Cloudcroft Things to Do

This is the name of the main shopping street in Cloudcroft. Located opposite of James Canyon Road to the north of it.

Cloudcroft isn't a big town. That's what add to it's charm as a very beautiful and picturesque community in the depths of Lincoln National Forest. It's an amazing town, and Burro Ave. is probably where you'll spend most of your time in town. There are trading posts, stores that sell second-hand items, restaurants and real estate businesses. The Cloudcroft Hotel is located along this avenue, although as of Feburary 2013 I have yet to stay there. There is a pavilion that also sells souvenirs inside as well.

Also known as the "Cloud-Climbing Railroad", this section of a once bustling railroad that criss-crossed through Lincoln National Forest, delievering passengers who wanted to escape the heat from the deserts and valleys below. The last train ran in 1947, and the railroad era came to an end as automobiles gradually took over.

Today this tressle is the only remaining remant of a bygone era. It's a beautiful little sight to see, and it's listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places! You can't miss it, because it's before you enter the little town of Cloudcroft along US 82! You can only enter one way, and that's coming east. A surreal thing happened during my first visit, me and my friend were admiring the scenery, and all of a sudden there was this train whistle out of nowhere! We thought there were speakers or a soundsystem playing it somewhere, but we didn't hear it again. On my second visit with my parents, I couldn't hear it this time. Could it have been a ghost train?? Only time will tell.

Cloudcroft is home to the Sacremento Mountains Historical Museum & Pioneer Village. The museum has a large collection of memorabilia from the history of Cloudcroft and the area. The Pioneer Village shows early farming and ranching industry and ways of life in a rugged log cabin. They also have other buildings like a General Store and a Chapel. The website listed the hours as 10 AM to 4 PM Friday and Saturday from November 1st to March 1st. Supposedly they were open on additional days during summer hours; but they extended the "winter hours" until mid-May. You may want to check ahead of time. Admission is $5 for Adults and $2 for kids 6 to 12.

Another historic building is The Lodge. The Lodge was built by the Alamagordo and Sacremento Railroad in 1899. It is still a great destination with a spa, a golf course, a fine restaurant, and nice accomodations. There are also reports the place is haunted by the ghost of a chambermaid named "Rebecca" who appears with bright red hair and blue eyes. There is also an annex to The Lodge, a Bed and Breakfast called The Pavilion.

The Cloudcroft Hotel was established in 1935 and is in the center of the historic Burro Street. The lobby has the pressed tin type roof popular for fancy establishments during that time period. The seven rooms have a rustic Western look and cost from $70 to $110 a night.

The First Baptist Church was established in 1891 and is located at the west end of Burro Street. Like most of the buildings in this part of Cloudcroft it was built from the most plentiful natural resource in the area, wood.

Burro Strret was the main part of town in the 1880s when Cloudcroft was a stop on the Alamagordo and Sacremento Railroad. Today these buildings house a hotel, a couple of retsaurants, a nice bar or two and a variety of shops. It seemed like a nice place to hang out and the people were fairly friendly

This is a great place to go fishing in cloudcroft. The lake is stocked every week with trout so it makes for lots of catches. The lake is open May through September. NO state fishing permit is required, however daily fishing permits are required and available at the silver lake office.

A nice slow relaxing drive up to Sunspot is definitely a must. This route is very scenic, the views of the valley and the Sacramentos are absolutely beautiful. The tall pines and some of the aspens were so thick in some places that all you could see was green. The road is quite "curvy" which makes for interesting driving, but very well worthwhile.

Your first stop in Cloudcroft should be the Chamber of Commerce where you can pick up lots of maps and brochures to help you enjoy your trip. The guy I met was nice and very knowledgeable.