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Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Alamogordo, NM

Photo: G. Thomas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

A New Mexico state park at Dog Canyon with a rebuilt historic ranch house, desert camping, and spring-fed pools beneath cottonwoods.

409 Dog Canyon Rd. Alamogordo, NM 88310 · Alamogordo, NM

About Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

This state park near Alamogordo centers on Dog Canyon, where springs run year-round and feed pools shaded by cottonwood trees. It is named for Oliver Milton Lee, a prominent figure in New Mexico history who settled at the canyon mouth in 1893 and built a ranch headquarters there. The reconstructed ranch house is furnished to reflect his life, though the house is under renovation, so tours are arranged through the park manager or listed on the event calendar. Visitors can camp in the Chihuahuan Desert, hike interpretive and other trails, watch wildlife, and picnic. The park is a convenient base for day trips to White Sands National Park and nearby towns.

  • #state park
  • #desert
  • #camping
  • #hiking
  • #historic ranch house

What's around here?

The closest stops to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Attractions
    Quirky Fun

    McGinn's PistachioLand

    Under $25

    A working pistachio and grape farm near Alamogordo with guided farm tours, wine tasting, and the World's Largest Pistachio statue.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    11 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Alamogordo

    No admission fee

    A high desert New Mexico city 15 miles from White Sands National Park, with museums and a historic zoo.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    11 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums

    New Mexico Museum of Space History

    Under $25

    A museum and planetarium complex in Alamogordo focused on New Mexico's role in the U.S. space program and the Space Age.

    12 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    White Sands National Park

    $25–$50

    Drive, hike and sled across white gypsum dunes that rise about 60 feet in the Tularosa Basin.

    15 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    Weed Lookout Tower

    Check prices

    A historic fire lookout tower within the Lincoln National Forest in southern New Mexico.

    21 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

    Under $25

    Climb, hike and join a ranger tour to see ancient painted rock art among desert boulders full of rainwater basins northeast of El Paso.

    57 mi awayMore like this

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