8 Bucket List Ideas For Your Ruidoso Vacation
Planning a trip to Ruidoso? Discover Ruidoso’s nature, forests, lakes and culture. Here are eight ideas to get you inspired.
We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite things to do in Ruidoso. Start dreaming now about how you're going to check off these travel bucket list ideas for your Ruidoso vacation.
Grindstone Lake offers the fisherman year-round trout.
1. Have a high time at Ruidoso’s alpine lakes
Spend a relaxing afternoon at one of Ruidoso’s mountain lakes, where you can kayak, paddleboard, hike, bike, or horseback ride on miles of multi-use trails shaded beneath a canopy of towering Ponderosa pines. In summer, Grindstone Lake is perfect for swimming and splashing around when the floating Wibit Water Park is open. Another spot on the water’s edge is Alto Lake, where you’ll find fishing access, picnic sites, and picture-postcard views of Sierra Blanca.
Disc golf is one of Ruidoso’s fastest growing sports.
2. Enjoy the free sport anyone can play
With courses at Grindstone Lake, Moon Mountain, Wingfield Park, and Ski Apache, add disc golf to your list of fun things to do in Ruidoso. Serious players will want to check the Moon Mountain course, a village recreation area with one of the longest courses in the West, while the new Wingfield ‘pitch and putt’ course is perfect for beginners.
Lost Hiker Brewing Company is a local craft brewery with microbrewed beer,wine, cider. It's also kid friendly, dog friendly and hosts weekly events.
3. Graze and sip your way through Midtown
Ruidoso has restaurants, breweries, and wineries you’d expect in a place much bigger than our little village. Stop for a green-chile cheeseburger and beer-battered french fries at Hall of Flame Burgers or a New York–style thick-crust pizza at Cafe Rio, or blackened habanero chicken at Grill Caliente. Pack a picnic from the Village Buttery or Mario’s Market and head out of town for homebrew at Bonita Valley Brewing Company in Lincoln, then end the day at the Noisy Water Winery Enchanted Vine Barn event center, which is open to the public and even has a petting zoo for kids,
Ruidoso’s first off-road adventure specialist, Backcountry Attitudes, provides 4×4 off-roading adventures through scenic wilderness and mountain terrain for a unique Ruidoso adventure.
4. Thrills and spills for the adventurous
Let loose on one of Ruidoso’s action-packed adventures. Whether you're a thrill-seeker ready to let'r rip on a three-span zipline that begins above 11,000-feet, keen to hit the bike trails, or looking to tackle new territory off-road in the Ruidoso backcountry, we’ve got the adrenaline junkies in your clan covered.
From trail rides to backcountry rambles, Ruidoso has plenty of options for horseback riding adventures.
5. From the back of a horse
Of the many ways to experience Ruidoso, horseback riding is a longtime visitor favorite. Whether you trailer your own horse to explore the backcountry or are looking for an enjoyable afternoon of guided trail riding, Ruidoso has plenty of options for horseback riding adventures.
Pillow's Funtrackers in Ruidoso is a great place for family entertainment and family outings.
6. For kids and the young at heart
There’s something about go-karts mini-golf and bumper boats that screams summer vacation. For more than three decades, Pillow’s Funtrackers in Ruidoso has provided fun for all ages at this family-favorite Ruidoso amusement park offering 3 go-kart tracks, 18-hole mini-golf, bumper boats, a maze, and arcade games. In winter, it’s tubing at Ruidoso Winter Park that is the quintessential family vacation activity, with summer tubing added to the mix new for the summer of 2021!
Enjoy live quarter horse and thoroughbred racing at Ruidoso Downs Race Track every Friday - Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
7. A day at the races (Summer Only)
Do you want to put a little money down on your entertainment? At Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino you can experience the thrill of the world's fastest quarter horses racing every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day. If you are visiting during the off-season, Billy's Casino, Billy’s Race Book, and Billy's Sports Bar and Grill offer a comfortable and FUN atmosphere where you can enjoy great food, great drinks, and the best in horse racing from all over the United States.
The river walk trail at Two Rivers Park Is the perfect spot for an family hike and picnic.
8. A walk in the park
Enjoy the sound of the river as you walk along the Ruidoso River Trail at Two Rivers Park where you’ll find a sculpture park, picnic gazebo, and a small childrens’ play area. At Wingfield Park you’ll find the newest addition to the Ruidoso disc golf scene, a beginner-friendly, “pitch and putt” course, walking trails, an events and picnic pavilion, oversized musical instruments, and a playground. Exercise your dog at the Ruidoso Dog Park, on the Links Trail, or join a game of pickleball, all of which are available at White Mountain Recreation Complex.