Entry No. 9 — the Santa Fe file — filed under: mining museum
Casa Grande Trading Post
A 28-room adobe hacienda on the Turquoise Trail, run by the Brown family since 1975, holds a turquoise jewelry shop, a cluttered mining museum full of dioramas and antique bottles, and — out back — a petting zoo with a friendly llama, goats, and a flock of "fancy chickens" (feed for a quarter). Open 10am–4pm daily.
The story
Drive off Highway 14 into the unpaved grid of Los Cerrillos and you’ll hit 17 Waldo Street, where the Brown family has run a sprawling 28-room adobe hacienda since 1975. Casa Grande Trading Post skips the polished glass boxes of Santa Fe gallery row for a dense, labyrinthine vault of local dirt and history. Inside, the rooms choke on natural Cerrillos turquoise set in silver, cases of unrefined regional minerals, shelves of discolored antique glass bottles, and handmade Old West dioramas detailing the town's mining past.
What keeps this place off the standard tourist loop is that the history isn't staged. The owners hold a real, working turquoise mine claim in the Cerrillos hills. For $40, you can book up to four people on a guided tour out to their private claim to see how raw blue stone is still pulled out of the earth—a price that includes admission to the museum back at the hacienda.
What it's like
You'll enter through the shop floor, picking your way through decades of collected mineral specimens and silver work before pushing out to the dirt enclosure in back. There, Coco the llama, a herd of goats, and a flock of fancy chickens wander the pen; keep a quarter ready if you want a palmful of feed. Keep in mind that while stated hours are 10am to 4pm daily, trail-town schedules can flex, so call ahead to confirm before driving out.
The move: Poke through the mineral cases and Old West dioramas, feed the goats and Coco the llama, then book the owners' $40 guided tour of their own working turquoise mine claim (up to 4 people, includes museum admission).
- 📍 Los Cerrillos, Turquoise Trail
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 17 Waldo St, Los Cerrillos, NM 87010
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Encaustic Art Institute — Just two miles away in Cerrillos, swap raw high-desert turquoise for a low-slung gallery holding over 450 works crafted from hot beeswax.
- Old Coal Mine Museum — Head three miles south on Highway 14 to Madrid to trade private mineral claims for three acres of un-restored, abandoned industrial coal mining equipment.
- La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Site — Drive eleven miles northwest to connect the turquoise trade of the Cerrillos hills with hundreds of ancient Puebloan figures pecked into a basalt cliff face.
Good to know
How do I tour an active turquoise mine?
The owners run a guided tour of their own working turquoise claim for $40 total (covering up to 4 people), which includes museum admission.
What animals are in the petting zoo out back?
The back yard features a llama named Coco, goats, and a flock of fancy chickens. Feed machines take quarters.
Where is the trading post located?
It sits at 17 Waldo St in Los Cerrillos, New Mexico, right off the Turquoise Trail (Highway 14) between Santa Fe and Madrid.
Who runs the museum and store?
The Brown family built and has operated the 28-room adobe complex since 1975.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · maps.roadtrippers.com · newmexico.org · Wikipedia
last checked: 2026-07-20