Mini golf coming to Rio Rancho

RIO RANCHO — Rick’s Prehistoric Mini Golf is coming to Rio Rancho and is setting up shop in the Southern Plaza off of Southern and Unser boulevards (next to Nori and El Paisano Market).

Owner Richard “Rick” Lane doesn’t just want this place to be a miniature golf course but also an ice cream shop.

“So, I grew up playing miniature golf and having ice cream in the Northeast, and that’s just something that I have always wanted to do,” Lane said. “This is my first business, and it is something that I have wanted to do for the past 2 1/2 decades.”

To avoid fighting weather, the miniature golf course will be indoors and feature a multiple courses.

“There will be two 18-hole courses, so lots of people can come in and enjoy. We will have both hard and soft-serve ice cream. It’ll be lots of fun,” Lane said. “The indoor golf course is dinosaur-themed. We will have 14 animatronic dinosaurs, almost life size. Some can’t be because of the limitations of the roof, but they are all scaled to be life size.”

The two 18-hole golf courses will also be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“If you are in a wheelchair, you will be able to get around every single hole,” Lane said.

The target opening date is late winter or early spring 2025.

“No later than April [2025], but I am shooting for the end of February, early March timeframe,” Lane said. “Although I have always wanted to have an indoor miniature golf business and ice cream shop, the main reason for Rick’s Prehistoric Mini Golf is for all ages to enjoy time together. For friends and family to create memories, strength relationships and build strong communities.”

Lane also shared that Rick’s Prehistoric Mini Golf will be the first of many “worlds.”

“My company’s name is Rick’s Adventure World ... This is the first world of probably a five-world series that I want to do over the next five to six years. I will find another location for another world, and it’ll be something different,” Lane said.