrive early enough to be tempted!

Alamogordo has plenty of restaurants, most of them Mexican food, but Margo's is the best! She's located just east of the main highway through town, and you can clearly see her sign as you drive south through town from Cloudcroft.

The menu is simple and tradition Mexican food with no flair. Just like you'd have it in a border town. The plates are generous and reasonably priced. I don't think there's anything over $10.

Her green chile sauce is particularly incredible, so make sure to get it on at least one enchilada.

The only fault I have with the restaurant is that they don't have enough waitstaff, so your drinks are not refilled frequently enough to combat the fire from the chips and salsa that you devour when you first sit down. It is wise to ask for a pitcher of water for your table.

Also, the menu says they charge you for each additional basket of chips, but we've never been charged.

Enjoy Margo's. You'll remember her food a long time after you've washed the grit from White Sands out of your ears.

Renowned chef Tim Wilkins has created a restaurant that has remarkeably surpassed the Lodge in reputation and fame. It has been featured in numerous publications, Cuisine, Southern Living, and Conde Nast to mention a few.

Notable dishes are Prawns Rebecca — giant prawns in a spicy blend of fresh herbs, mushrooms, tomatoes in a white wine and butter sauce served over pasta. Also lovely is the chicken ravioli served over smoked tomato sauce finished with scallion and sour cream puree. Delightful starters are coconut shrimp with a spicy marmalade sauce, herb-butter and demi-glaze bathing sautéed wild and domestic mushrooms, and Cajun-spiced blue corn-coated baby calamari, fried until crisp and served with raspberry dipping sauce. Seafood lovers might opt for Blackened Blue Corn Sea Bass, or Salmon crusted with roasted ancho chili over squid ink linguine swimming gently in a creamy brie sauce, or an almond crusted grilled rainbow trout. And many of the Texans, who find this the ideal resort from their summer heat and tree-sparse plains, love the slow-roasted prime rib or the full-pound T-bone steak.

As the Lodge is a popular honeymoon spot, Rebecca's serves up many meals-for-two, including flambéed lobster tails, rack of lamb or chateaubriand.

Don't forget breakfast here, too! The dinner menu is certainly a bargain compared to similar menus in other restaurants, but breakfast at Rebecca's is a steal! Topping the morning menu here is the Grilled French Danish, a French pastry dipped in rich eggy batter and grilled until golden brown, dusted with powdered sugar and soaked in maple syrup.

A dinner here won't break your bank, even if you're a budget traveller like me. Stick to one entree and you can be out for under $15. Splurge with an appetizer and some wine from their extensive list and you might be out $30 per person.

Dine late during midweek and you just might sup with Rebecca, the namesake ghost of the restaurant. She died here almost 60 years ago, but is still one of the most visible ghosts in America today. Sightings occur virtually every week at The Lodge, and it is said that her nakesake restaurant is her favorite spot to dine in all the earth.

Snow Canyon is the southernmost ski resort in the United States. It's a small resort, with only 68 acres of skiable terrain and 27 trails. They get 100 inches of snowfall each year. Peak elevation is 9,050 and base is 8,300 which gives a vertical drop of 755 feet.

Consequently, the resort is rarely crowded. People don't come to Cloudcroft to ski, they come here to get away from places where people go to ski.

But Snow Canyon can provide a couple of days of fun skiing, even a bit of a challenge or two, and it makes for a great outing.

If you're a DIE HARD skier and Snow Canyon doesn't whet your appetite, you're only an hour's drive from the more famous and much larger Ski Apache at Ruidoso.

Cloudcroft's Lodge golf course is unique. It is the highest elevation golf course in America. It only has 9 holes, but in the Scottish tradition, they are double flagged and holed, and you play the course backwards after you're finished with the first 9 to produce a very challenging 18 holes.

Though I don't play golf, all I hear is rave reviews of the course. Being built on a mountain, the vertical drop is extreme, so the course is evidently pretty tough.

This is a quote from golfer Jeff Hayden: "This course provides a golfing experience that every avid golfer should have before they die. There are a lot of courses that have better amenities, better playing surfaces, and more holes, but there are very, very few courses that make you feel so at peace and so relaxed that you really don't care what your score is. This course WILL challenge you as no other course ever has. The vertical drop on the first hole (reachable in 1 shot) must be around 120'. The opposite is true on the 9th. WOW. You can BLAST drives like Tiger in the ultra thin air at 9,200' in elevation. Watch out for bears, seen sometimes trying to play a hole or two, (silly bear, golf is for kids). In early spring or late fall the greens may freeze rock hard so set your trip between May and September and you should have a great time."

Call for more information.

From many points around Cloudcroft you can look down at the giant desert basin nearly a vertical mile below the mountain peaks. This vast hole, called the Tularosa Basin, is home to a vast field of white sand dunes that look just like snow. It is the largest deposit of pure gypsum sand anywhere on earth!

Most of the dune field was sequestered by the United States Military, who shoots missiles at them on the infamous White Sands Missile Range, where the first atomic bomb was tested. But a section of the heart of the dune field has been preserved as a National Monument and you can go there to play in the dunes.

Playing amongst big piles of sand may not sound like your cup of tea, but let me tell you:

-White Sands is unlike any place you will ever experience.-

To be surrounded by blazing white sand for miles and miles, in a basin ringed by rugged black-walled mountains, with an intense blue sky hanging above...the starkness is breathtaking. Sunsets here are unparalleled.

Plus, there are so many recreational opportunities available! A few trails provide experiences of all levels, from an easy stroll along a boardwalk, to a trek into the heart of the desert where you'll literally see nothing around you but a sea of white dunes. Without the small orange trail markers you would instantly become hopelessly disoriented and lost.

