Cloudcroft today

Cloudcroft is on US Highway 82. The western approach from Alamogordo is a 16-mile climb of 5,000 feet taking travelers through climatic zones ranging from the Sonoran Desert at the bottom to alpine climate at the top. Beautiful scenery can be seen from the highway--in particular, the views from the overlook near New Mexico's only highway tunnel and of the old wooded Mexican Canyon Trestle just outside Cloudcroft. From the trestle area you look down on Alamogordo, White Sands and the San Andres Mountains 30 miles to the west. Approaching from the east, the highway ascends from Artesia and through ranch lands passing wandering streams to Cloudcroft at 8,700 feet.

Cloudcroft is surrounded by the 1.1 million acre Lincoln National Forest. The village shops offer handmade items of local artisans. There are restaurants, motels, two banks, five churches, a medical clinic, and the Lodge.