10Best: Los Alamos, N.M., without security clearance
Los Alamos, N.M. – site of the secret Manhattan Project that developed the world's first atomic weapon during World War II – now has a starring role in WGN America's hit TV series Manhattan, a mix of fact and fiction that follows the lives of scientists charged with this world-changing task in the 1940s.
Today, Los Alamos is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a secure government lab that is still responsible in part for the nation's nuclear arsenal. But Los Alamos is also a community that is happy to share its history with visitors from all over the world, be it the 1940s or the 1200s, when ancestors of today's New Mexico Pueblo tribes called the forested canyons here home. Here are the 10 best things to enjoy in and near this storied northern New Mexico city that don't need a security clearance.
Bradbury Science Museum
Named for Norris Bradbury, LANL's director from 1945 to 1970, this interactive museum is divided into history, defense and research areas that offer insight into the lab's bomb-making origins to its exploring the universe with technology such as the Mars Rover, which the lab helped develop. lanl.gov/museum
Los Alamos History Museum
Located in a historic guest cabin of the Los Alamos Ranch School, the Los Alamos History Museum explains the area's volcanic natural history, the area's Native American past, and Los Alamos' early days as a boys' summer camp where Oppenheimer spent a summer and remembered it when selecting a location for the Manhattan Project. The gift shop offers everything from a comprehensive selection of books to A-Bomb earrings. losalamoshistory.org
Los Alamos Historic Walking Tour
Beginning at the history museum, this self-guided walking tour visits Native American ruins, homesteading cabins from the early 1900s, and Bathtub Row – homes reserved for Manhattan Project lead scientists, including Robert Oppenheimer, and so-called because they were the only homes with bathtubs during the war years. visitlosalamos.org/historic-walking-tour
Fuller Lodge/Oppenheimer and Groves statues
Built in 1923 for the Los Alamos Ranch School, the two-story lodge-pole and stone building served as the social gathering place and meeting hall for employees of the Manhattan Project. It still serves as a community center, and the art gallery features local artists and art shows. A photo with the bronze statues of Robert Oppenheimer, head of the Manhattan Project's weapons laboratory, and Gen. Leslie Groves, director of the project, on the Fuller Lodge lawn is a Los Alamos must. fullerlodgeartcenter.com
Area hiking trails
The rugged, remote terrain that made Los Alamos Oppenheimer's pick for a secret government laboratory also makes for great hiking. Trails lace through the forest and canyons surrounding Los Alamos and lead to spectacular views, with trailheads beginning right in town.losalamosnm.us/parks
Bandelier National Monument
Established in 1916 and 16 miles from Los Alamos, Bandelier National Monument protects thousands of Ancestral Pueblo ruins of a civilization that peaked here in the 1200s. Hikers and campers can explore 33,750 acres of wilderness. The most-popular hike is the 1.2-mile-long Main Loop Trail that ends at Alcove House, a ceremonial chamber called a kiva that's built into a shallow cave 140 feet above the trail and reached only by climbing four ladders. nps.gov/band
Pajarito Mountain
Ski Los Alamos? You bet, at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area, 5 miles west of Los Alamos. Originally built and operated as a private ski area in the 1950s for LANL employees, Pajarito is now open to mountain bikers and hikers in the summer and skiers and snowboarders in the winter. The slopes top out at 10,440 feet and 40 trails cross 300 skiable areas. skipajarito.com
Don Quixote Distillery and Winery
LANL engineer Ron Dolin and his wife, Olha, combine their love of science and spirits to create New Mexico's only distillery and winery in New Mexico, and one of the few in the country. Their specialties include New Mexico-grown blue corn vodka and bourbon that is dangerously smooth. Located 13 miles from Los Alamos near White Rock, Don Quixote makes both the wine and brandy used in their port and sherry, the only port and sherry producer in the USA to do so. Their bottles of Manhattan Project-labeled Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc – made with grapes grown in southern New Mexico – make the perfect Los Alamos souvenirs. dqdistillery.com
Valle Caldera National Preserve
Called the Yellowstone of the Southwest, this 89,000-acre mountain-rimmed valley 24 miles west of Los Alamos was an enormous volcano that exploded some 1.5 million years ago. Today lush meadows echo with the bugle calls of elk, and trout dart through spring-fed streams. Hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, fly-fishing and many other outdoor activities are available to the public. vallescaldera.gov
New Mexico 4, the Jemez Scenic Byway
Getting to Los Alamos is as rewarding as arriving. NM 4, the Jemez Scenic Byway, travels from the village of San Ysidro to La Cueva, 25 miles to the north. Must-stops include Soda Dam, a natural bridge and waterfall; Red Rock Scenic Area and Walatowa Visitor Center at Jeméz Pueblo, where you can also shop for pottery and nibble on fry bread; the village of Jeméz Springs with its Los Ojos Saloon and Restaurant; the Pueblo ruins at Jeméz State Monument; and hiking and fishing around Battleship Rock. jemezmountaintrail.org