Ruidoso, NM resort or condo? Where to Stay and How to Decide

We have visited Ruidoso, NM several times. It is a popular tourist attraction near where we live in El Paso, TX, because it is an escape from the desert. Either way there are many places to stay. Whether you want to go and be away from it all, or you still want a social atmosphere, just a change of scenery. Here are the pros and cons to both.

Resort - Inn of the Mountains Gods

Inn of the Mountain Gods is a resort in Mescalero/Ruidoso, New Mexico. It offers a Casino, Golf Course, and Event venue for concerts, chefs, weddings. It also includes a spa, and pool. Other Outdoor activities include a zip-line, pedal-boats, fishing, biking, and more.

The resort in town is Inn of the Mountain Gods. This is a Mescalero Apache owned business. It has all the amenities of a resort in which you won’t have to leave the property because you have everything you need for a vacation.

• Casino

• Golf Course

• Restaurants

• Taphouse

• Recreation such as zip-line, pedal boats, fishing, and more

• Spa

• Special events venue for concerts, weddings, and even special presentations of famous chefs.

• Beautiful rooms with a amazing views.

Condo - Tiara Del Sol

The condo we have stayed on more than one occasion is Tiara del Sol. This is a set of apartment complexes, way up in the mountain from where you can see Inn of the Mountain Gods, the nearby town, and a great view of Sierra Blanca, which is the main mountain where they do skiing from. This offers all the things you would have in a home away from home. Our unit was a suite that was 2 floors, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, dining, washer and dryer.

• Full apartment/condo (for the most part).

• More isolated (though you do have shared walls) and get see wildlife like deer and wild turkeys.

• Great views

• Can prepare your own meals

• More space.

Pros and Cons

Depending on the type of vacation you are looking for, there are pros and cons to both

Inn of the Mountain Gods - PROS

• Everything is there - entertainment, recreation, food

• Beautiful rooms and facilities well maintained

• Lots to do

• Food

• Atmosphere (depending if you want people around)

Inn of the Mountain Gods - CONS

• Expensive rooms - especially when there is a special event or holiday weekends

• Expensive food - the restaurants are good but it will rack up quickly if you are spending multiple nights there, multiple meals.

• Average size hotel rooms unless you get a suite.

• Atmosphere (depending on if you want people around)

Tiara Del Sol - PROS

• Large condo/apartment to yourself

• Peaceful and serene - watching wildlife go by from your balcony. Read a book with a cup of coffee. See the night sky.

• Affordable - At least way way more affordable than Inn of the Mountain Gods.

• Atmosphere - (depending on if you want people around)

Tiara Del Sol - CONS

• Old Complex - Not as well maintained. Rustic. There may be bugs and spiderwebs.

• Rooms - Rooms are ok also but not as nice of a bed as you would get at Inn of the Mountain Gods.

• Not as much to do - Wish there had been a hiking trail nearby, but its pretty much just the complex and surrounding houses/cabins.

• Thin walls and neighbors - One of the times we went we were a large group and pretty loud. Another time we were a small group and not a lot of noise, and we got a noise complaint… 🤨😅

• Food - You have to make your own or drive into town.

• Atmosphere - (depending on if you want people around)

• The road - Getting up here in the winter if there is snow would definitely be safer with an all-terrain vehicle.

So it is up to you as to what you want. There are ways to make Inn of the Mountain Gods a peaceful getaway like the condo. If you go off-peak and during the week, it becomes affordable and peaceful without having the crowds. Food can still be expensive, but ammenities such as comfy bed and well maintained facilities stays the same. Let us know what you decide and your experience. Or have other alternatives for both.

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Is There a More Beautiful Route in New Mexico? | Road Trip Gems

Think of your favorite road trip? I don’t mean a one time occurrence. I mean a road you would take, even if it means adding an extra 30-60 minutes to reach your destination, because traveling through this section, brings you more peace and stability than going the usual “common” path. The road. The scenery. The weather. Do you bring someone along to share it? Keep it to yourself? What about it makes it so memorable? This is another Road Trip Gem. You wouldn’t spend/plan a whole vacation just for this one destination, but are definitely glad it crossed your path.

Connecting two towns

Between two small towns in mountains in New Mexico there is a road. Both towns are in the middle of a forest. A pine forest with open meadows blooming with purple flowers in the spring, and warm colored hills of the leaves in the fall. If you keep your eyes peeled, you may see some of its natural inhabitants, like deer, hawks, ravens, cows, wild horses, wild turkeys, elk, and maybe even a bear. How to get there

To get to this town you’ll need to cross through a tunnel portal. As you cross the tunnel you begin to see the desert shrubs disappear. You begin to see trees. Then taller trees. More trees. You can’t see the mountain floors anymore. You are immersed in the Lincoln National Forest. A trestle can be seen from the side of the road, which brings to the image to your mind of what this must have been like to experience this scenery from the inside of the train riding the trestle. A “cloud climbing” rail. You soon arrive at the little town in the mountains known as Cloudcroft. Very small town with a population of less than 1000. It could almost seem like it was a town trapped in the old west if it weren’t for the paved roads, cars, and gas stations. the whole main strip of town is maybe about a mile long, then you’re back in pure forest.

