Attractions and Places To See in Cibola County - Top 20

Located along historic Route 66, Grants is a gateway town to the lava flows and cinder cones of El Malpais National Monument and the rugged trails of El Morro National Monument. Once a logging and uranium boomtown, it now welcomes travelers with local museums, Route 66 landmarks, and access to hiking, caving, and volcanic landscapes. The town also serves as a key resupply stop for Great Divide Mountain Bike Route riders and long-distance hikers, making it both a practical and scenic pause on the road through western New Mexico.

The lava caves were formed by ancient lava flows and are now a world of their own. These caves are often diverse ecosystems that remain secluded from the rest of the world. You can check out a bunch of different caves off the side of the trail around here, but don't get too close or try to go in.

Dubbed 'Carrot Capital of the U.S.' circa 1939-1961 as a suburb of Grants, Milan's population increased during the Uranium boom between 1960 and 1990, and still grew by over 1,300 between 2000 and 2010, a rate of 71.6%. Many new houses and service-oriented businesses are being built. Milan is the site of the privately run Cibola County Correctional Center, which houses more than 1,000 federal prisoners and is a major employer. It is bordered to the south by Grants, the county seat. Interstate 40 runs through the village, with access via Exit 79. New Mexico State Road 122, formerly U.S. Route 66, passes through the eastern side of town. After the decline of logging in the 1930s, the area gained fame as the "carrot capital" of the United States. Agriculture was aided by the creation of Bluewater Reservoir, and the region's volcanic soils provided ideal conditions for farming. Grants also benefited from its location on U.S. Route 66, which brought tourists and travelers and the businesses that catered to them. The Grant brothers' camp was first called Grants Camp, then Grants Station, and finally Grants. The new city enveloped the existing colonial settlement of Los Alamitos and grew along the tracks of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The town prospered as a result of railroad logging in the nearby Zuni Mountains, and it served as a section point for the Atlantic and Pacific, which became part of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad empire. https://www.villageofmilan.com

Construction started on a first church in Grants in 1920 and was completed in 1923. It was dedicated to St. Teresa of Avila. Grants was originally known as Los Alamitos and was settled in 1864 by Don Jesus Maria Blea followed by Don Diego Antonio Chavez in 1882. The Atlantic and Pacific Railroads contracted with three brothers named Grant to build the railroad through this area going west. They established a base camp which became known as Grant’s Camp and in time shortened to Grants. In 1911 the first Mass was celebrated in Grants by the remarkable Father Robert Kalt, known by everyone as “El Padre Roberto” at the home of don Jesus Maria Blea. Before 1920 there was no church in Grants and the people usually attended Mass in San Rafael where Padre Roberto lived. El Padre Roberto was assigned to San Fidel which served as the parish church for this whole area including Grants, San Rafael and San Mateo. He came to Grants once a month until 1933 when Mass began weekly in Grants. A large solid stone community center was built in 1951 on a large tract of land donated by the Gunderson’s located about from the old St. Teresa’s church. With the large influx of people during the uranium boom, a large church was needed to accommodate the increasing Catholic population. In 1959 a new church and rectory were constructed at the corner of High and Smith Streets. https://cibolacatholiccommunity.com/st-teresa-of-avila

The peak of Mount Taylor sits atop the area being the tallest mountain in Cibola National Forest and San Mateo Mountains. This dormant stratovolcano has a visitors log at the top; read through the entries of prior summiteers and have a snack before making your way back to the car. Be observant of the weather, as spring and summer can often bring afternoon storms.

Before the railway was built, the first settlement was called Alamitos (small cotton forest). The approaching construction team of the Santa Fé Railroad was led by the Grant brothers, who built a tent city here, which was commonly known as Grant's Camp. The post office opened in 1882 also took up this name and was listed under "Grants", but the emerging city was called "Grant's Camp" until 1936. In 1950 one of the largest uranium deposits in the world was found in the nearby mountains. The population increased from around 1,200 to 12,000 people until the mines closed in 1982. The Grants Mining Museum deals with the history of mining.

The El Morro National Monument is worthwhile. There, insert a small hiking loop over 4 km.

La Ventana Natural Arch, second largest of New Mexico's accessible natural arches, this massive sandstone formation lies just off of highway 117 in the park's eastern section. A short trail leads to the base of the arch. Enjoy a panoramic vista of the contact between Jurassic desert sand dunes of the Zuni Sandstone and the overlaying Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone. A visible white stripe near the 200 foot cliff top separates the two units and marks an unconformity, a missing rock record of over 60 million years. By Cretaceous time the local climate had shifted dramatically wetter as evidenced by the many fossilized inverebrate burrows. At times the CO2 levels were more than double those of today. The arch formed from the daily temperature swings of over 50F on the rock's surface throughout the year. The sandstone expands in the day and cracks apart from the still cool rock hidden behind. The rock at the base and in the center was under the greatest stress and failed first. Rocks on either side failed too somewhat symmetrically. The load from the overlying rock and the ensuing cracking apart lessened upwards. Over time this created an arc that climbed as more rock failed and collapsed. It faces southwest so the lighting can be even more spectacular after noon in the fall, winter, and spring. http://www.fourcornersgeotourism.com/content/la-ventana-natural-arch/fcaE05CA99860F9F4EFA