Things to do & places to visit in Roswell, New Mexico, United States

Known mostly through myths about aliens and UFOs, there's more to Roswell than mystery and innuendo. No matter what your interests: archaeological and historical sites, special and sporting events, museums, arts and culture, Roswell is a great place for a weekend jaunt. More than anything, the area offers a multitude of outdoor activities, from bird watching and fishing at the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge to swimming and boating at Bottomless Lakes State Park. Families will love the Spring River Park and Zoo, which features a special fishing lake for children, exotic animals and an antique carousel. There's plenty to do inside as well. The Roswell Museum and Art Center will appeal to anyone with an interest in Southwestern painters like Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth. History enthusiasts will enjoy the Historical Center of Southeast New Mexico, a grand house filled with area antiques, artifacts and a changing gallery of historical exhibits. Of course a visit to Roswell would not be complete without a stop at the International UFO Museum and Research Center, where you can find out what really happened when "something" crashed near Roswell in 1947 or maybe not.

Roswell city in New Mexico, United States. Timezone: America/Denver, current date and time: Thursday, May 02, 2024, 16:51.

Top things to do (25)

Top places to visit (30 attractions) view more »

5.0 Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art (132 reviews)
- Fascinating selection of contemporary art
Art Museums

A wide variety of pieces from artists who’ve visited over 50 years. Spent a fascinating hour there. It’s art, so didn’t like everything, but there were a lot of ‘hits’ and a great mix of styles. See more..
5.0 Rustic Essentials Soap Company (30 reviews)
- Safe, friendly, family oriented
Thursday: 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM Spent < 1 hour Speciality & Gift Shops

Artisan soaps made by hand on site! Made with all natural ingredients, using essentials oils! We do carry Natural soaps scented with fragrance too! We also carry Body Butters, Beard Oils, Bath Bombs, Goat Milk Soap, Beer Soap, Essential Oil Rollers and Wine Soap See more..
5.0 Nifty 50's Gift Shop (7 reviews)
- Great service!
Speciality & Gift Shops
The owner was very helpful and nice. We had a lot of fun playing dress up and taking 50s style pictures. See more..
5.0 Miniatures and Curious Collections Museum (6 reviews)
- Great stop for dollhouses and miniatures
Spent < 1 hour Speciality Museums

More than 123 running feet of miniatures, room boxes, and displays to delight all ages! Curious Collections exhibitits rotating quarterly! Gift shop, kids play area, workshops for all ages. See more..
5.0 J. Kenneth Smith Bird Sanctuary & Nature Center (6 reviews)
- A great asset for Roswell
Nature & Wildlife Areas

We discovered this from a Roswell brochure in out hotel room. We were looking for a nice place to walk and read about the one half mile trail within this bird sanctuary. We came with our dog which is allowed and discovered the trail connects to a paved city trail which surrounds a beautiful golf course and goes into more park land. We followed the trail going almost 2 miles before returning the start. We met lots of local residents who enjoy this trail daily. Lots of trees provide good shade. In the bird sanctuary part there are bird feeders and bird blinds and other observation areas. This is really an incredible asset for Roswell and if you are into birds or want a nice paved walking/bike trail this is for you. See more..
5.0 Hangar 209 (5 reviews)
- Clean, modern, and great merchandise! Don’t skip it!
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Speciality & Gift Shops

We are in the middle of downtown Roswell...just a little ways from the UFO Museum! See more..
5.0 Way Way Off Broadway Theater (1 review)
- Fantastic production of Singing in the rain
Spent 2-3 hours Theaters
I came to Roswell for the open house at NMMI and by chance saw that there was a show in town in the evening. I did not expect much , but since tickets were really affordable at $18 and I had never seen that musical I took a chance. It was presented at ENMU theater and I got great seats on the second row. Costumes were great, decors also ...and very creative with real water falling on stage (thanks to one of their sponsors), but the best part was the acting and the dancing (there is still a learning curve for the singing part) - The funniest of all was probably Cosmo. This was the end of the 4th season for that troop - they will have 3 shows in 2019 ... so when you come to Roswell, if your trip coincide with one of their production - do not miss it ! I am a demanding spectator from the Bay area..where we have a large number of theaters to choose from - I expected a High school type production - this was Way Way Off Better - See more..
4.5 Roswell Museum (343 reviews)
- A nice art getaway from the aliens
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Spent 1-2 hours Observatories & Planetariums • Art Museums • History Museums

