At the foot of the Manzano Mountains, in a forest of ponderosa pine, pinon, and alligator juniper, this small, peaceful park offers an escape from civilization, as well as a lush, green change from the state's many desert parks. Manzano offers hiking and wildlife viewing, but this is such a pretty little park that you may want to just sit in the campground and put your feet up, listening to the wind blowing through the tall pines.

Manzano is Spanish for "apple tree", and the mountains as well as a nearby village were named for the apple trees that were growing here when the village was established by Spanish colonizers in 1829. Local legend had held that Spanish missionaries planted the trees in the seventeenth century, when Manzano was still the site of an Indian pueblo, and were the oldest orchards in North America. Tree-ring studies, however, have found no evidence of trees planted before 1800.

• Hike the Nature Trail for a great introduction to the flora and fauna of the Manzano Mountains. This trail provides access to the surrounding Cibola National Forest.