How To Enjoy Fall In El Paso

It's almost here! The cooler air, the leaves turning beautiful colors ... wait ... I forgot. We're in El Paso.

Granted, Fall in El Paso is nice. It gets a little cooler but, beyond that, Fall in the desert is a lot like Spring in the desert. (Without the damn wind.) There are places around here where you can enjoy a "real" Fall though.

Ruidoso - About 2 hours from El Paso, via US-54. From Alamogordo, follow Highway 70 up into the mountains where the temperature drops as much as 20 degrees sometimes and you're surrounded by the Lincoln National Forest. There, you'll find all the colors of Fall and lots of other fun stuff.
Cloudcroft - Prety much, Ruidoso jr. Same directions except, take Highway 82 out of Alamogordo instead of 70. It's a little closer and much smaller but, every bit as beautiful and fun to visit.
Hillsboro - Also a couple of hours from El Paso, take I-25 to NM-152 and follow it into Hillsboro. It's a very small town but, it's surrounded by trees and plants offering you the full Fall spectacle. From there, you can continue on through the Gila National Forest to the next Fall vantage point.
Silver City - Just so you know, coming to Silver City via Hillsboro is the long way. A quicker route is I-10 to Deming, then US-180 into Silver City. Once there, you're in the Gila National Forest and its Fall game along with loads of other fun things.