Founded in 1937, the Roswell Museum and Art Center is home to an extensive collection of southwestern art, the equipment and workshop of pioneering rocketeer Robert H. Goddard, and the Rogers Aston Collection of the American West, which encompasses historical southwestern artifacts spanning from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries, and the Goddard Planetarium. The museum presents new work by contemporary artists and traveling exhibitions, as well as a variety of educational and cultural programming. See more..
4.5 Pecos Flavors Winery (190 reviews)
- Wonderful prime filet
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM Wineries & Vineyards

Featuring New Mexico wines,New Mexico beers, gourmet foods and gifts. . Local entertainment on occasion. Tastings offered M-Sat 10AM-5PM. Wine Bar open M-Thu 10AM-7pm & Fri / Sat 10AM - 8pm. See more..
4.5 Roswell Visitors Center (173 reviews)
- No reason to skip the visitor center!
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Visitor Centers

The Visitors Center provides hospitality to tourists and is an economic driver that promotes local and state attractions and events, and provides information and resources to Roswell visitors. It is the official trademark retail shop for the City of Roswell where visitors and community members can purchase “official” City of Roswell branded items in person and at shop.seeroswell.com. The Visitors Center is part of organizing and collaborating on statewide tourism initiatives like FAM tours, Group Tours, Go-Planners and also supports special events organized by the City’s Public Affairs team. See more..
4.5 Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge (141 reviews)
- Incredible Birding Opportunities
Nature & Wildlife Areas

Home to thousands of migratory birds, deer, bob cats and badgers, visitors to this refuge can view and photgraph wildlife from several observation platforms. See more..
4.5 Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico - BY APPOINTMENT 24 HOURS AHEAD (41 reviews)
- Great local historical museum
Thursday: Historic Sites • History Museums

off in a quiet older section of town, the Historical Center for Southwest New Mexico is a gem if you enjoy personal glimpses into the past. No preachy displays her, just a charming, well maintained historic home filled with artifacts from the local area. This is well worth the stop and I think the best of all of the Roswell museums. Excellent displays of home furnishings and period costumes from 1880 to 1950. See more..
4.5 Mescalero Sands North Dune OHV Area (10 reviews)
- BEAUTIFUL
Other Outdoor Activities

this is one of the coolest things i've ever done. a must see if you're on 380. and my dog absolutely loved it too!! See more..
4.5 Invasion Station (7 reviews)
- Fun tourist trap
Speciality & Gift Shops

This is the first alien themed gift shop we saw coming from the north. From what I can tell, this place is relatively new. There is a lot of ET themed paintings on the premises, as well as a cut out UFO with an little green man in it, perfect for taking photos with. Inside, the place is small, but packed with a good assortment of ET themed souvenirs, and the staff is friendly. See more..
4.5 The Gallery (6 reviews)
- Beautiful Place to support local artists
Spent < 1 hour Art Galleries
Art Gallery, Creative Gifts, Paint Parties, and Classes for sale. Paintings, Jewelry, Pottery, Photography, Prints, Metal Works are offered. See more..
4.5 Pearson Auditorium (6 reviews)
- Beautifully Redone
Theaters
Beautiful and functional restoration and modernization. One person complained of the seats, but I've never experienced this problem. See more..
4.0 International UFO Museum and Research Center (2.721 reviews)
- So interesting
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Speciality Museums

This museum contains a diorama and a film of the "official" autopsy of the alien bodies after the 1947 crash. See more..
4.0 Bottomless Lakes State Park (416 reviews)
- Bottomless loads of Fun !!
Thursday: 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM State Parks

