Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is located south of Socorro off of I-25 on NMHwy-1. The closest town to it is San Antonio, the gateway to the refuse. While you are in San Antonio stop to have a chile cheese burger at the Owl Bar and Cafe. The town was the birthplace of Conrad Hilton who founded the Hilton Hotels Corporation.
The best time to visit the refuge is from late October to late January. That is the time when the most birds are spending the winter there. There have been 374 different bird species observed in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge since 1981. The refuse is home to many types of birds: waterfowl, song birds, shore birds, marsh birds and waders, raptors and game birds. The best time of day to see the large flocks of sandhill cranes take off or come back is right after dawn or right before sunset. In fact the refuse sponsors an Annual Festival of the Cranes in celebration of the winter migration of the sandhill cranes to the refuge.
If you go the best place to stay overnight is to get a room in Socorro. That way you can get an early start and stay late!
