Paradise View in Albuquerque, NM

Paradise View is a subdivision on Albuquerque's Northwest Mesa, in the Paradise Hills area. It sits beside Petroglyph National Monument, less than a mile from Paseo del Norte, and the name covers both a single-family plat and an adjoining condominium section, so detached houses and attached units share the same streets. Abrazo Homes built the most recent phase, with covered patios, vaulted ceilings, a great-room fireplace and two-car garages; that phase has sold out. An association governs the property, and its dues cover common areas, grounds maintenance and utilities.

The monument's nearest walking access is Piedras Marcadas Canyon, reached from Golf Course Road south of Paradise Boulevard, with parking on Jill Patricia. The route is undeveloped, running along the base of a basalt ridge past one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs anywhere in the monument. There are no facilities out there, and the canyon is open sunrise to sunset.

Closer in, Paradise Hill Park and the Paradise Hills Community Center supply a playground, an indoor basketball court and a snack bar. Paradise Hills Golf Course, a public par-72 course laid out by Robert "Red" Lawrence and open to anyone who books a tee time, occupies the same corner of the Westside and looks east toward the Sandias. None of it belongs to the subdivision, which has no gate, no course and no age restriction of its own.