A new adventure awaits every week.

This week, I decided to check out The Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge. The Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge is located at 7851 2nd Street Southwest, in Albuquerque. It is about a 45-minute drive from Rio Rancho, and it is open year-round from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bonnie Dismore

The refuge was established in 2012 and serves as a preserving region and habitat oasis for wildlife.

During the month of May, the visitor center will be open Thursday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The visitor center has a lovely gift shop, reading nook, interactive learning area for children, conference room, education center and education pond.

Anyone can sign up for the conference room and it can come in handy for a variety of club meetings. The center is also great for field trips or homeschool groups that may want to use the education center. With that in mind, the visitor center is next to the education pond. The education pond has a deck where you will see many cliff swallow bird nests above you. Many visitors sit and bird watch in this area. The refuge area is also known to dragonflies, coyotes, and bats.

The refuge has a couple of trails that you can visit.

There is The Field Mural Loop and The Refuge Field Loop Trail. The Field Mural Loop Trail is open to pedestrians only. The Field Loop Trail’s beautiful murals were created by young female artists in the Albuquerque Metro Area. The murals were designed and created from the concepts of the Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge Center. They depict bright and vivid imagery, so visitors may embark on a nature and artistic journey during their visit.

As for The Refuge Field Loop Trail, it is open to pedestrians, jogging, bicycling, horseback riding, and dog walking. As you are walking along, you will find some areas closed off. They are currently under construction to help with the preservation and wetland restoration.