Great Stargazing Near Albuquerque
If you really want to get away from the city lights and see the night sky, New Mexico has a number of world class stargazing spots, like Chaco Canyon in the northwest, Capulin Volcano in the northeast or the Cosmic campground in the southwestern Gila wilderness to name a few. But you don't have to drive that far to see the unfettered majesty of the nighttime sky if you are in Albuquerque; a quick trip outside of town is all that is required.
One great option you can try if you are on the north end of town is to head up I25 to the Budaghers exit, and head east on 57a towards Highway 14. This is a well maintained dirt road that should be no problem even in a small car. After a few miles you will find yourself at a point where the lights from both Albuquerque and Santa Fe are blocked by the mountains. On clear nights, the stagazing is great out here, and this would be an equally good place to head for if you are in Santa Fe as well. You can loop around the Sandias all the way back to Albuquerque via 14 if you want.
The Ojito wilderness is another great spot to the north, popular for watching meteor showers with those in the know. Just south of the Zia Pueblo, the area is an austere vista of terraced mesa, box canyons and arroyos, dotted with piñon and juniper and the occasional stand of ponderosa pine. To get there from Albuquerque, take US 550 north past Benalillo to county road 906, also known as the Cabezon (Stubborn or Mule-headed) Road.
From points of town south of I40, there are plenty of options as well. You can head west and soon be far away from any civilization, but to really get away from the city lights, head east through the mountains to Tijeras and head south around the far side of the Manzanos. From out here you could never tell that a million people and all of the light pollution that goes with them are so close.
It used to be, during the Perseid meteor shower, White Sands National Monument would open up at night. With the missile range having no light pollution (or very little at least) and Alamogordo and Las Cruces being the nearest towns/cities, the star gazing and meteor show was amazing.
This is August. So, be prepared for the temperatures during the day in southern NM and - not for you oh pinkergeist since you're a local - take lots of water . Gallons of it. If something goes wrong driving your car...
With the amount of light pollution these days it can be quite challenging to look at the stars. I haven't done that in a long time. Sounds like you have some perfect spots to look at the stars around where you live.
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Perfect photography!
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Amazing shot of the milky way.
Star gazing is such an amazing activity if you can find a place to do it, that's dark enough. It can be hard to do if you live in a city. Looks like you have a few spots in your area!
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I was going to ask how busy those locations get when there is a notable meteor shower going on. I was lucky enough to be at a lake house during one of them several summers ago. It was fun to just lay out on the dock and watch the show. There was still a bit of light pollution being a decent sized lake, but we saw quite a few. My big quest right now is getting my wife the opportunity to see the Northern Lights. I've taken her out a couple of times around our house trying to catch them, but I think we need to go a bit further North.