 |
| West Bluff Park, Albuquerque, NM |
My introduction to the city of Albuquerque began with one of my favorite YouTubers ‘Adventure Archives’, when they featured the city during their cross country trip. I remember watching them visit filming locations for the hit TV show ‘Breaking Bad’.
Albuquerque really seemed like another country, with colorful buildings with character and narrow streets. It felt almost Mexican, or Spanish when watching them for the very first time.
When my wife and myself planned our second cross country trip, Albuquerque seemed like a great stopover destination along I-40, before continuing on to the west coast. We booked a three night stay at the excellent Homewood Suites by Hilton in uptown Albuquerque, and enjoyed the hotel immensely.
A 3 night stay was definitely the least amount of nights needed to see what Albuquerque has to offer, and we probably only scratched the surface. There are so many things to do in Albuquerque, and we apologize if we missed so many others. However, the places we personally visited below will give anyone a pretty good idea about the city’s top attractions and top scenic spots.
Without further ado, please see our list of our favorite places to explore in Albuquerque!
- Petroglyph National Monument
*Please click
here to read about the
Petroglyph National Monument in my previous post.
- Sandia Crest Scenic Byway/Sandia Crest
Sandra Crest Scenic Byway is a 13.6 mile route that climbs the Sandia Mountains on the eastern slopes. It features tight switchbacks with incredible views for miles out. I had read about the place while researching scenic spots near the city, and I was so happy we got to drive it!
We took off on a beautiful sunny morning towards Sandia Mountains. We started climbing as soon as we got off the exit from I-40 eastbound. The climb was slow thanks to those tight switchbacks. With every feet gained in elevation, the views opened up to the valley below.
Lucky for us, there wasn’t much traffic going up, so we took our time driving up the byway. After roughly 20 minutes of mimicking a slow race car driver, we made it to the top of the Sandia Crest, where we found a large parking lot. We saw a sign for a small fee of $3 to park, but it also mentioned the fee is waived if you have an interagency pass like America the Beautiful Pass, which we did have!
We simply displayed the pass on the dashboard and walked towards the overlook. It was extremely cold and windy, at an elevation of 10,678 feet. We noticed the huge antennas owned by local tv stations right on top of us.
 |
| Sandia Crest, parking lot with antennas! |
We were feeling the bitter cold wind as we got closer to the overlook. The short walk was covered with snow and in some spots, ice! We took our time walking, very gingerly at times, towards the impressive overlook with stupendous views!
 |
| View from Sandia Crest, Albuquerque |
I had a hard time holding on to my iPhone while taking photos, as the wind was so strong. As cold as it was, the views were definitely worth it. We couldn’t believe how high we were after a short 20 minute drive. Wow, what views!!!
Old Town features narrow streets and century-old adobe houses, and it is a must visit location when visiting Albuquerque. As previously mentioned, it is also the filming location for the hit TV show, Breaking Bad.
After visiting the Petroglyphs National Monument just the previous day, we headed out to Old Town to get some lunch, then do some sightseeing in the area. For lunch, we selected Garcia’s Kitchen, located on Central Avenue.
We found plenty of parking spots when we arrived at the restaurant. We admired the huge mural on the wall outside the restaurant, then walked inside for much needed fuel for our bodies.
 |
| Garcia’s Kitchen, Albuquerque |
We ordered a chicken fajita and a chicken enchilada. As was the norm during our cross country trip, one dish was good while the other was just ok, when eating at local restaurants. What totally impressed both of us, however, were the sopapillas (fried dough), which were incredible. We gulped the breads down in a minute! Yummy!
 |
| Chicken fajita lunch |
 |
| Basket of sopapillas! |
After a hearty meal, we headed for Old Town, just under a mile away from the restaurant. We found a public parking lot, and was pleasantly surprised to see they were not collecting fees during Christmas holidays. That was awesome!
We walked towards Old Town and found it extremely appealing, with colorful buildings and with charming decor. We saw several Native American peoples selling arts & crafts items on the streets, as well as inside the stores. There were plenty to see and plenty of restaurants to try local delicacies, like the frybread, Navajo tacos, etc.
 |
| Historic building! |
We made a loop around the Old Town Plaza, walking inside small nooks & crannies along the narrow streets to see what lay ahead. We found shops, cafes, and restaurants. Thanks to Christmas, there were plenty of holiday decorations everywhere. We took few minutes to enjoy the small shopping plaza with a hot coffee in our hands.
