AZTEC, NM
Aztec’s World-Class
Outdoor Attractions
are Amazing
Bluebird days and sumptuously attrac-
tive weather make Aztec an outdoor
recreation haven and the place to go
for travelers. cludes the three-story, 450-room West
Ruin, plus a reconstructed Great Kiva
displaying 900-year-old timbers that
shelter intact plaster rooms.
Located in northwest New Mexico’s
high sierra desert, the region is cele-
brated for its world-class hiking, fly fish-
ing, boating, and mountain biking.
Further, the area is famed for its natural
sandstone arches and for its close
proximity to three UNESCO World Her-
itage sites: Aztec Ruins National Mon-
ument, Chaco Culture National
Historical Park and Mesa Verde Na-
tional Park. Less than 30 miles away is another nat-
ural spectacle, the Quality Waters of the
San Juan River, a 4.25-mile stretch of
protected tailwaters that have become
a renowned fly-fishing destination for
trophy-size rainbow, brown and cut-
throat trout. Immediately upstream is
1,400-acre Navajo Lake State Park and
its 200 campsites, three full-service
marinas, a 25-mile-long playground for
boating, water skiing, sailing, kayaking,
fishing, and hiking.
In particular, the nine-century-old Aztec
Ruins are described as a critical land-
mark to the roots of civilization in the
Southwest. Toured by 45,000 visitors
annually, the engineered masonry in-
Another must-see are the Aztec
Arches, a collection of more than
300 sandstone arches and win-
dows, all located within a half-hour
drive of Aztec. Nearby is the
41,000-acre Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilder-
ness, a magical, federally protected
area known for its otherworldly col-
lection of rocks, hoodoos and land-
scapes.
Rounding out this extraordinary ex-
perience are Aztec’s Alien Run
Mountain Bike Trails. Boasting more
than 30 miles of heart-thumping sin-
gle track and verdant landscapes of
desert scrub, cottonwoods, piñons
and sandstone outcroppings, the
park also skirts a site that was an al-
leged UFO crash in the 1948.
Details about these attractions and
more are available at the Aztec Visitor
Center, located in Aztec at 110 North
Ash Avenue. For more information, go
to www.aztecnm.com.