Southern New Mexico's wonderful weather, natural beauty, and varied landscape combine to offer nearly every conceivable outdoor activity. In the area around Las Cruces you will find an ideal environment for tennis, golf, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, ballooning, and aviation. People unfamiliar with the area are often surprised to learn of the fabulous opportunities nearby for hunting, fishing, boating, and even snow skiing.

Unlike other regions of the Southwest in which summers are too hot (Phoenix and Tucson) or winters too cold (Santa Fe and Albuquerque), Las Cruces features a pleasant year-round climate. With the warmest average monthly high being 94.2 degrees in July, and with the coolest average monthly high being 61.6 degrees in January, golf and other outdoor activities are attractive every day of the year. Our moderate desert heat, very low humidity (averaging about 27 percent), little rainfall (only 8 inches), and annual average of 350 days of sunshine make life in Las Cruces pleasant and comfortable.

The area around Las Cruces is a land of contrasts. Our 4,000-foot elevation puts us in the category of the "high desert," with rolling terrain, cool nights, and four distinct seasons. Around us is the fertile Rio Grande valley, the nation's leading producer of chile and second-leading producer of pecans. Within a 90-minute drive both to the northwest and the northeast are spectacular national forests and wilderness areas with mountains, lakes, canyons, and meadows that offer endless opportunities for excursions. For those who want to visit a bigger city than Las Cruces, driving times are one hour to El Paso, three hours to Albuquerque, four hours to Tucson, and five hours to Santa Fe.

Within a range of 15 minutes to 2 hours, residents of Las Cruces are treated to a breathtaking array of natural wonders. High on everyone's list is White Sands National Monument, with the eerie beauty of a 300-square-mile ocean of rolling white sand dunes. If greenery is what you're seeking, the Gila National Forest, Gila Wilderness Area, and Lincoln National Forest contain over 5 million acres of hill country, high timber, and countless rivers and streams that blend into an endlessly stunning panorama for nature lovers of all kinds. For cool blue water, Elephant Butte and Caballo Lakes offer a 20-mile stretch of deep lake water for sailing, fishing, and a variety of other water sports.

Las Cruces and nearby El Paso are hosts to award-winning theater companies, opera companies, symphony orchestras, and chamber music festivals. In addition, some of the music world's biggest names--including Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Whitney Houston, George Strait, and the Beach Boys--have performed in Las Cruces in recent years. Top college sports teams can be seen in the area, as can horse racing, rodeos, and local festivals of all kinds.

The region's rich and diverse cultural traditions, as well as its international flavor and vitality, have made it a national trendsetter in art, fashion, and cuisine. From bustling city markets to quiet village squares, residents of Las Cruces will discover incredible opportunities nearby for shopping, especially in the hundreds of art galleries with paintings, sculpture, pottery, and jewelry in every conceivable style. Moreover, as much as the region's wonderful climate, scenery, and art have contributed to put New Mexico on the world stage, our area is perhaps best known for its taste--in particular the famous green and red chiles that are the key ingredients in our traditional enchiladas, tamales, and burritos.