Fox Cave

{{Short description|American roadside attraction}}

{{Infobox cave

| name = Fox Cave

| other_name = Ice Cave

| photo = frameless

| photo_width = thumb

| photo_caption = A photo taken of the exterior of Fox Cave in 1955

| map =

| map_width =

| map_caption =

| map_alt =

| location = Ruidoso, New Mexico

| coords =

| coords_ref =

| land_registry_number =

| grid_ref_UK =

| grid_ref_Ireland =

| grid_ref =

| depth =

| length =

| height_variation =

| elevation =

| discovery =

| geology = Micritic limestone

| entrance_count =

| entrance_list =

| difficulty =

| hazards =

| access =

| show_cave =

| show_cave_length =

| lighting =

| visitors =

| features =

| survey =

| survey_format =

| website =

}}

Fox Cave is located on East Highway 70 between Roswell and Alamogordo, near Ruidoso, New Mexico.Lemay, John. Towns of Lincoln County. Arcadia Publishing, 2010, p. 90{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nma/lincoln/history_snips.htm |title=History Snips |publisher=Rootsweb.ancestry.com |date= |accessdate=2013-08-18}} It was once used as a hideout by William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid and also known as Henry Antrim, a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier outlaw in the American Old West.

Originally known as "Ice Cave" in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the rocks of Fox Cave are primarily micritic limestone. The cave was formed over thousands of years by erosion of the rock caused by the Ruidoso River.Steven J. Skotnicki (May 2009). [http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/maps/geologic/ofgm/downloads/188/Lincoln_Report.pdf "Preliminary Geologic Map of the Lincoln Quadrangle,Lincoln County, New Mexico"]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

The Ruidoso River Museum was located at Fox Cave from 2013.{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Kelly |title=Ruidoso River Museum moves to Fox Cave plan to open in May |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/999959887/?match=1&clipping_id=164592940 |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Ruidoso News |date=Nov 13, 2013 |page=A6}} The owner of the cave and museum constructed seven small buildings on the property at Fox Cave. The collection featured artifacts, photographs and documents relating to the notable figures of the Old West and those involved in the Lincoln County War, including Billy the Kid, sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett and lawyer and businessman Alexander McSween.{{cite web |url=http://www.ruidosonews.com/ruidoso-entertainment/ci_21827865 |title=Pat Garrett - exhibition at Ruidoso River Museum |publisher=Ruidoso News |date=2012-10-22 |accessdate=2013-05-09 |archive-date=2014-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407095009/http://www.ruidosonews.com/ruidoso-entertainment/ci_21827865 |url-status=dead }} The museum closed and was replaced with a retailer.{{Cite web |title=Fox Cave: Billy the Kid, Zombie Hands (Closed), Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico |url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/54739 |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=RoadsideAmerica.com |language=en}}