Fort Stanton – Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area, Nature reserve in Ruidoso, New Mexico, US

Fort Stanton–Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area covers about 25,080 acres (10,150 ha) in the eastern foothills of the Sierra Blanca, between Capitan and Lincoln in Lincoln County, New Mexico, at roughly 6,300 feet (1,900 m) elevation. Within it lies Fort Stanton Cave, the third longest cave in New Mexico, whose Snowy River passage has a stream bed of bright white calcite. The historic fort buildings are managed by New Mexico State Parks, the surrounding land by the Bureau of Land Management.

Fort Stanton was established in 1855 as a U.S. Cavalry post on the site of the former Fort Stanton Military Reservation. The 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry, Buffalo Soldier regiments, were sent to the New Mexico Territory to protect settlers. The fort's buildings are now managed by the New Mexico State Parks Division, while the surrounding lands fall under the Bureau of Land Management. The National Conservation Area was created in 2009 to protect the cave system.

Fort Stanton Cave holds inscriptions left by soldiers once posted at the fort, and Snowy River Cave is named for its stream bed of bright white calcite. The historic fort buildings are managed by the New Mexico State Parks Division.

The conservation area lies between Capitan and Lincoln in Lincoln County, on the eastern foothills of the Sierra Blanca at about 6,300 feet (1,900 m) elevation. The historic fort buildings are managed by New Mexico State Parks, while surrounding lands fall under the Bureau of Land Management. Access to the cave passages themselves is not open to casual visitors; check with the managing agencies before planning a cave visit.

The Snowy River passage features an unusual bright white calcite stream bed running through caves deep underground. This is one of the few places where visitors can witness such intense geological formations created by subterranean water flow.