About Los Alamos
Welcome to Los Alamos, in the heart of Northern New Mexico, where clean air, outdoor living, and superb food abound. With a population of nearly 20,000, our community offers the neighborliness of a small town, combined with the most modern and sophisticated school and health care systems.
History: Los Alamos’ history dates back to the Anasazi, the Ancient Ones, who inhabited the plateaus and canyons here centuries ago, leaving behind our treasured Bandelier National Monument. In later years, homesteaders, farmers and the Los Alamos Ranch School shared this hilltop retreat. During World War II, the area received a new life: the birthplace of the Atomic Age. Following the end of that war and a 10-year post-war period, the former top-secret Manhattan Project base was opened to the world and allowed to grow into the diverse, charming but sophisticated community seen here today.
Location: The Incorporated County of Los Alamos, situated in North Central New Mexico, is 35 miles from the capital city of Santa Fe, and 90 miles north of Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest metropolitan area. www.losalamosnm.us This affluent community offers a safe, friendly family atmosphere, rich in culture and history. Home sites are located in the “town site” of Los Alamos proper, as well as in the “bedroom” community of White Rock and in the neighboring Jemez Mountains.
Recreation: Nearly every imaginable recreation option is available in and around Los Alamos. The Chamber of Commerce offers a list of organized groups numbering approximately 300 and ranging from square dancers to model rocket clubs to photography and environmental concerns organizations. Competitive sports opportunities include adult and child soccer, softball and baseball, ice hockey, tennis, cycling, golf, and track and field. In addition, recreational running, bicycling and skating groups offer a wide variety of activities through which individuals can just have fun. For the individual sportsman, hiking, backpacking and fishing are only as far away as the back yard. Additional information is available through www.laymca.org and www.losalamosnm.us as well as through the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce.
Los Alamos’ Pajarito Ski Area, www.skipajarito.com one of the Southwest’s best kept secrets, is minutes from town, while LA’s outdoor Ice Rink is located within community borders. Finally, for the water enthusiast, the Larry R. Walkup Aquatic Center claims the largest Olympic pool in the state, and the Rio Grande, with its awesome stretches of white water, invites the rafter or canoeist toward its shores.
Religion: More than 30 churches have congregations in Los Alamos. These include most major Christian denominations, along with several small, community based parishes, a very active Jewish Center, and various other world religions.
Area Residents: Los Alamos Medical Center’s service area addresses a diverse and fascinating constituency: employees of Los Alamos National Laboratory, the most highly educated population, per capita, in the nation; members of several neighboring Native American Pueblos, descendants of the Anasazi; and a large number of Hispanic Americans whose local ancestry dates back at least two centuries before the founding of our country.
Education: In order to attract the highest caliber of scientist to Los Alamos National Laboratory, the community has invested a great deal into building an excellent school system. The five elementary schools and one middle school teach basic skills and offer Gifted and Talented Education programs, while Los Alamos High places a large number of students in its Honors and Advanced Placement courses. Special needs programs are available for any student, while a wide variety of basics and elective-style classes are offered to those at the secondary levels. Los Alamos High School is among winners of the prestigious national Bellamy Award. More information is available at www.laschools.net/
Retail Opportunities: Los Alamos’ retail community includes many small, locally owned businesses. A major downtown redevelopment plan is under way for the town site, while White Rock’s civic improvement implementation has already begun.
Regional malls are located in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, while all of Northern New Mexico offers cultural shopping opportunities second to none on this continent. Santa Clara potters, Chimayo weavers, and the absolutely unique Nambeware represent but a few examples of this area’s excellence in craftsmanship. For more information about the communities of our region, visit the following websites:
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