Sports & Outdoors
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With dependably sunny days, crisp mountain air and stunning vistas everywhere, Albuquerque provides attractive high-desert conditions for athletes of all stripes. It’s little wonder that Albuquerque was named “Fittest City” by Men’s Fitness magazine in 2007. Elite athletes come from around the world to train here, and on any given day you’ll find local residents and visitors all over the miles of hiking and biking trails that crisscross the metro area, connecting the wooded banks of the Rio Grande with the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.
Albuquerque is a major destination for bicycling enthusiasts, and one of our newest sporting facilities is the Albuquerque VeloPort, offering a BMX track for training and competition. An upcoming expansion will include an indoor velodrome for cycling training and competition events.
The high desert is the perfect place to play tennis or golf year-round, and Albuquerque provides plenty of courts and courses both public and private. The rural lands both within the city and at its outskirts make this horse country, with endless opportunities to saddle up and ride. Other popular local sports include rock climbing, in-line skating, geocaching and disc golf. During the winter months you can ski, snowboard and snowshoe at Sandia Peak; in the summer, whitewater rafting trips depart from north of Albuquerque, alternately coasting and whooshing down the Rio Grande.
While Albuquerque is well known for hot-air ballooning, it is also a popular place to explore hang gliding, paragliding, soaring and flying airplanes. Many local companies offer lessons, equipment and rentals.
If you enjoy watching sports, be sure to check out a AAA baseball game with the Albuquerque Isotopes or an NBA Development League match-up featuring the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. The New Mexico Scorpions hockey team calls Rio Rancho home, just north of Albuquerque. The University of New Mexico Lobos also provide enjoyable collegiate competitions for spectators.