3 Best Sights in East Side and West Side, Albuquerque

Previously known simply as the National Atomic Museum, this brilliant Smithsonian affiliate traces the history of the atomic age and how nuclear science has dramatically influenced the course of modern history. Exhibits include replicas of Little Boy and Fat Man (the bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II), a compelling display about the difficult decision to drop atomic bombs, and a look at how atomic culture has dovetailed with pop culture. One particular highlight is the restored 1942 Plymouth that was used to transport the plutonium core of "the Gadget" (as that first weapon was known) down from Los Alamos to the Trinity Site for testing. The campus contains the nine-acre Heritage Park, which has a B-29 and other mega-airships, plus rockets, missiles, cannons, and even a nuclear sub sail. There are also children's programs and an exhibit about X-ray technology.

Sandhill cranes make their winter home here or stop for a snack en route to the Bosque del Apache, just south in Socorro. Albuquerque is right in their flyway, and the Open Space Center provides a most hospitable setting for them. The outdoor viewing station opens onto the site’s expansive field, which faces out to the Sandia Mountains; the hush—aside from the occasional flock circling above (look for them from mid-October through February)—is restorative. Complementing the experience inside are changing art and photography exhibits, an interpretative display on the adjacent 14th- to 15th-century Piedras Marcadas Pueblo ruins, and well-informed guides. A native garden interspersed with mosaics and sculptures fills the patio at the center’s entryway; the latter theme is introduced when you make the turn-off from busy Coors Boulevard—Robert Wilson’s large-scale public art installation Flyway is at the northeast corner as you approach. Ongoing family activities, occasional live music, and educational and other special programming are on tap year-round; easy walking trails heading down to the shores of the Rio Grande start just beyond the entrance.

Beneath the stumps of five extinct volcanoes, this park encompasses more than 25,000 ancient Native American rock drawings inscribed on the 17-mile-long West Mesa escarpment overlooking the Rio Grande Valley. For centuries, Native American hunting parties camped at the base, chipping and scribbling away. Archaeologists believe most of the petroglyphs were carved on the lava formations between 1100 and 1600, but some images at the park may date back as far as 1000 BC. Accessible in three separate (and mostly shade-free---bring water and a hat!) sections, each is a short drive from the helpful Visitor Center, where rangers will supply maps and help you determine which trail is best for the time you have. The somewhat sandy but packed flat 1½-mile (round-trip) Piedras Marcadas Canyon trail has readily visible petroglyphs all along its length; at 2.2 miles, the unpaved trail at Rinconada Canyon reveals its large concentration of petroglyphs about halfway in; and, closest to the Visitor Center is the Boca Negra Canyon loop trail, with three paved spurs that each take you up close to distinctive clusters of petroglyphs as well.