Old Town, being that it’s in the southwest, had that unmistakable quality about it. There is the adobe homes/buildings using native colors, the full/bright blue skies, and the sparse vegetation. In a word, we loved it.
After living in the Northeast most of our lives, we love a little change of scenery. Southwest is definitely that!
After several minutes of lounging, we made our way to the Old Town Plaza to view the impressive San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church, which was built in 1706. We loved the church with its beautiful earth toned walls and white spire.
 |
| San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church, Old Town |
We met a young couple with a cute dog, which we had to stop to say hello. The dog seemed to be tired and didn’t want to get up, possibly due to age. We kind of felt bad, and we thought about our Pomeranian fur ball Toby, when he was getting up there in age. It’s always sad when our babies grow too old to move…
Leaving those thoughts behind, we said goodbyes to the couple with the dog, then walked around the square. We were immediately drawn to dried up Chile peppers displayed in the building nearby, which were so cool! We noticed, as we were driving into New Mexico, that the state license plates proudly display Chile peppers, as the state insignia. We learned something new, and it’s one of the very best reasons why we should all travel!
 |
| Chile peppers! |
West Bluff Park is one of those scenic places that many locals recommended on Google search. It is a small park that has really a pergola in the front, but it has one of the nicest views in all of Albuquerque!
After visiting the Petroglyph National Monument, we headed to this park before heading back to our hotel. We found the park within a residential area of Albuquerque, near the national monument. The drive took about 20 minutes, and found the park easily.
We walked into the park, loving the views! It didn’t take long for us to walk around the entire park, but we sure took our time taking in the impressive scenery, like these below.
 |
| Views from West Bluff Park, Albuquerque |
- San Antonio Oxbow/Open Space
San Antonio Oxbow is another one of those small but scenic places that locals recommended on Google search, and we’re glad we found it. It was a short drive from Petroglyph National Monument and we definitely wanted to add this place to our list of scenic spots in Albuquerque.
I found out an ‘oxbow’ is a small, crescent-shaped lake that is formed when a river abandons a meander and changes course. For all our intents and purposes, the oxbow was a fantastic, scenic place for us to appreciate!
We only saw one other car appreciating the views of the oxbow when we arrived. We parked near the entrance to the open space and walked inside for a closer inspection. We really liked what we saw. Behind us were beautiful and expensive looking houses and in front of us were the nice views of the oxbow and mountains! Not too shabby…
 |
| San Antonio Oxbow, Albuquerque |
 |
| Lovely houses |
In conclusion:
Our three day stay in Albuquerque was just fantastic. From our hotel, Homewood Suites with free hot breakfast, to Petroglyph National Monument, and everything in between, we really loved that the city has so much to offer.
We loved the incredibly beautiful and cosmopolitan city that is Albuquerque, and we loved the variety of things to do just within the city limits. Albuquerque is a city we highly recommend when planning a trip to the southwestern parts of the United States.
It’s a also great location when heading out to the west coast, or when heading out to Utah or Colorado to visit famous national parks like the Grand Canyon, Zion, or Arches. It is a much more affordable city to stopover, as there are so many hotels/motels near the city, as well as tons of dining options.
We hope you come along with us on our continuing journey to California! Thank you for reading and happy trails!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Ocean City, Maryland’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Bushkill Falls and Grey Towers.’
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 natural attractions in Las Vegas’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Zion National Park’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Vdara Hotel’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Chateau at Coindre Hall’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Oyster Bay’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Ocean Casino Resort’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Wildwood Park and Fort Hunter Mansion’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Ottawa’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Fiore Suite and classic room at the Borgata’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 places with awesome views near Harrisburg, PA’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Quebec City, Canada’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 quintessential places to visit in New York City’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Ricketts Glen State Park, PA’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Beaufort, NC’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Vernon, NJ’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Harrisburg, PA’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Montreal, Canada’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Falls Lake Dam Recreation Area, Wake Forest, NC’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 parks to visit in Bogue Banks, North Carolina’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Review of Niagara Falls State Park’.
Please click here if you missed our ‘Top 3 things to do in Claysburg, PA’.
Please check out our YouTube channel ‘Wandering Money Pig’ showcasing our travels and our Pomeranian dog! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3kl9f4W9sfNG5h1l-x6nHw
