Map of Ruidoso Downs city

Ruidoso Downs is a city in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States, located within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 1,824 at the 2000 census and 2,815 at the 2010 census. Originally incorporated as a village, it became a city in May 2002. Known locally as “the Downs”, Ruidoso Downs is a suburb of adjacent Ruidoso and is a part of the Ruidoso Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city, located along U.S. Route 70, is named after the Ruidoso Downs Race Track, which is located in the city along with the Billy the Kid Casino and the Hubbard Museum of the American West.

Ruidoso Downs city overview:
Name:	Ruidoso Downs city
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	New Mexico
County:	Lincoln County
Elevation:	6,417 ft (1,956 m)
Total Area:	3.79 sq mi (9.82 km²)
Land Area:	3.79 sq mi (9.82 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	2,620
Population Density:	691.29/sq mi (266.93/km²)
ZIP code:	88346
Area code:	575
FIPS code:	3565280
GNISfeature ID:	0923669
Website:	ruidosodowns.us

Online Interactive Map

Ruidoso Downs online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Ruidoso Downs location map. Where is Ruidoso Downs city?

Ruidoso Downs location on the U.S. Map. Where is Ruidoso Downs city. — Ruidoso Downs location on the U.S. Map.

Ruidoso Downs location on the New Mexico map. Where is Ruidoso Downs city. — Location of Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico.

History

According to a local Ruidoso Downs historian, early on Hispanos settlers called the area “San Juanito”. The settlers began arriving in the early in the late 1840s, and introduced rodeo and horse racing to the area. Originally the area had scattered farms and ranches, with the Dowlin Mill constructed in 1868. A new wave of families arrived after the Lincoln County War.

By around 1907 the road between Roswell and Alamogordo, which passed through the area, was still primitive, though it was improved in the 1920s through the Federal Aid Project. The road that would become US 70 was paved in the area around 1945, and then improved again in 1958. The road became four lanes in 1981.

In 1946 the Ruidoso News was founded and the airport opened, and two years later radio arrived. Electric lights appeared in the area in 1947. The White Mountain Inn opened in the 1940s as a sanatorium and as a lodging establishment.

Ruidoso Downs Road Map

Ruidoso Downs city Satellite Map

Geography

Ruidoso Downs is located in southern Lincoln County at 33°19′54″N 105°35′46″W / 33.33167°N 105.59611°W / 33.33167; -105.59611 (33.331690, -105.596079). It is bordered to the west by Ruidoso. Elevation is 6,420 feet (1,960 m).

U.S. Route 70 passes through the city, leading east 69 miles (111 km) to Roswell and southwest over Apache Summit 34 miles (55 km) to Tularosa. New Mexico State Road 48 departs US 70 just west of the city limits, leading north 22 miles (35 km) to Capitan.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km), all of it recorded as land. The city is in the valley of the Rio Ruidoso, which rises to the west on Sierra Blanca Peak and flows east to form the Rio Hondo.