I’ve been to this park before and I’ve been to the campground in the park as well. This park is phenomenal !! The rock formations in the water formation ponds are fantastic there’s awesome hiking and it’s just a hell of a lot of fun. In the summer you can swim in one of the lakes as well as scuba dive. Just a great place !!!! See more..
4.0 Alien Zone Area 51 (404 reviews)
- The Alien Experience
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Speciality & Gift Shops

I would go to Roswell again if I’m the area. I was not prepared for the amount of information presented at the international UFO museum, next time I would dedicate more time for that experience. The Alien Zone Area 51 was super cheesy, but fun for kids. I will also make time for the Roswell museum and the Roswell UFO tour in the future. There are many cute and fun shops downtown and the people of Roswell were the nicest. I look forward to my next visit. See more..
4.0 Roswell UFO Spacewalk (177 reviews)
- Blacklight Walk with the Aliens
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Spent < 1 hour Art Galleries • Amusement & Theme Parks

We feature an awesome walkthrough blacklight adventure, and sell the original retro space art of Bryan Ward, creator of the Spacewalk. We also carry unique space toys, space jewelry and space lamps. See more..
4.0 Spring River Park and Zoo (147 reviews)
- So charming
Zoos • Parks

Visiting Roswell for the first time with my young daughter and we spent the morning enjoying this zoo. It is small but the animals felt really close (especially the roaming peacocks), and alert. They are still doing some adding on, some exhibits not filled yet but I enjoyed our time there, and my daughter definitely did. She road the carousel several times and afterwards we shared one of the best snow cones! There are nice shade trees all through the park, lots of places to sit in the shade to cool/relax. What’s more, the staff are all super polite! They made it more enjoyable 10x because they were so considerate. Fair warning: you do have to purchase tickets ahead of time, but it’s super easy. You can do it from their website and we got in almost 15mins after booking. See more..
4.0 Roswell Antiques Mall (15 reviews)
- Check off one on bucklist
Spent < 1 hour Antique Shops • Shopping Malls
It was a lot fun checking out the town. Always wanted to go to Roswell. We bought a light up Alien head. We call him Ros. See more..
4.0 General Douglas L. McBride Military Museum (10 reviews)
- Always worth a visit
Military Museums

The collection consists of items that have been donated. Quite a good collection of firearms and military history. Unfortunately, there is insufficient room to display the collection. There are displays in several different buildings on the NMMI campus. See more..
4.0 Roswell Community Little Theatre (3 reviews)
- Man of La Mancha
Theaters
Absolutely amazing experience! I wish they had a different show every week because I would definitely make the time to come see them. Everyone was so nice and the show was amateur but in a good way which is the reason I am attracted to this art. See more..
3.5 Downtown Historic District (231 reviews)
- Cool Place for a Stopover /Short Visit
Neighborhoods • Historic Walking Areas

Beginning in the 1830s as a mill town, Roswell's historic neighborhood features many of the original buildings that have been restored. See more..
3.5 Walker Aviation Musem (36 reviews)
- Small, yet informative
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM Speciality Museums

A very small museum within the Roswell Airport. A lot of displays about the Walker Air Force base in Roswell, NM. Lots of memorabilia from the base and the airport. A quick visit, but worth it, if you enjoy military or aviation history. See more..
2.5 Roswell Mall (12 reviews)
- Empty Store Fronts Small Food Court
Spent 1-2 hours Shopping Malls
The mall is an older small mall and shows signs of its age. I counted at least 12 empty spaces. Food court, if you want to call it that, consists of a couple of shops. The mall has seen better days but with the closure of the Air Force base decades ago many merchants in Roswell seem to be hurting. However, I must admit that the merchants in the mall are certainly trying to make a go of it. See more..
Church On The Move (0 review)
Churches & Cathedrals
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Tour De Ocho Millas (0 review)
Spent More than 3 hours Sporting Events
Join us this year for the 9th Annual Tour de Ocho Millas on September 21, 2019! This cycling event follows the historic eight mile loop around New Mexico’s Bottomless Lakes State Park. Family friendly and for the serious cyclist, Tour de Ocho Millas is full of activities for all ages. See more..
Haystack Mountain Ohv Area (0 review)
Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Motorcycle Trails • Off-Road & ATV Trails
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