Located directly north of Ruidoso, Alto offers a different feel than the village of Ruidoso itself. Lots of wonderful neighborhoods with strong covenants which ensures your investment remains strong. Alto is also the location of Ski Apache ... with only a few restaurants in the area, a couple of gas stations and several lodges, it's still a small community feel ... additionally, Alto offers country club living with Alto Country Club and Kokopellis ... beautiful golf courses such as the Outlaw Hills ...
Alto is located in the wondrous mountains called the Sacramentos. The Sacramentos can be visually translated to "a place of mysterious and sacred significance"...these mountains hold more history than could ever be read within one's lifetime...
Alto was well-established as a settlement before 1900...farms and ranches speckled its canyons reinforcing the need for its very own post office. The original Alto post office was appropriately located in a small log cabin off of the larger of the pathways. And, of course, the post office centralized Alto's community providing a venue for what was happening with the locals and the outside world. The best I can establish from my current research is that the Alto post office was first established in 1901 and was first settled in 1882...
Alto is located only 5 miles northwest of Ruidoso...and has consistently grown in population over the years since the first log cabin post office was established. Lincoln County, where Alto resides, was established in 1869...
Population of Alto is approximately 1213 as of 2003...
Elevation is 7,300 feet...
The name Alto was chosen by the Postmaster W. H. Walker and is Spanish for "high"...and yes, there is a certain Rocky Mountain high that is inescapable...it's more than its overwhelming visual impact, there's a aura of reverence that's unmistakably unique to Alto...
Some of the more reknown residents of Alto include Eugene Manlove Rhodes...one of the foremost western writers of the 20th Century...taught here in Alto in 1891 and 1892. During its earlier years, before the Walker christening, Alto was known as Eagle Creek...and to this day, there is still a nearby area addressed as "Eagle Creek".
Alto also encompasses the high ridge of Alto Village...an elite neighborhood riding high in the clouds and reflecting the beauty of its surroundings...Wildlife can safely roam the Alto Ridge since the discharging of firearms is not allowed...in fact, because of it's well-kept golf course, the Ridge appears to be a beatifully landscaped wildlife park...
Today, Alto, and its surroundings, offers many sights, sounds and play to the New Mexico traveler...
Monjeau Lookout (an old Forest Ranger tower offering expansive views)
The Flying J Wranglers performing Western Music at the Flying J Ranch
Folk of the Wood's Acoustic Music Shoppe
The Spencer Theater (Offering musical events throughout the year)
Fort Stanton Museum (Fort Stanton Days offers reenactments of the military past)
Horseback Riding
Endless Hiking
Bonito River and Lake
The Town of Lincoln (Billy the Kid's Courthouse Escape is reenacted every summer)
RV Parks
Bed and Breakfast Locations
Alto is also home to preeminent artists, writers and musicians:
To learn more about Alto, be sure to visit "AltoNewMexico.us" ... our local tourism website.
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