We had quite the packed week in New Mexico a few weeks ago. From all of the amazing days trips to places like Meow Wolf, the Hot Springs, cool lakes, the Ra Paulette caves, and Explora it was also nice to spend a few ‘down’ days checking out some of the local kids’ activities and attractions in Albuquerque. With three kids and being short on time, we couldn’t do everything but we did mange to experience a few cool activities that the kids really loved. Check out some more of our favorite local kids’ activities that are are worth checking out if you ever visit New Mexico. There’s even group activities such as airsoft on offer which I know a lot of kids will enjoy. You can check out www.onlybbguns.co.uk for more information about this sport; it wasn’t for my kids but it’s just an example of lots of activities on offer!
Kids’ Activities: What to Do in New Mexico
We went to Cliff’s Amusement Park with a simple agenda: just go to the waterpark area a.k.a WaterMania. With it being a consistent 100 degrees throughout our trip, all the kids wanted was an afternoon of water play. After having our bags checked (you can’t bring outside food into the park), we purchased the $8.95 passes (per person) and were good to go for the afternoon.
The older kids immediately went into ‘freak out’ mode as they were psyched to the see Mega Water Monkeys area, which was actually pretty cool. This area featured tons of water slides and the not-to-be missed giant bucket of water that periodically dumps out massive amounts of water. My older girls loved this part as they patiently waited for the bucket to fill up as they went into hysterics when the water dumped on them, leaving them soaked.
My younger daughter checked out this area a bit where she went on a smaller slide, but for the most part it was too much for 22-month-old. The majority of her time was spent at the Lil’ Squirts area where she could cool off and play with water sprinklers. My biggest issue is that this area isn’t well covered for the kids, but she loved the gentle water so it was really hard to get her away from there. Thank goodness for snacks and bribery!
The kids did end up wanting to check out the rest of the water park, but at that point it was too late and we hadn’t purchased tickets for that area. But there are tons of thrill rides, like rollercoasters that would be an awesome fit for even older kids. Again, bribery with some ice cream worked to get them out of the park for an already full day of serious water action.
Details:
Cliff’s Amusement Park
Osuna and San Mateo NE
4800 Osuna Road Northeast
Albuquerque, NM 87109-2314
For more info, please visit: https://www.cliffsamusementpark.com/
Another activity on our list while we were in New Mexico was a visit to the ABQ BioPark Zoo. This 64-acre zoo is home to tons of educational exhibits where you and your kids can see everything from apes to elephants to sea lions up close.
My youngest daughter is really into animals so she had a blast naming all of the animals that we saw throughout the zoo. We basically followed the map they provided and wondered here and there as we saw gorillas, flamingos, elephants, sea lions and more.
They were especially excited when they got to ride the carousel that was adorned with different animals. The one thing I would note is this zoo involves a ton of walking that was challenging with the heat. We definitely took tons of breaks, looking for shade and indoor areas with AC, but the zoo is quite large and even took us over 45 minutes find the exit. But they loved it and had a blast seeing so many animals, and hopefully learned something about their lifestyle and habitats.
Details:
ABQ BioPark Zoo
903 Tenth SW, 87102
For more info, please visit: https://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark/zoo
Even More Kids’ Activities:
With only a week in New Mexico, we had the chance to experience so much, but there was also a ton of activities and local attractions that we didn’t get a chance. Here are some places that are on my list for our next visit:
Have you been to New Mexico? What’s your favorite kids’ activities to check out?
