Alpine skiing is available at the nearby Ski Apache downhill area, on the Apache Reservation, +1 575 464-3600, (http://www.skiapache.com/). Drive west from Ruidoso on NM 532 to the site.
Cloudcroft (http://www.cloudcroft.com...), south of town via NM 244, is another resort town in the Sacramento Mountains with abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation.
The National Solar Observatory (http://nsosp.nso.edu/) has a major facility at the mountain-top "town" really just the observatory and related services of Sunspot, south of Cloudcroft via NM 6563. Visitors are usually welcome during daylight hours; the facility shares a visitor center (http://nsosp.nso.edu/pr/v...) with adjacent Apache Point Observatory.
