MUSEUMS, HISTORIC SITES & AREA ATTRACTIONS

Cimarron Canyon

Beautiful all times of the year.  A great place to fish, hike, view wildlife, camp, picnic, or just stretch your legs.  575-377-6271

 Kit Carson/Rayado Museum

	Located seven miles south of Philmont Museum in the southeast corner of the Philmont property, Rayado was the first permanent settlement in Colfax county and an important stop on the Santa Fe Trail.  Tours of the reconstructed home, of the resident Kit Carson, La Posta - a Santa Fe Trail stage stop dating to the 1850's - and other historical buildings are available in the summer months.
	Summer schedule - Beginning June 2, open every day 8 to 5.

Old Mill Museum

	"New Mexico's Most Unusual Museum!"  Built in 1864 by Lucien B. Maxwell.  The Aztec Grist Mill is in the southwest corner of Cimarron, It was built  to provide ground grains for the Maxwell Ranch and the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, as well as Santa Fe Trail travelers. Today it is operated as a museum and houses working mill parts, life-size figures of local history.
	Open May thru September.  May Schedule - Saturdays: 9 to 5 & Sundays: 1 to 5.  Beginning Memorial Day Weekend--open daily 9 to 5, Sundays, 1 to 5--- through Labor Day weekend. CLOSED THURSDAYS ONLY.
	September Schedule - Saturdays: 9 to 5 & Sundays: 1 to 5.

Palisades

Located in Cimarron Canyon State Park approximately 15 miles west of Cimarron.  400 feet high crenellated granite formations naturally created 1.5 million years ago.

Philmont Museum and Seton Memorial Library 

	Serving as Philmont's Visitor Center, this is the first place to stop.  The museum features exhibits of a Scouting, Southwestern, and/or Philmont theme.
	The Seton Memorial library contains the personal library, art, and collections of Ernest Thompson Seaton, famed artist, naturalist, and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, as well as other books of historical and Scouting interest.
	Summer Schedule - Beginning Memorial Day weekend, open everyday 8 to 5.
	Winter Schedule - Monday through Saturday, 8-5
	575-376-2281 ext 257

St. James Hotel (closed for renovation until April 2009)

Serving as cook for General Grant and President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, Henri Lambert (1838-1913) drifted west in 1864 in hopes of finding gold.  Initially settling in Elizabethtown, New Mexico, Lambert moved to Cimarron in 1872 and built this hotel at a cost of $17,000.  Its saloon, restaurant, and 43 rooms were witness to at least 26 murders during Cimarron's wilder days, most committed in "self-defense."  Clay Allison, Black Jack Ketchum and Buffalo Bill Cody have all left their mark on the St. James, as attested by the numerous bullet holes in the ceiling of the main dining room. The St. James is also famous for its ghosts.

Self-guided tours are available year round.  575-376-2664

Villa Philmonte

Built in 1926-27, the Villa was the ranch home for oilman Waite Phillips and family.  The home has been preserved much as it was in the days the family enjoyed the ranch.  Tours are available year round for a small donation.  Summer tours run on a regular schedule and can be arranged at the Philmont Museum.  Winter tours need advanced reservations.  Please call 575-376-2281 ext. 257

Welcome to Cimarron!  More Information about what to see and do while you're here.

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Historic Cimarron Photo Gallery

List of Books related to the area