Ashley Pond

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Lake · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Start this popular tour through downtown Los Alamos by parking at the Los Alamos County Justice Center lot at 2500 Trinity Drive. Head east on the paved walkway that circumnavigates scenic Ashley Pond (bring old bread to feed the ducks and geese!)

On the south side of the pond, take the walkway up the the Ice House Memorial. Next head east along the sidewalk and turn left down 20th Street. Stop at the new Manhattan Project National Historic Park Visitor Center for more information. Continue one block north on 20th Street and cross Central Avenue to historic Fuller Lodge past the statues of Robert J. Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves. Tour the Lodge and the adjacent Los Alamos Historical Museum, if time permits.

Continue on the east side of Fuller Lodge through the Memorial Rose Garden and past the historic Romero Cabin homestead structure. Continue north on the sidewalk past the excavated ancestral Pueblo dwellings (circa 1225 CE) and through the park behind Bathtub Row. At Nectar Street, either take a right turn and visit the Bathtub Row Brewery for some liquid refreshments or turn left on Nectar Street until you cross Bathtub Row. Turn left (south) and follow the sidewalk down Bathtub Row. The first house you pass was occupied by Manhattan Project Director Robert J. Oppenheimer and the second by Nobel Laureate Hans Bethe during the WWII project to create the first "Atom Bomb."

Continue down the sidewalk that bears west past the Betty Ehart Senior Center. At the Mesa Public Library portal turn left (south) past the skate park until you reach Central Avenue again. Turn right and follow the sidewalk to the end of the block. Turn left and cross Central Avenue at Oppenheimer Drive that leads to the Los Alamos Demonstration Garden. Head back eastward through the garden trails and sidewalk until you reach a sidewalk heading south towards Ashley Pond. View the "Touch the Sky" and other beautiful sculptures, in addition to the falling water feature, in the park surrounding Ashley Pond. Complete the hike and return to the Justice Center parking lot on the southwest corner of the park.