Logging opportunities first attracted the late-19th-century entrepreneurs who created Cloudcroft. The best way of getting the logs out of the mountains and down 5,000 feet to the main railroad at Alamogordo was by train. Would-be logging moguls built a single-gauge rail line that wound up from the valley at La Luz and into Mexican Canyon south of what would become Cloudcroft. Making a virtue of necessity, in 1899 they ballyhooed the line as a “resort train,” bringing gasping, heat-logged flatlanders into the cool summertime temps of high altitude. A pavilion hotel was built, and lots were sold for summer lodges. Before long, an exclusive hotel, the Lodge at Cloudcroft, was established on a peak above the burgeoning village. For the first 40 years of its existence, Cloudcroft was only reached by the train. The pause for a long look at the vista opening from the trestle was a highlight of the trip up the mountain. The cool summer breezes were a sure antidote to the “summer complaint” (heat fever) that annually worried mothers from The Flatlands (Alamogordo, El Paso and Las Cruces). Many a mother spent the summer in Cloudcroft with her children while her harried husband commuted from the flats on weekends.

During World War II, a highway was built to give visitors and residents quicker access to Alamogordo and its air base, ammunition dump and other military facilities. The Cloudcroft railroad was abandoned and then dismantled in 1948.

Drive up the winding road to The Lodge and have a martini or margarita in its cellar bar while you wait for a table in the luxurious dining room. Play golf on a high-altitude course that has amused visitors from Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to Lee Trevino—a drive from the first tee goes straight down about 400 feet and then doglegs to the right! Built in 1899, the course follows the Scottish tradition of playing different tees and separate flags on each hole. The nine-hole course, when played twice, makes for an 18-hole round that challenges both hackers and pros.

There’s fishing near Cloudcroft, and horseback riding at nearby ranches. The village is anything but backward, just determined to keep it simple. The Cloudcroft Light Opera Company performs melodrama and vaudeville during the summer. There are barbecues in the park. A new bakery recently opened on Burro Street and features beignets made by its New Orleans-trained owner.

And the Trestle remains, restored and stabilized. These days you can walk an easy 2.8-mile trail (a couple of steep climbs) to the Trestle Recreation Area, and relax and watch the ravens play in the thermal updrafts of the canyon below the structure. They, too, enjoy the quiet charm of Cloudcroft.