A short drive north of the Montezuma Hot Springs takes you to a pond on the Gallinas River that provides winter skating and summer fishing.

Other nearby parklands include Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge (tel. 505/425-3581; or visit their website), 5 miles southeast via NM 104 and NM 281, open Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:30pm, boasting 220 species of birds and other animals on 8,672 acres of wetland; and Storrie Lake State Park (tel. 505/425-7278), 4 miles north via NM 518 and open daily during daylight hours year-round, which offers fishing, swimming, windsurfing, water-skiing, camping, a visitor center with historic exhibits, and a playground.

Villanueva State Park (tel. 505/421-2957), 31 miles southwest via I-25 and NM 3 and open daily from 7am to 9pm (until 7pm in winter), offers excellent hiking, camping, and picnicking between red sandstone bluffs in the Pecos River Valley. Nearby are the Spanish colonial villages Villanueva and San Miguel del Vado; the latter is a national historic district built around an impressive 1805 church.

Isolated Morphy Lake State Park (tel. 505/387-2328), which is reached via NM 518 to Mora and NM 94 south for 4 miles, is open daily 24 hours. The pretty lake is set in a basin of pine forest; it offers primitive camping, swimming (though in mossy conditions), and trout fishing. Check on driving conditions before going; the road to the park is rough and best suited for four-wheel-drive vehicles, though usually passable by cars. Fourteen miles north of Mora via NM 434 is another always open, out-of-the-way beauty, Coyote Creek State Park (tel. 505/387-2328), with fully developed and primitive campsites beside a stream. The fishing is good, and a few well-marked hiking trails head into the mountains.

If you prefer your nature a little less primitive, head for the Pendaries Village Mountain Resort, P.O. Box 820, Rociada, NM 87742 (tel. 505/425-3561), located 13 miles south of Mora and 27 miles northwest of Las Vegas, on NM 105 off NM 94. This lovely foothills lodge boasts the region's finest 18-hole golf course and fishing. It also has overnight accommodations and a restaurant/lounge, open May to October.