# Silver City

Silver City is a town in the southwestern part of New Mexico, USA. An old mining town, it is undergoing rebirth as a modest high-tech center and jumping-off point to a number of attractive areas in the mountains. The small nearby towns of Bayard, Hurley, etc., are also covered in this article.

## Get in

Grant County Airport is served by charter company Advanced Air with non-stop service to Albuquerque and Phoenix. Road access is best from the southeast, via US 180 from Deming, and southwest, via NM 90 from I-10 near Lordsburg. NM 152 connects Silver City to I-25 near Truth or Consequences to the east, and is a scenic and interesting drive, but one with some daunting hairpin curves that may challenge drivers of large, unwieldy vehicles. Access from the north is sharply limited by the roadless Gila Wilderness.

## See

* Silver City Museum, 312 W. Broadway, ☏ +1 575 538-5921. Memorabilia of Silver City's mining-town past. Free.

## Do

* Silver City Blues Festival, Gough Park (downtown). annually over Memorial Day Weekend.
* Mimbres Region Arts Council (MRAC), 1201 N. Pope St, ☏ +1 575-538-2505. Tickets to the Silver City Blues Festival, Pickamania! Festival, Folk Series, Youth Mural Arts Program, and performance series can be purchased here.

## Eat

Plenty of Mexican food around town. All of them do one or two things really well but none are great across the menu.
* Kountry Kitchen, 1700 Mountain View Rd (Hwy 90 behind church). cheap prices great food $5-10.
* The Drifter, 711 Silver Heights. Old fashion diner. $10-15.
* Jaliscos, South end of Bullard St. Great Mexican food $10-15.

## Drink

* The Flame, 2800 N Pinos Altos Rd. An interesting experience.
* Little Toad Creek Brewery and Distillery. 200 N Bullard, 575-956-6144. Serves only the beers and spirits they make. Also pub foods. Happy hour specials. Live music Fridays and Saturdays. Fun place to hang out.

## Sleep

* Comfort Inn Silver City, 1060 E. Rt. 180. Indoor pool & hot tub, free high-speed wireless internet. Entire hotel is non-smoking. Usually one of the first to fill up.
* Holiday Inn Express, 1103 Superior St, ☏ +1 575 538-2525. Generic hotel-chain lodging, nothing special but comfortable. Newer building than the other nearby chain hotels. Includes free high-speed internet.
* Palace Hotel, ☏ +1 575-388-1811. 106 W. Broadway. Renovated historic hotel in downtown.
* Adobe Agave / Silveree Adobe, 309 E St, ☏ +1 575-956-3386. Charming vacation rentals in an historic adobe building have private native plants gardens.
* Casitas de Gila Guesthouses, 50 Casita Flats Road, Gila, ☏ +1 575-535-4455. Guesthouses, art gallery, and nature preserve on 265 stress-free acres, just far enough from Silver City to enjoy the incredible quiet and brilliant dark skies that make the Casitas special. Perfectly located to explore all the area's attractions. Full kitchens, seasonal fireplaces, continental breakfast, fantastic views of Gila Wilderness, free wifi. A Sunset Magazine "Top 10 Romantic Escape."
* Murray Hotel, 200 W. Broadway Street, ☏ +1 575-956-9400. Historical hotel that has been remodeled and now open. Art Deco motif. (updated Feb 2017)

## Go next

Silver City's mountain setting allows for a number of fine excursions to outdoor points of interest:
* City of Rocks State Park, south of town via NM 61. Fee $5/day for day use; campground fees start at $8/night and range upward depending on access to hookups, etc. A number of interesting short hikes are possible through weird terrain reminiscent of better-known Chiricahua National Monument across the state line in Arizona (another good, but long, excursion from Silver City).
* Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument north of town, a unit of the national park system. Plan on 1.5 hour drive to the park. Fee $5/day for individuals, $10/day for families; Park Pass applies. Trails to archaeological sites are open for day use from 9AM to 4PM. No lodging at the monument; plan to stay in Silver City. Dry camping is available in two small National Forest campgrounds at park entrance or 5 miles before the park are 2 larger campgrounds, also dry camping. A small commercial campground is about 4 miles before the park entrance at Gila Hot Springs which services tents and small RVs. Doc Campbell's trading post is part of the Gila Hot Springs complex.
* Gila Wilderness is a large roadless area north of town, reachable via any number of trailheads in the area. Good for day hiking and backpacking.
* Pinos Altos is a mining ghost town 6 miles north of Silver City on State Road 15. It has been converted into a tourist attraction and features museums, restaurants, lodging, and art galleries.