Skip to content
Byway
Museum · New Mexico

Ruidoso River Museum

Ruidoso River Museum, a museum in New Mexico
Ruidoso River Museum, a museum in New MexicoSteve Shook from Moscow, Idaho, USA · CC BY 2.0
Ruidoso River Museum, a museum in New Mexico
timlewisnm · CC BY-SA 2.0

Ruidoso River Museum is a museum in New Mexico, at a modelled elevation of 2,056 m. Sierra Blanca Peak stands 3,620 m to the west-northwest, 7.9 miles off. The nearest named place is Ruidoso Historical Marker, a park 0.5 miles away. Billy the Kid Trail runs past it.

About

The story

Fox Cave is located on East Highway 70 between Roswell and Alamogordo, near Ruidoso, New Mexico. It was once used as a hideout by William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid and also known as Henry Antrim, a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier outlaw in the American Old West. Originally known as "Ice Cave" in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the rocks of Fox Cave are primarily micritic limestone. The cave was formed over thousands of years by erosion of the rock caused by the Ruidoso River. The Ruidoso River Museum was located at Fox Cave from 2013. The owner of the cave and museum constructed seven small buildings on the property at Fox Cave. The collection featured artifacts, photographs and documents relating to the notable figures of the Old West and those involved in the Lincoln County War, including Billy the Kid, sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett and lawyer and businessman Alexander McSween. The museum closed and was replaced with a retailer.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q16899475, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

Visiting

What to expect

Official site

Getting there

How to reach it

Driving directionsPlan a drive around it
Coordinates33.33464, -105.68150

Overlooks nearby

Around it

Named places within 25 miles

Peaks
Parks: 29
  • Ruidoso Historical Marker: 0.5 mi
  • Wingfield Park: 0.6 mi
  • Two Rivers Park: 1.7 mi
  • Two Rivers Fairy Trail: 1.7 mi
  • Moon Mountain Recreation Area: 1.8 mi
Museums: 6
Attractions: 4
Artworks: 2
Historic sites: 1
  • Old Mill: 1.9 mi
Springs: 1
  • Padilla Springs: 15.4 mi
Cliffs: 1
Nature reserves: 1
On the horizon

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 23.5 miles of Ruidoso River Museum. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Sierra Blanca PeakWNW 290°3,620 m7.9 mi
Lookout MountainWNW 297°3,518 m8.4 mi
Buck MountainNW 310°3,276 m7.5 mi
White Horse HillNW 306°3,111 m11.0 mi
Nogal PeakNNW 328°2,966 m13.3 mi
Monjeau PeakNNW 337°2,942 m7.3 mi
Granite KnobNNW 338°2,906 m7.2 mi
Cow MountainWNW 303°2,858 m4.7 mi
Conditions

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:0718:4219:15
June solstice05:5419:4020:16
September equinox06:5218:2819:01
December solstice07:0316:2217:00

Local time (America/Denver).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F353742495765666460514135
Precip in1.11.00.90.71.22.04.34.22.51.70.81.5

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Ruidoso, 3 mi away.

Sources

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidataOfficial site

OpenStreetMap element node/1155687093

More museums in New Mexico

Drive to it

Byway plans a real route around stops like this one.

Plan a driveMore museums
Private beta · Free to join

Take the scenic way to Ruidoso River Museum.

Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.

Private beta · Free to join · No card · Invite when a spot opens