Chaves County: Discover Museums, Nature, and Roswell

Chaves County can be explored through a wide range of themes: Roswell’s art and history, the biodiversity of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and the landscape of Bottomless Lakes State Park. The Spring, Hondo, and Pecos Rivers meet in Roswell. Roswell is home to museums and archives dedicated to art and history; Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is known for its biodiversity, while Bottomless Lakes State Park is known for its water-filled sinkholes.

Nature and Landscape: Biodiversity and Sinkholes

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is an ecological crossroads where the Chihuahuan Desert, shortgrass prairie, the Pecos River, and the Roswell Artesian Basin meet. The refuge is documented to attract 357 bird species; more than 100 species of dragonflies and damselflies are also found there. This offers several points of interest for nature enthusiasts. You can focus on birdwatching or make the diversity of dragonflies and damselflies your main interest.

Bottomless Lakes State Park offers a different landscape, about 15 miles southeast of Roswell. It consists of a chain of eight lakes that are, in fact, water-filled sinkholes. They range in depth from 17 to 90 feet; the park also has hiking trails. The details about their number, formation, and depth show what sets these lakes apart from ordinary bodies of water. If you include nature in your travel plans, you can choose between the area’s distinctive geology and hiking in the park.

Roswell: Art, History, and Remembrance

Roswell brings together art collections and different approaches to regional history. The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1994 to showcase works by former participants in the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program. It displays more than 500 varied works of art in twelve galleries across 22,000 square feet of exhibition space. It is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. If you plan a visit, check the opening hours again beforehand.

The Roswell Museum and Art Center preserves and promotes the art and history of the American Southwest and neighboring regions. Its permanent collection and archive together comprise more than 11,000 works of art and historical materials. This means visitors can explore not only works of art but also historical collections. The McBride Museum offers a focus more specifically on the New Mexico Military Institute: its twelve exhibition areas cover the institute’s history and include topics such as horses, women, sports, an early cadet dormitory, and the Hall of Fame.

The McBride Museum building also has a story of its own. It housed what became the first indoor swimming pool west of the Mississippi. The museum is free and open to the public Monday through Friday on regular working days, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For visitors who prefer to explore history through written and visual collections, the archive of the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico includes more than 14,000 photographs and hundreds of manuscripts.

Other topics offer different perspectives: Blackdom was the most prominent Black-founded homesteader colony in New Mexico. The International UFO Museum and Research Center focuses on the 1947 Roswell Incident and other unexplained phenomena related to UFO research.

Wildlife at Spring River Zoo

Spring River Zoo also caters to tourists and offers environmental education and wildlife programs and events. Along the Capitan Trail, you can observe several animals up close. The habitats in the river bottomlands there include raccoons, badgers, and great horned owls, among others. Wildlife is presented differently here than at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge: the zoo focuses on programs and close-up animal viewing, while the refuge is characterized by its ecological crossroads and its documented diversity of birds and dragonflies.

Travelers who plan their trip around their interests can consider Roswell’s museums and archives a cultural focus and plan nature activities as a separate addition. This distinction is a practical starting point when choosing a hotel in Chaves County: consider which of the topics mentioned are most important to your trip, and tailor your search accordingly.

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Go to the main travel overview: New Mexico.