Welcome to Cibola County, New Mexico approximately 4,542 square miles and home to 27,349 residents with over 11,000 homes. This beautiful county borders McKinley County to the north, Bernalillo County to the east, Catron County to the south, and Apache County, Arizona to the west.

Did you know that Cibola county used to be part of Valencia county? That changed in 1981. Cibola county is located in the western most part of what was then Valencia County and the 104th largest county equivalent area in the United States.

Cibola county consists of  Grants, Laguna, Milan, Ramah, Casa Blanca, San Fidel, San Rafael, Bluewater, Cubero, and New Laguna, New Mexico.

Here are a fun things to do in Grants, New Mexico:

Chaco Canyon  Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture dating between 850 and 1250 CEA. Chaco is a very special place. Remote and isolated, it offers few amenities. Come prepared. You will find the rewards unlimited. Check out the navigation links for more information on when we are open, how to get here, and what to do.

Blue Water Lake State Park

This lake is located 25 miles west of Grants in a pinon-juniper landscape with views toward the Zuni mountains. Here you can camp, hike, bird watch, horseback ride and fish. Not only do you get trout here but how about fishing for Tiger Muskie!

Wal-Mart is located at Exit 85.

Acoma Sky City  is a must see! The Acoma Pueblo and Sky City Cultural Center & Haak'u Museum are open 7 days a week from 9Am to 5PM. There is a daily pueblo guided tour held every hour on the hour starting at 9:30am until 3:30pm. Please note there are annual scheduled and sometimes unscheduled closures so be sure to visit the website or call to verify before driving out.

Acoma received the name “Sky City” by being perched atop a 70-acre sandstone mesa rising 367 feet above the valley floor. Acoma continues to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. Acoma Sky City 

Coyote Del Malpias Golf Course

Coyote Del Malpias Golf Course  I  love driving an hour and a half out of Albuquerque to golf here. Many of the locals golf first thing in the morning. The course isn't as populated as the Albuquerque and Rio Rancho courses are. I also appreciate as horrible as I am at this sport, I can let the pros go ahead of me and not feel like I'm being rushed and there are not crowds passing me or getting impatient. I love their burgers and you can call in your order a few holes in advance and your meal will be ready when you turn in your cart. Daylight Savings  7:30 am – 7:30 pm Non-Daylight Savings  8:30 am – 5:30 pm 505-285-5544 tee time is recommended! Reservations are taken up to 5 days in advance.

El Malpias National Monument and Morrow Rock

El Malpais National Monument or Morrow Rock  is a site to see. Any season is a good season to explore the wild country of El Malpais open year-round. There are monument trail-heads open daily for exploring however no camping allowed.

The El Malpais Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,but is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years so plan accordingly. The information center is seasonal and only open weekends from June 15th to September 30th from 9AM to 4PM

Depending on the season, access to back country areas may be difficult. Many of the dirt roads become impassable after summer rains or winter snowfall. Please contact a park ranger at the El Malpais Visitor Center 505-876-2783 for current road and trail information and especially now since many of our Parks are closing due to high fire danger.

Ice Cave

Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano, "The Land of Fire and Ice," located along the Continental Divide. We had fun on this trail and walking along the paths under large trees and lava trails that lead into the cave located in a dormant volcano. This is unique because you are able to see multiple colors of ice in the cave. You cannot get close enough to touch the ice but its a great site to see along with being close to the volcano. Enjoy a shopping experience at the Ice Caves Trading Post featuring ancient artifacts, souvenirs, and snacks.

New Mexico Mining Museum

The New Mexico Mining Museum is another fun adventure. It's open from 9AM to 4PM Monday to Saturday. This is a simulated Uranium Mining Museum as you experience going underground to see what the Miners worked in everyday. Did you know that the initial boom in the city of Grants started soon after Paddy Martinez, a Navajo sheepherder, found uranium-bearing outcrops in the Limestone. Member of the Wanakah Formation at the foot of Haystack Butte in spring of 1950. You will learn the historical legacy of mining and its related culture to Grants/Cibola County.

Route 66 Drive Thru Arch

Here is a fun thing to explore in Grants located on Route 66. There is an 18-foot tall illuminated roadside drive-thru attraction called the Route 66 Neon Drive Thru Arch. This is a roadside attraction and is fun to see when the neon lights are illuminated on it in the evening, there is a vehicle height restriction so be cautious.

Route 66 Vintage Museum & Double Six Gallery

Route 66 Vintage Museum & Double Six Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 1PM to 5PM and is located on the historical highway in Grants features a collection of New Mexico's unique section of thoroughfare. The museum took postcards, scanned and enlarged them to provide a presentation just as you would have encountered taking a drive along Route 66 between the continental divide and Mesita. What a great record of the mother road and how it effected the local economic development.

For my Rvers:

Grants/Cibola Sands KOA

Grants/Cibola Sands KOA is open from March 1st to November 30th. Reservations can be taken by calling 888-562-5608 or 505-287-4376 this KOA is conveniently located near lava beds that date back hundreds of years. Take photos and enjoy the scenery. The amenities you find here are 50 max amp plugins, 83' max length capability, wi-fi, cable tv, snack bar, propane, kamping kitchen and you can even place a food order from a menu and have it delivered to your spot!

Bar "S" RV Park

Bar "S" RV Park is also located in Grants open all year around and is Big Rig friendly.  The amenities you find at this RV site are a meeting/tv room, on site laundry, clean showers and restrooms, handicap facilities, city water, cable tv, public phone, modem hookup, gravel sites, a small gift shop that also includes kachina dolls and pottery, some groceries and Rv supplies, snacks, ice, a soda machine.  505-876-6002

Lavaland RV Park

How about an onsite brewery? Lavaland RV park is the only RV park in town that has an onsite brewery and taproom. Elkins Brewing company has set up shop right next to the park office and all the beer on tap is made right in the brewery! This park is conveniently located near food and gas stations and within a close proximity to the public golf course. Spacious pull through sites, shade trees. For indoor entertainment these spaces include cable TV. Shower facilities are onsite. 505-287-8665 or [email protected]

Blue Spruce RV Park

Blue Spruce RV Park provides good sam's membership discounts and has onsite internet, wifi, restrooms, laundry, cable and ice. Convenient free way access and close to amenities. 505-287-2560

 

 

Enjoy the Land of Enchantment!

Sending good thoughts your way,

 Stephanie Romisher-Webb @ www.nmhomesandproperty.com