Las Cruces Attractions

Big Daddy's Outdoor Marketplace in Las Cruces has over 300 vendors selling crafts, antiques, collectibles, and more.

At Water and Lohman Streets in Las Cruces is El Molino, a grinding wheel from an 1853 flour mill.

The Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market is held twice a week in the Downtown Mall.

The Historical Museum of Lawmen is located in the Doña Ana County Sheriffs Department in Las Cruces. There are exhibits of law enforcement memorabilia, including guns, badges and photographs.

Las Cruces International Airport is located west of downtown Las Cruces.

The Las Cruces Museum of Natural History is dedicated to natural history, science, and the environment of New Mexico. Highlights include animals and plants of the Chihuahuan desert.

The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery, located at the Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces, displays work by local artists. This art cooperative features 30 different artists and is housed in the historic Fountain building. Exhibits feature Southwestern landscapes, architecture, still-life, flora and fauna, photography, figurative painting, and pottery.

The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces focuses on agricultural history. It is located just east of New Mexico State University.

At Water and Lohman Streets in Las Cruces is the Our Lady at the Foot of the Cross Shrine, with a reproduction of Michaelangelo's Pieta.

The Thomas Branigan Memorial Library in Las Cruces has over 200,000 volumes. The Library was designed through an architectural competition in the contemporary Pueblo style. A passive solar design assists with temperature control.

Aguirre Springs Recreation Area is located on Highway 70, 22 miles northeast of Las Cruces. There are camping and picnicking facilities with views of the mountain scenery. Each November Aguirre Springs is the site of the Baylor Pass Run.

The Dripping Springs Natural Area has a variety of animal and plant life in the Chihuahuan Desert near Las Cruces. With over 4 miles of hiking trails, Dripping Springs allows visitors to explore immense boulders, rocky peaks and grasslands.

La Cueva (The Cave) is a rock formation at the base of the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces. At one time it was the home of "The Hermit Monk", Juan Maria Augustiniani.

Mesilla is a small town located just south of Las Cruces in Dona Ana County on Highway 28. The village dates from the 16th century and was the western Confederate headquarters during the Civil War. Billy the Kid once escaped from jail in Mesilla after being convicted of murder.

The Gadsden Museum in Mesilla has a collection of artifacts from the history of the Mesilla Valley, much of it donated by the Albert Jennings Fountain family. It gets its name from the Gadsden Purchase of 1854, which made the territory part of the United States.

At 5,700 feet, San Augustine Pass has sweeping views of the White Sands Missile Range. It is located on Highway 70 east of Las Cruces.