Back at the dune field, you can partake in a sport I invented, uncreatively called "Dune Jumping." The dunes are sloped gently on one side, then drop off almost vertically on the other. You get a running start up the gentle slope, then when you reach the top you jump as far as you can...and then PLUMMET 15-20 feet to the soft sand below you. It's exhilerating and just about the safest way you can fall that far without hurting yourself.

Make SURE to wear high-proof sunscreen, as the dunes reflect EVERY bit of sunlight that falls on them. Since they absorb no heat, the dune field is surprisingly cool year-round, which can be deceptive. You will ROAST alive within 30 minutes if you aren't sunscreened.

To reach the park, head west out of Cloudcroft on Hwy 82. You will descend rapidly out of the mountains and through a spectacular canyon to Alamogordo. Turn left on Hwy 70 and go through town, following the signs for White Sands. About 20 miles south of town you'll see the entrance to the park on your right. They charge $5 per vehicle to enter the park.

Occasionally the park is closed for missile testing, but never for more than a few hours.

Please also read Dog Canyon for info on cleaning the sand off, and eat at Margo's on your way home!

EVERYONE goes to White Sands, but NO ONE goes to Dog Canyon! And I don't know why. I guess it's because no one knows about it.

If you head south from Alamogoro on Hwy 54 (Dog Canyon Rd) you'll find it about 15 miles south of town. (If you're coming here to clean up after White Sands, you'll have to drive north to Alamogordo and then turn LEFT on Hwy 54!)

If you come after 5pm, the ticket booth will be closed and you can (illegally) drive right up to the visitors center and park. But since you're only gonna be here for 5 minutes, it's kinda silly for fork over the $5 unless your integrity gets the best of you. If you're here to hike the Dog Canyon Trail, you'll definitely need to pay.

Just below the visitors center is a year-round crystal clear stream. If you're just here to clean up, hike down to it on the trail and then wander downstream a bit to find a secluded spot. Strip down and jump in! The water is a wonderful, if chilly, way to remove the sand from EVERY crevice of your body. Make sure to shake your clothes out REALLY well to avoid being re-sanded.

There is an excellent trail that starts (or ends) here called the Dog Canyon Trail. It begins off the West End Road (see that specific section of this journal) high up in the mountains and descends into this vast canyon to the visitor's center. The trail is 5.5 miles long one-way and is best hiked from top to bottom. However, if you don't have multiple cars and the time to run a shuttle, just hike from the visitors center up to the canyon rim and back down (8 miles roundtrip). It's strenuous but spectacular.

The West Side Road is a long, improved dirt road that skirts the western escarpment of the Sacramento Mountains, providing breathtaking views of the White Sands basin and Alamogordo far below. It makes for an excellent half-day excursion from Cloudcroft.

The best way to drive this road is from top to bottom (Sunspot to High Rolls). Take Scenic Road 6563 south from Cloudcroft towards Sunspot. When you reach the turnoff for Sunspot, DON'T TURN, stay to the left and you'll come to the unpaved (as of 2001) Sacramento River Road. Drive this road until you see a dirt road on your right. The small sign will say "WEST SIDE ROAD."

Turn right here and the road climbs steeply to gain a ridge where you will have a spectacular view (it rivals the Grand Canyon, many folks say!) over all of southwestern New Mexico. You'll see the White Sands to your far right, and the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains stretching at your feet south to the rugged line of the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas!

The road slopes steeply down into the foothills and turns back up toward Cloudcroft. You pass many interesting and out-of-the-way spots, but the real treat here is the view up to the Sacramentos and down into the basin. At the halfway point you'll slope down into Alamo Canyon and if you look high up on the mountain above you, you'll see the bizarre Space Ball atop Alamo Peak. See that entry for more information.

The West Side Road eventually spits you out on Hwy 82 at the village of High Rolls. Turn right for Cloudcroft, turn left for Alamogordo.

Bluff Springs is an enchanting little waterfall located about half an hour's drive south of Cloudcroft.

To reach it, take Scenic Byway 6563 (The Sunspot Highway) south from Cloudcroft for 17 miles. You will see a sign marked "Bluff Springs" pointing to the left. This is Forest Road 164. Turn left here.

The road is paved for maybe a mile, and then becomes dirt. Most passenger vehicles can make it, though you will reach a few spots where springs pour from the mountain and create mud and water puddles in the road. It is best to drive through these QUICKLY rather than to slow down.

After a few miles you will see Bluff Springs on your right. A series of large springs on the side of the mountain create a stream which tumbles over a 60-foot cliff. This is no thundering waterfall, mind you! It's more like a fairy falls...the water DANCES over the cliff and you can follow a wet trail to the base of the falls.

Please don't hike cross country to the base of the falls. This is very delicate terrain and we'd like to keep erosion to a minimum.

There is a well developed trail that leads up to the left of the falls which gains the top of the cliff in about 5 minutes time. There are no signs or rails at the top of the cliff, so exercise caution!

There are several large firs right at the top of the falls to picnic under, and the meadow above the falls is filled with sublime wildflowers in late spring and summer.

You can follow the stream to the back of the valley where it issues from the springs.

Bluff Springs flows year-round, and can get quite crowded on weekends and holidays as it is just about the most scenic thing in these mountains. Try early morning and mid-week and you just might have it to yourself! Or try it in late fall after the aspens have lost their leaves and no one is in the village. You'll be alone at the falls and you can watch the icicles which have formed overnight thaw and crash to the bottom of the cliff!

A notable trail in the area is the Willie White Trail, about 6 miles roundtrip. There is a trailhead at the sign below the falls.