And as you leave town, there is the road that takes you to another small, about 10 times the population. A tourist town known as Ruidoso, meaning noisy, for it’s “noisy” river. To get to the other town from here, you’ll get to experience the most peaceful and scenic drive in New Mexico. NM-244. NM-244 is also the route you would take to get to Silver Lake. A popular tourist destination. Though I have never been, I still love this drive.

My first encounter on this road

The first time I remember experiencing this I was maybe in high school. It is the only connecting road between these two cities and if you wanted to access it another way, you have to go around to another nearby town and the bottom of the mountain, then go back up. As we were driving through I remember liking the scenery then, because it was more isolated. Less cars and things that may remind you of city life. It is a two lane road. One coming and one going. I have always been fascinated by wildlife in its natural environment so I would always be looking out. This is one of the first times I remember seeing a raven. I was positive this had to be a raven, because it was so majestic. This was not just a black bird that I would see back at home. It was perched on a wooden fence as we slowly took one the roads sharp turns. It also appeared to just be taking in the scenery.

At the time I didn’t really know where I was, but wouldn’t revisit it till much later. I don’t even remember how much later, but it must have been once I was old enough to drive and go there on my own. I have never driven it on my own, so it must have been with Vero or my sister. Once I did revisit, I knew this was the road where I saw the raven. And it’s not uncommon to see other wildlife. We have seen all the ones I mentioned before, except a bear, but I do know they are in the region.

If you are ever in either of these towns, I recommend taking the road less-traveled and rejuvenate your mind to bring that sense of peace to yourself. This road has been a memorable part of our lives since I showed it to Vero. We even took some wedding photos there. It is definitely recommended, you will not regret it.

Check out our video above of our experience from our Ruidoso 2022 trip. Check out our previous entry from our trip where we visit the Alamogordo Toy Train Museum. So what place comes to mind for you? Any Road Trip Gems near you? Leave us a comment down below.

Alamogordo Toy Train Museum | Road Trip Gems

There are fun little places you can’t really fly to. You wouldn’t spend/plan a whole vacation just for this one destination, but are definitely glad it crossed your path. If you’re traveling through Alamogordo to get to Ruidoso, Cloudcroft, Las Cruces, or El Paso, Texas, you may want to make a pit stop to the Alamogordo Toy Train Museum. It’s a small little building, but it still fits tons of toy trains. They have several scales/sizes, some running and some not running. It definitely sucks you in to how incredibly patient, time-consuming, and sense of accomplishment that this hobby can bring.

Train Museum - Interior

At the time we went, it was approximately $7 a person which included a tour of the museum, and a ride on their outdoor model train. The tour includes 3 rooms with running displays. They have a train track that is set up high near the ceiling, as well as one that is hanging upside down from the ceiling (not functional but cool to see). One that is electric with the wire overhead like the actual electric trains. And their grand finale is there largest room with a slight replica of the area, representing Alamogordo, an surrounding towns such as Cloudcroft, Carrizozo, Ruidoso, and others. Cloudcroft is a nearby town that is in the mountains. It is about a half hour drive into and up the mountain. You drive through a tunnel and it always fascinates me how much the landscape changes after going through the tunnel, like a portal. Depending which direction you’re going, it transforms from desert to forest. Soon you will be surrounded by pines and evergreens. As you get nearer to Cloudcroft, you will see a trestle. A trestle is a type of bridge or structure to hold something up. In this case it used to be for train tracks. One of the models pays homage to when this used to be a functioning railroad from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft.

About Cloudcroft

Cloudcroft Trestle

As I mentioned, you will be able to see the trestle as you drive in. You can pull over and take pictures if you’d like. Sometimes you will see people at the other end of the bridge and wonder how they got there. If you continue on the road, there will be like a rest area, where there are clean bathrooms. There is a trailhead there where you can get to the “other side” of the trestle. It is a fairly easy hike. There are some steep parts, and is maybe about a mile to get to. The scenery is beautiful, especially during the fall. But fall foliage happens extremely fast. You have about a 1 to 2 week window, about the 2nd and 3rd week of October. They also get snow quite regularly during the winter months. Which is great for all the nearby desert people that rarely get to see snow.

Train Museum - Exterior

Caboose in Alamogordo Toy Train Museum

The other part of admission was the ride on the G scale train, that runs along Alameda park and another set of real railroad tracks. We even got lucky and got to see a real train pass by alongside us as we were riding. It is a round trip that maybe takes 15-20 minutes. Back at the museum there is also a caboose. According to their website, it can be rented for kids parties, etc.

Consider stopping

Alamogordo Train Museum

As mentioned if you are passing through Alamogordo, or if Alamogordo is your destination, I would definitely consider adding this to your itinerary. Check out our video on Youtube of our experience or the gallery of photos taken from our experience.