Updated February 2023

At the Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch Museums & Library

Ghost Ranch is host to two museums and a fantastic library.

The Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology: focuses on the fossils and the environment of the late Triassic Period, the Age of the Dinosaurs. See New Mexico’s state fossil, the Coelophysis

Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology: Displays artifacts from Paleo-Indian culture through ancestral Puebloan times to modern artworks, an exhibit on women at the GHost Ranch, and Santero carvings.

Ghost Ranch Library: a quiet, comfortable center for reading and study. The collection focuses on the Ranch, Southwest research, religion, art, and has a large leisure reading collection.

The museums are open Wednesday-Sunday, 9-12 and 1-5. The library is always open.

Ghost Ranch Tours

The Ghost Ranch offers a number of interesting tours of the Ranch, including O’Keeffe Landscape tours, Palentology tours, and horseback trail rides. Tours can be booked directly with the Ghost Ranch and range in price from $25-$130.

Details are available at www.ghostranch.org/tours-and-trailrides/

Located Nearby

Bode’s

A True General Store. Buy a can of peas or a rake. Great Mexican food, locals, interesting bulletin board, ice cream and gas! Bode’s started as Grants Mercantile in 1890 as a general store, post office, stage coach stop and jail when Abiquiu was the starting place of the Old Spanish Trail. The Bode family ran the store from 1919 until 1994 when the current owners, Dennis and Constance Liddy, took over as keepers of a long and proud legacy as well as being one of the most popular bathroom stops between Espanola and Chama. Bode’s is open 6:30am-7pm daily.

Directions: Exit the ranch and take a left at the highway. Bode’s is 13 miles from the ranch on highway 84.

Ojo Caliente

One of the oldest health resorts in North America, Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs is the only natural hot springs in the world with the remarkable combination of four geothermal mineral waters. Once considered sacred by the ancestors of today’s Tewa tribes, these ancient peoples built their Pueblo overlooking the springs. Posi or Poseuinge, “village at the place of the green bubbling hot springs” was home to thousands of people. Today, Ojo Caliente offers a peaceful, unpretentious atmosphere. Step out of the stresses of everyday life and discover the healing nature that has made these waters legendary. Relax, rejuvenate, enjoy! Location: Rio Arriba, Taos; US Highway 285, 26 miles north of Española Distance: (from Ghost Ranch) Approximately 50 miles southeast of Ghost Ranch. Directions: (from Ghost Ranch) Turn left at Ghost Ranch gate onto Hwy 84, for about 27 miles until you see a sign for Route 285, turn left. Continue for about another 20 miles. The Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs sign is on left side. Prices and additional information is available at www.ojocalientespa.com.

Monastery of Christ in the Desert

At the Monastery of Christ in the Desert there lives a community of monks each of whom and as a community seek to be in union with God.

The Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, New Mexico was founded in 1964 by Fr Aelred Wall, OSB, accompanied by monks of Mount Saviour Monastery in New York state. In 1983 the Monastery of Christ in the Desert was received into the English Province of the Subiaco Congregation as a Conventual Priory, and in 1996, it became an autonomous Abbey. From its beginning, the monastery has followed the Benedictine life according to the Rule of St Benedict with no external apostolates, but it does maintain a guest-house for private retreats where men and woman can share the Divine Office and Mass in the Abbey Church with the monks. The Monastery Church, Giftshop and Art Gallery are open Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Directions: Out of Ghost Ranch turn right for 2 miles on Route 84, right after mile marker 227, there is a sign pointing left that reads “Monastery.” You turn left at that point, heading west on U.S. Forest Service Road 151 for 15 miles. Forest service Road 151 is winding, steep and narrow at some points. It is mostly gravel but there are sections of dirt and clay surfaces that turn quite slippery when wet.

Plaza Blanca

“Plaza Blanca” was made famous by the paintings of O’Keeffe in 1929. She was enthralled by the light and shapes both natural and artificial in the NM desert. O’Keeffe had previously painted outcroppings of dark rock which she named “Black Place” as in her Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico/Out Back of Marie’s II, 1930, oil on canvas. When she found Plaza Blanca near what was to become her home in Abiquiu, it was natural that by contrast it should be called The White Place. Bring water, sun screen, hat good walking shoes and walking stick if desired.

Directions: Follow the directions towards Dar Al Islam until you reach a fork in the road, take the right fork towards Plaza Blanca. Park here and hike the remaining quarter mile into the valley.

Poshuouinge Ruins Archaeological Site

This is an un-excavated site….you can see the outline of the pueblo, but much of it is still underground for preservation. This steep, scenic half-mile ruin trail, two vista areas and interpretive signs overlooks the Chama River Valley. The principal ruins included a large pueblo with over 700 ground-floor rooms surrounding two large plazas and a large kiva. Round trip hike is about 2 miles or a little more. This is a beautiful hike and a brilliant site to see from the hilltop. There are pottery shards everywhere. They are breathtaking but PLEASE just take photos and memories of the shards. The principal ruins include a large pueblo with more than 700 ground-floor rooms surrounding two large plazas and a kiva. Poshuouinge means “Village above the Muddy River”. Bring water, sunscreen, hat, good walking shoes and walking stick if desired.

Directions: Turn left out of the ranch for 16 miles. The Forest Service parking lot is 2.4 miles east of Abiquiu near Family Dollar. Approximately 18 miles south of Ghost Ranch.

Dar Al Islam

Dar al Islam is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating greater understanding of Islam among Americans of all faiths in order to establish our commonalities and build stronger relationships. They have been providing non-Muslims and Muslims alike with an array of opportunities to learn more about Islam, based on the Foundational Texts, since 1979. They believe in the collaborative efforts that encourage greater compassion and empathy between all communities. Their unique campus in breath-taking Abiquiu, New Mexico supports these activities by providing a place for contemplation and spiritual renewal.

Directions: Turn left from ranch, you will come to NM 554. Turning left onto 554 for about 0.6 miles then turn left onto Country Road 155 which is a small but paved track through the desert. Go three and a third miles (3.3 miles) along this path driving past the small houses of local residents on this back road until suddenly on your right there is a large wooden gateway with the words “Dar Al Islam” and nothing else on them. Through the gateway is a dirt track which you take for about 0.6 miles until there is a fork in the road and you want to take the left fork towards the Dar Al Islam Mosque and Education Center.

Purple Adobe Lavender Farm

Located in the Chama River Valley, the Purple Adobe Lavender Farm was established in 2004 to grow and provide efficient, expert solutions for growing lavender. Visit to see the organic lavender plants, get growing advice, and to shop at the gift shop.

Directions: Hwy 84 Private Rd 1622 Gate 31, located east of Abiquiu

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway

Located in nearby Chama, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a National Historic Landmark. At 64-miles in length, it is the longest, the highest and most authentic steam railroad in North America, traveling through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Rocky Mountain West. Owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico, the train crosses state borders 11 times, zigzagging along canyon walls, burrowing through two tunnels, and steaming over 137-foot Cascade Trestle. The train runs six days a week, Tuesday-Sunday. Information can be found at cumbrestoltec.com