Wife and 2 daughters(10&12), my in laws ave I are here until Thursday. What are some decent restaurants? Father in law would like a decent bar maybe with a little live music? What activities, light shows, or other stuff 2 do around town. Probably put daughters in ski school one day. What is the best casino? IS cloudcroft worth going to? If we go there what do we do?

Very little to do in Cloudcroft. Eat at The Lodge. It is owned by a couple from Ft. Davis so you are sending $ back to Texas. Very little shopping.
I've never been to Cloudcroft during the winter. There may be some sleeding for the kids right there at The Lodge.
Sleeding from #1 tee box to #1 green would be fun.

In Ruidoso the Lincoln County Grill always has consistently good food. The Log Cabin is great for breakfast.

I'll preface this by stating that it's been more than a decade since I was last there, but we always liked Cafe Rio in downtown. It's a pizzeria.

Restaurants - we like Tina's, Ranchers, Anaheim Jacks, Broken Arrow (at Inn of the Mountain Gods), Cattle Baron, Rio Grande to name a few. As mentioned above, Cafe Rio is also great. Ranchers is the only one of those that takes reservations. Everything is going to be crazy busy this week (locals call it Hell Week) so be prepared for long waits.

If FIL is looking for a bar with live music either if the Downshift brewing places would be best bet, but the Riverside location is much nicer than Hidden Tap one. They have wine and cocktails if beer isn't his thing. Check their Facebook for info on when/where they will have music.

Wingfield Park has a nice free walk through Christmas light display. They also have ice skating there.

You can take horse drawn carriage rides through Upper Canyon which tends to have pretty good residential light displays but $$$ for the carriages. Can also just drive though upper canyon. Take Sudderth west until it ends at traffic circle, then take Main St as far as you can.

Inn of the Mountain Gods is a much better casino than the one at the racetrack. They have restaurants and an arcade so it is a fine place to take kids while parents take turns gambling.

Snow tubing area (Winter Park) can be a fun place to kill a few hours with the tubing and mountain coaster.

Flying J Ranch has a Western themed Christmas concert / dinner show but will sell out.

If you like wine, highly recommend Enchanted Vine. It's the production facility for Noisy Water Winery, they have beautiful grounds and is a nice spot to hang out on a sunny day. Kid friendly too.

Havent been in 25 yards. Fond memories though. There was once a restaurant that served a damn good CFS. Think it's named Farley's.

Win Place & Show is a cool spot for a drink.

Texas Club is a pretty good place for a steak and I believe they have live music in the bar.

Glad to know Flying J Ranch is still there.

Seriously? There is literally NOTHING in Ruidosa. Virtually a ghost town.




Now, Ruidoso? That's a different matter.

Martin Cash said:

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Seriously? There is literally NOTHING in Ruidosa. Virtually a ghost town.




Now, Ruidoso? That's a different matter.

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Not many people know there is a Ruidosa, TX. And it is a ghost town. With a neat history.

SW AG80 said:

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Martin Cash said:

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Seriously? There is literally NOTHING in Ruidosa. Virtually a ghost town.




Now, Ruidoso? That's a different matter.

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Not many people know there is a Ruidosa, TX. And it is a ghost town. With a neat history.

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Yep, the end of one of the most beautiful drives in Texas: Pinto Canyon Road.

Thanks for the great recommendations!