Burro Mountain Homestead

Half an hour’s drive away, Silver City isthe go-to spot for supplies, shops, supermarkets, eateries and bars. It's also home to a fine museum, saloon and still-thriving opera house, and the downtown district is buzzing with galleries, studios and cultural happenings. Head to the Western New Mexico University Museum for info on the prehistoric past of the surrounding area and the cultures that rose and fell long before the settlers arrived. Silver City is one corner of the triangular Trail of Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway, a 93-mile route for cars and cyclists crossing six climactic zones through a massive slice of New Mexico’s history, from the Native Americans to the miners and outlaws. The furthest point of the Scenic Byway is the Gila Cliff Dwellings, well worth the two-hour drive to see the complex village built and eventually abandoned by the Mogollon people in the 13th century... workshops, living rooms, graffiti and all. Trails around the surrounding Gila National Forest make for a tiptop day in the wilderness. Closer to home, hikers can hook up with the massive Continental Divide Trail (Canada to Mexico) at the Burro Peak trailhead an hour away; if you haven’t got time to trek to Canada there’s a good eight-mile section here, with views across to the Chihuahua desert in Mexico and the Big Hatchet Mountains.