The Neighborhood

The Neighborhood is the location where all seasons of the Amazing Race: Neighborhood Edition have been filmed. Located on the west side of Albuquerque, NM, the Neighborhood includes a variety of different locations, including a desert-like open space, a ditch that leads into a large drainage basin, a bike trail on the east side of the neighborhood, two different playgrounds, and, of course, typical neighborhood streets and houses.

The Open Space
The Open Space is an area directly across from the starting line of the Race. It is fenced-in due to the fact that there are ancient petroglyphs on the large volcanic rocks that make up the hill - in fact, it is considered protected land and has certain rules about what you can and cannot do in the area. Racers have visited the Open Space on all four seasons. On Season 1 and Season 2, Racers interacted with the Open Space by consulting signs, but they did not cross the fence. Racers actually crossed into the Open Space on Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, and Season 6.

The Ditch
The Ditch, officially known as the Piedras Marcadas Channel, is a drainage ditch that runs through the neighborhood and eventually ends in the Basin. It has a trail running on both sides of it, one side being paved and one side being dirt. Racers have visited the Ditch on all four seasons. On Season 1, Racers simply ran by the ditch during the final leg. On Season 2, Racers had to decode a message written in chalk on the side of the ditch. On Season 3, Racers had to toss a tennis ball over the ditch to their partner on the other side, who had to catch the ball in a bucket. On Season 4, teams had their second pit stop next to the ditch, on the paved side of the trail. On Season 5, teams raced next to the ditch at the beginning of Leg 6. On Season 6, the first pit stop was next to the ditch.

The Basin
The Basin, officially known as the Piedras Marcadas Drainage Basin, is a very large drainage area on the east side of the neighborhood. The Piedras Marcadas ditch drains into this area, and it is surrounded by a long trail on all sides. This trail is the same one that Racers followed in the final two legs of Season 1, and parts of this trail have played important parts in other seasons. The trail is on a raised embankment, and at times, Racers have gone down this embankment into the actual Basin. For example, on Season 2, Racers encountered a difficult blindfold challenge that even resulted in an injury (Collin Burt ran into a rock at the bottom of the embankment and cut his leg). On Season 3, Racers had to go down into the Basin and find puzzle pieces in buckets, but they had to go down the hill back-to-back with their arms interlocked. And on Season 4, teams went deep into the Basin, including a Roadblock where they had to find animal silhouettes taped to trees, and a Detour where they had to either find colored tiles or race relay-style to collect puzzle pieces. On Season 5, racers visited the Basin briefly on Leg 7, while on Season 6, racers headed deep into the Basin again on the Tanzania-themed third leg.