Socorro

Most of the interest in the Socorro region is outside town and is covered in the "Get out" section, but a couple of in-town points of interest:

• • The Socorro town plaza — With a cute park, a fragment from Jumbo, the vessel built to contain the first ever atomic bomb which was detonated at the Trinity test site in 1945, and a few gift shops.
• • New Mexico Tech — Is on the west side of town and has a mineralogical museum, some art, and a pleasant, if decidedly low-key, campus. Many of the cultural activities in town center on Tech. (Don't visit expecting intercollegiate sports; apart from rugby and soccer, there basically aren't any, although the college does have a decent golf course.) — Address: 801 Leroy Place — Phone: +1 575 835-5434 — Website: http://www.nmt.edu
• • Old San Miguel Mission — Founded in 1598, San Miguel is one of the oldest Catholic churches in the country. — Address: 403 El Camino Real — Phone: +1 575 835-2891 — Website: http://www.sdc.org/~smiguel/

• • Festival of the Cranes — Held annually in mid-November to celebrate the return of the vast flocks of sandhill cranes to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (see under "Get out"). There are exhibits and activities in town, as well as guided tours to the refuge and other sites, some of which are not routinely open to visitors. — Website: https://friendsofbosquedelapache.org/brochure/

• • El Sombrero — Known to locals as "The Hat". Classic New Mexican food, great ambience, easy on the wallet, the "Number 4 blue green chicken over easy" is not be missed. There have been intermittent complaints about the service, but it seems good and attentive more often than lax. — Address: 210 Mesquite — Phone: +1 575 835-3945
• • Desert Diamond Restaurant — Mexican food with a "New Mexican" flavor; more of a diner-type place than fine dining, but you can't eat ambience. Their taco burgers are a drippy, juicy delight unlike any other. — Address: 602 Hwy. 85 — Directions: continuation of California Ave — Hours: 11AM-9PM 7 days — Phone: +1 575-835-1975
• • Socorro Springs — Microbrewery and hand-made pizza. Known to locals as simply "The Brewpub" as it is the only one in town. Good service and pleasant atmosphere. — Address: 1012 N. California Ave — Phone: +1 575 838-0650
• • The El Camino — "The Road," "Elcam," or simply "Camino" as it is sometimes called by locals, serves New Mexican and American food. All night greasy-spoon diner for the college students. Green-chile cheese fries are not to be missed and make a meal all their own, as long as you're not expecting haute cuisine. — Address: 707 California Ave — Phone: +1 575 835-1180
• • Owl Bar & Cafe — About ten miles south of Socorro in the dinky town of San Antonio (on the way to the Bosque del Apache) is this locally famous burger joint, particularly noted for its green chili cheeseburgers. — Address: 77 US Hwy 380, San Antonio — Phone: +1 575 835-9946

• • The Capitol — On the plaza is as good as it gets out here. "The Cap" is rumored to have been a favorite drinking stop for scientists of the Manhattan Project travelling between Los Alamos and the Trinity test site.

No information available

California Avenue, the main drag north-south through town paralleling I-25, has the usual assortment of chain motels and motor lodges (EconoLodge, Super 8, Motel 6, Days Inn, etc.), mostly serviceable, none exceptional. The Best Western Socorro Hotel & Suites, 1100 California Ave NE, +1 575 838-0556, has more amenities than most and is comfortable. Lodging in Socorro tends to be tight around the Festival of the Cranes, the second or third weekend of May when New Mexico Tech has its graduation, and also in early October when the overflow from the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta reaches town, but otherwise is usually not hard to get.

The nearest airport with commercial air service is in Albuquerque, about 70 miles north. The nearest train (Amtrak) station is also in Albuquerque. Buses run between Albuquerque and El Paso, Texas with a stop in Socorro.

If you're driving to Socorro, access from Albuquerque and El Paso is via Interstate highway 25, with uniformly good road and full services every 50 miles or so. If approaching from the east (US 380) or west (US 60), however, gas stations are few and far between, so plan accordingly.

There's not much town to get around in, but the motels along California Avenue do sprawl somewhat and the stores there are some distance from Tech. A bicycle is handy for Tech students, although other visitors are unlikely to need transportation other than what got them to town. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (see below) is 15 miles away along a road that is pleasant for cycling (although somewhat narrow -- be on the alert for recklessly driven vehicles); most other outlying attractions are far enough away to be best reached by car.