Things to Do in Enchanted Hills

For nearly 30 years, Sluggers has given countless children and adults an arena in which to practice the universal pastime of hitting a ball with a stick. After fastening a complimentary helmet and selecting a bat, players step into outdoor cages where they can hone their skills on pitches of various speeds. Players can purchase gear onsite or borrow a bat from the center's stash of rental equipment, negating the need to whittle down a bat from one of their bedposts.

Callers rattle off random numbers and ink daubers dot colorful cards during rounds of bingo sponsored by the New Mexico Sheriffs and Police Association, a nonprofit outfit devoted to the advocacy of law-enforcement agencies. With proceeds going toward officer survival training, sheriffs' coalitions, and scholarships, these hosted bingo nights help strengthen the southwest's police forces and instill fear into the hearts of people trying to cheat their way to the game’s cash prizes.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, visitors would stop to rest at the historic El Rancho de las Golondrinas as they began or ended their long journeys along the royal road that stretched between Santa Fe and Mexico City. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Matt Damon, Salma Hayek, Val Kilmer, and the cast and crew of some 30 films used the ranch's 200 scenic acres and 34 historic structures as backdrops to their movies and personalized birthday cards. With preserved and restored villages dating back to the early 1700s sloping through a rural farming valley, the grounds collapse time, bringing the past to the present and the present to the past. Today, guests wander this living history museum to explore how colonial and frontier life was lived the Southwest. During a self-guided tour, visitors pick up or download a map of the ranch before weaving through a snapshot of history brought to life by villagers clothed in the styles of the time. Feet patter past a molasses mill, a blacksmith shop, and defensive towers where guards kept watch on the horizon and coordinated messages for passing UFOs. With a reservation, docents will lead you through the trails that cut through a landscape dotted with goats, sheep, burros, and horses, fostering an understanding of the culture and arts of historic New Mexico.

Across 7,000 square feet of open space, kids tumble, slide, and climb through Hoot’s Ultimate Party Zone’s brightly colored attractions. Bouncy castles and a soft 20-foot-high slide stretch their wobbly peaks toward the center’s towering ceiling, and a 40-foot-long obstacle course challenges runners to cross canvas bridges and pretend to jump tricycles over 40 school buses. Open-play times allow kids to drop in for bursts of energy expenditure, and weekend party packages provide balloons, pizzas, and goodie bags for birthday celebrations. Additionally, all play structures are made from strong materials, allowing adults to accompany their kids into the bouncy arenas or retire to the lounge to recline in leather chairs, watch television, and connect to the free WiFi.

Roger Alink has never owned a television. As a kid, he was too busy with the pigs and cattle that roamed his 160-acre home, and this love of animals and the outdoors only grew over time. In the early '90s, Alink decided to share this love with others, so he and a team of volunteers spent 30,000 hours establishing Wildlife West Nature Park.

In addition to the wild creatures, migratory birds, and GPS-lacking manatees who settle at the park, representatives of the region's indigenous animals and plants live and grow on its 122 scenic acres, much of which hasn’t been altered since the park's inception. Elsewhere, 30 wildlife exhibits mimic the natural habitats of the black bears, wolverines, deer, pronghorn antelopes, and birds of prey that inhabit them. Two miles of trail connect each habitat, and each enclosure is specially designed for the particular needs of its residents. The same custom care goes into feeding the animals: to keep the beasts psychologically spry, staff members provide challenges that echo the animals' instinctual eating habits, placing meals up in treetops, burying snacks that need to be sniffed out, and arranging candlelit dinners for mountain lions who forgot their wives’ birthdays.

Sustainable practices such as recycling, organic farming, and water harvesting turn the park into an educational example of eco-friendliness. Facilities such as the amphitheater and the heated, enclosed Bean Barn also welcome special events ranging from music festivals and bird-handling workshops to the kite-spangled Wind Festival and the ursine Bear Fair.

Bead Fest Santa Fe unites do-it-yourselfers and arts-and-crafters during a four-day celebration of beads, jewelry—and for good measure—some more beads. More than 150 booths and tables set up shop for the event, each ready to restock repertoires with gems, stones, and a hodgepodge of other supplies.

In between exploring the sea of exhibitors, attendees learn about the latest techniques, tricks, and tools at nearly 100 all-inclusive workshops (not included with the price of admission). There, artists from around the country provide education on specific topics in classes such as Intro to Metalsmithing and Wire Weaving, where guests learn the craftiest way to escape prison. Free demonstrations, book signings, and other attractions round out the fest's collection of creative attractions.