If you’ve never heard of Congaree National Park, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Tucked away in the middle-of-nowhere South Carolina, this park doesn’t get the Instagram love of Yellowstone or Yosemite, and it has more than its fair share of haters. In fact, here’s a sampling of actual one-star Tripadvisor review titles: With reviews like that, I’ll admit it—I set…
If you’re hanging around Alamogordo and suddenly think, “I could really use some shade and cooler air right about now,” Lincoln National Forest is ready to deliver. One minute you’re sweating in the desert heat, the next you’re winding your way into pine forests where the temperature drops it like it’s hot. On our June visit, the thermometer went…
If you are traveling through Southern New Mexico visiting White Sands National Park (or world-famous PistachioLand), and you like your roadside stops a little weird, a little nerdy, and unexpectedly fascinating, the White Sands Missile Range Museum deserves a spot on your itinerary. Tucked right near the entrance to the actual White Sands Missile Range (a massive military testing…
If you find yourself anywhere near Alamogordo, New Mexico, PistachioLand is one of those gloriously quirky roadside stops that’s impossible to ignore—and honestly, you shouldn’t try. Where else can you grab a bag of green chile pistachios, sample sweet local wine, and snap a selfie with a 30-foot-tall pistachio? Yes, it’s officially the World’s Largest Pistachio, and it’s exactly…
Imagine a place where the sand isn’t really sand, the lizards come dressed in white, and you can sled in the desert without needing a parka—welcome to White Sands National Park! Table of Contents What to Expect Tucked away in southern New Mexico, this dazzling landscape is made entirely of soft, cool-to-the-touch gypsum crystals that stretch across 275 square…
If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you’re stepping into a fantasy novel—or an alien planet—then Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeastern New Mexico needs to be on your travel list. This place isn’t just a cave. It’s an entire, hidden world carved beneath the desert, full of jaw-dropping formations and eerie silence that somehow feels magical. Table of…
If someone told you there was a lush, spring-fed waterfall hiding deep in the desert of southern New Mexico, you might be skeptical—but Sitting Bull Falls is the real deal. Located about an hour west of Carlsbad and tucked inside Lincoln National Forest, Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area feels like a secret oasis. A year-round waterfall tumbles roughly 150…
If you’ve never heard of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Officially established in 1972, this lesser-known park protects more than 86,000 acres of the Chihuahuan Desert in far west Texas, just south of the New Mexico state line. Table of Contents What to Expect The park’s dramatic namesakes rise abruptly from the desert floor, with Guadalupe…