Last updated on .
The village of Jemez Springs, New Mexico, is known for its relaxing hot springs and beautiful natural setting. It makes for a great day trip destination from nearby Albuquerque and is also a pleasant place to spend some extra time.
Introduction to Jemez Springs
The Jemez Valley has been inhabited since at least 2500 BC. It was first visited by Europeans in 1540 when the Spanish passed through. A Franciscan mission was built at the Gíusewa Pueblo just north of the current village in 1621 but it was abandoned in 1639. After the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Jémez people founded Jemez Pueblo about 12 miles south.
The Jemez Post Office opened in 1907 around the same time as the hot springs. It replaced an older post office named Archuleta that opened in 1884.
Jemez Springs was the second choice for the location of what is now the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos. The village was officially incorporated on December 5, 1955.
Jemez Springs makes a nice base for visiting Jemez National Recreation Area, Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, and Los Alamos. We stayed the night in the village on our way to Bandelier and explored the town in the morning. It would have been nice to stay another full day or two to take advantage of the hot springs and some of the nature in the area.
Where to Stay in Jemez Springs
We enjoyed our one night in the village.
Laughing Lizard Inn
We slept at the Laughing Lizard Inn, which is a small inn with four rooms. Our room was very comfortable and nicely decorated.
Where to Eat in Jemez Springs
All our meals were in the place next door to our hotel.
Highway 4 Cafe and Bakery
We loved both our dinner and breakfast the next morning at Highway 4 Cafe and Bakery. Service was excellent and friendly and prices were reasonable. For dinner, I had a tasty fish and chips. For breakfast, the waffle, eggs, and bacon were amazing.
Jemez Historic Site
Jemez Historic Site preserves the ruins of a 16th century Native American pueblo and a 17th century Spanish mission. Admission to the site is US$7 for adults and free for kids under 17 (as of October 2025). It’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
Visitor Center and Museum
The small visitor center contains a museum where you can learn about the history and importance of the site. No photos are allowed inside the museum.
Just outside the visitor center is a replica Spanish horno. A horno is an oven introduced by Spanish colonists to New Mexico. Natives used them to bake bread, cook corn pudding, and roast chile.
Kiva
From the visitor center and museum, a 1,400-foot interpretive trail winds through the site. The first stop is a reconstructed kiva which you can climb down into. No photos are allowed inside the kiva.
Gíusewa Pueblo
The ruins of the pueblo of Gíusewa are scattered throughout the site. It was established in the second half of the 15th century by the Jémez people and first described by Spanish explorers in 1581. The pueblo was abandoned after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The first excavations took place in 1910 and 1922.
It’s believed that only 20% of the original pueblo was located at the 7-acre archaeological site. 62 of approximately 200 rooms have been excavated along with 3 kivas and 2 plazas. The Gíusewa Pueblo was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 14, 1973, and became a National Historic Landmark on October 16, 2012.
San José de los Jémez Mission
The largest ruins are those of the San José de los Jémez Mission, which consisted of a church and convent. The huge stone structure was built between 1621 and 1625 by Franciscan missionaries led by Friar Gerónimo de Zárate. It was one of the largest mission churches in New Mexico, measuring 110 feet (34 meters) in length. The walls were between 6 and 7 feet (1.8 and 2.1 meters) wide at their base.
The Franciscans abandoned the mission in 1639, but the Jémez continued to live in Gíusewa until the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. After the revolt the Jémez moved to a more defendable area.
Colorful frescoes once decorated the interior of the church, and it had an unusual octagonal bell tower. The frescoes were discovered during excavations in 1921 and 1922.
