On a summer vacation to escape the Texas heat, we spent 5 days in Red River and 3 days in Angel Fire. We fell in love with Red River the minute we saw it coming down the mountain into the town's narrow valley - I heard the motorhome huffing and puffing to get up to the top of the peak at over 10,000' and a wheeee as it tried to barrel down the hill and get to it's campsite on the Red River. Some of the reasons we love Red River is that it:
Red River is rich with history of the Ute and Jicarilla Apaches who fought and raided nearby pueblos and roamed the area; explorers and fur trappers who tried winter and summer to make a living; and miners who sought fortunes from the gold, silver and copper mines that were carved into the mountain around Red River starting in 1870. Mining helped the population of Red River soar to over 3000 when mining hit it's peak in 1897. But the mines eventually played out around 1905 and Red River morphed from a Boomtown to a Mountain Retreat in the 1920's - a welcome escape from the Texas and southern New Mexico heat. Today, Red River has a population of around 500 friendly folks who seem to love the outdoors and their quaint town. Located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Red River is completely surrounded by the Carson National Forest, sits at 8750' above sea level, and the average summer temperate is 78 during the day and 38 at night - just what we were looking for!!!!
The town of Red River, with the cascading clear water of Red River running through it, is small and quaint with architecture that ranges from Swiss Alps inns to old mining town buildings. You can bike from one end of Main Street to the other end of town in less than five minutes past a variety of restaurants, options for lodging, quaint shops, fun bars, and things to do. During our stay in Red River, we parked the Jeep and rode bikes or walked everywhere we went.
For lodging there are a couple full hook-up RV parks on the edge of town and six US Forest Service Campgrounds within a few miles of downtown. Red River is loaded with a wide variety of lodging options from hotel type rooms to yurts to multi-bedroom mountain homes to cozy cabins along the river. And again, you can get anywhere by foot or bike.
Kids are going to love you when you bring them to Red River - they can ride go carts, tube down the mountain, play frisbee golf, play or fish in the River, visit Black Mountain Playhouse (video games, roller skating, indoor putt-putt, ride up and down the chairlift, pool tables, fooseball, and lots of other fun stuff), ride bikes, hike the nature trail, climb a climbing wall, bungee jump, enjoy the playground in the park, or fish one of the community ponds or the river that runs through town. Red River has several parks that have everything from volleyball and basketball courts to soccer and softball fields to disc golf and playgrounds.
Some of the fun things we did when we were in Red River included:
Red River is alive with events all summer long from great concerts and festivals like River & Brews Blues Fest to Bluegrass Music Festival to Redfest Music Festival as well as events like a Classic Car Show, Oktoberfest, Bike Tour, Bingo in the Park, and Buckaroo Ball. Do a little research and schedule your vacation around one of these fun events. In fact the main reason we ended up in Red River was to escape the 105 degree Texas heat but also to attend one of our favorite Texas singer songwriters music festival which was held August 15th to the 17th. For the last 17 years, Larry Joe Taylor has been bringing some of the best musicians and bands to Red River for his annual Cool Mountain Nights & Hot Chili Days Music Festival. Wow, what a fantastic festival - excellent music, 4 unique music venues, small friendly crowd, and perfect weather! Read our review of this very fun music event.
During a summer vacation, some of the other things you can do in Red River include:
Bottom line - it's hard to beat a summer vacation in Red River, New Mexico - reasonable lodging, lots of fun stuff to do, perfect weather, beautiful scenery, reasonable prices, close to Texas, and friendly folks.
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