Things to do in New Mexico
38 places worth stopping for and 24 places to stay on a road trip through New Mexico.
See and do
Scenic drive · Alamogordo
White Sands National Park
Gypsum dunes you can slide down, with a scenic loop drive and sunset walks.
- Cave
Cave · Carlsbad
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
One of the biggest accessible caves in America, with a bat flight at dusk.
History · Taos
Taos Pueblo
Multistorey adobe village lived in for centuries, open to visitors with guided tours.
- Wildlife
Wildlife · San Antonio
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Sandhill cranes and snow geese in winter, with a loop drive near the Rio Grande.
Hot pool · Ojo Caliente
Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs
Historic hot spring resort with several mineral pools, soak or stay overnight.
Walk · Cochiti Pueblo
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
Cone-shaped rock formations on a short slot canyon walk.
Town · Santa Fe
Santa Fe Plaza
The heart of the old adobe city, with galleries, Native American jewellery sellers and cafes.
History · Acoma
Acoma Pueblo (Sky City)
Mesa-top village lived in for centuries, reached on a guided tour.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · Santa RosaHidden gem
Santa Rosa Blue Hole
Bottle-clear artesian pool popular with divers and cooling swimmers on Route 66.
History · Los Alamos
Bandelier National Monument
Cliff homes and ancestral Pueblo ruins reached by an easy walk and ladders.
- Scenic drive
Scenic drive · Jemez Springs
Valles Caldera National Preserve
A huge volcanic bowl of meadows and elk off NM 4, great for a slow drive and picnic.
Museum · MagdalenaHidden gem
Very Large Array
27 giant radio dishes on the Plains of San Agustin with a walking tour.
- History
History · Silver CityHidden gem
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Ancestral cliff rooms in a remote canyon in the Gila wilderness, reached by a winding road.
Walk · Capulin
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Drive up a cinder cone to its rim and walk around the crater.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · Santa Fe
Meow Wolf House of Eternal Return
Immersive art installation in a former bowling alley, popular on a rainy day.
Viewpoint · Taos
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
Bridge more than 600 feet above the river, with a pedestrian walkway and rest area.
History · Chimayo
El Santuario de Chimayo
Adobe pilgrimage chapel with a well of blessed earth, on the High Road to Taos.
- Walk
Walk · FarmingtonHidden gem
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness
Strange eroded clay hoodoos and fossils in a no-trail badlands wilderness.
Gallery · Santa Fe
Canyon Road galleries
Half a mile of adobe galleries and sculpture gardens in the old part of Santa Fe.
- Activity
Activity · Albuquerque
Sandia Peak Tramway
One of the longest aerial trams in the world, up to a cool, windy peak.
History · RamahHidden gem
El Morro National Monument
Sandstone bluff covered in inscriptions from Spanish and American travellers.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · RoswellHidden gem
Bottomless Lakes State Park
Deep sinkhole lakes with a swim beach and campground just outside Roswell.
- Hot pool
Hot pool · Jemez SpringsHidden gem
Jemez Springs Bath House
Quiet village bathhouse with private mineral soaks on the Jemez Mountain Trail.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · TaosHidden gem
Earthship Biotecture Visitor Center
Off-grid homes built from tyres and bottles, with a self-guided tour near the gorge.
- Cave
Cave · GrantsHidden gem
El Malpais ice caves and Sandstone Bluffs
Lava flow overlook on NM 53, plus a privately run ice cave nearby.
- Walk
Walk · Three RiversHidden gem
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site
Over 21,000 rock carvings along a mile-long hillside trail.
History · MountainairHidden gem
Salinas Pueblo Missions
Three ruined mission churches and pueblo sites in quiet desert hills.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · Santa RosaHidden gem
Blue Hole
A crystal-clear 80-foot-deep artesian pool popular with divers and swimmers.
- History
History · Albuquerque
KiMo Theater
1927 Pueblo Deco theatre on Central Avenue with a famous neon marquee.
- Walk
Walk · Albuquerque
Petroglyph National Monument
Tens of thousands of rock carvings along a volcanic escarpment on the city's west side.
- Hot pool
Hot pool · Jemez SpringsHidden gem
Spence Hot Springs
Free hillside pools beside the Jemez road, a short walk from a pull-off.
History · PecosHidden gem
Pecos National Historical Park
Ruins of a mission church and Pueblo, plus a Civil War battlefield, close to Santa Fe.
- Walk
Walk · Jemez SpringsHidden gem
Soda Dam
Roadside mineral dam with a waterfall and a short climb, right next to NM 4.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · Teec Nos Pos
Four Corners Monument
Stand in four US states at once on the Navajo Nation.
Museum · Roswell
International UFO Museum
A museum about the 1947 Roswell incident with documents and exhibits.
- Museum
Museum · Albuquerque
Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
Museum of ballooning in the balloon capital of the world.
- Museum
Museum · Gallup
Gallup Cultural Center
Native American art and history centre in Gallup's old Santa Fe depot.
- Lake
Lake · Santa RosaHidden gem
Park Lake, Santa Rosa
Pretty stone-walled park around a small lake in downtown Santa Rosa.
Food stops
- Bakery
Bakery · Pie TownHidden gem
Pie-O-Neer Cafe
Tiny roadside cafe in Pie Town famous for homemade pies.
- Restaurant
Restaurant · Albuquerque
Frontier Restaurant
A huge New Mexican restaurant on Central Avenue (Route 66), open early to midnight daily.
- Pub
Pub · San AntonioHidden gem
Owl Bar & Cafe
Old-school roadhouse known for green chile cheeseburgers near Bosque del Apache.
- Restaurant
Restaurant · Hatch
Hatch chile country and Sparky's
Chile capital of the world with burger joints and roadside stands in harvest season.
Places to stay
- Motel
Motel · Tucumcari
Blue Swallow Motel
A beautifully kept 1939 motor court with garages and a glowing blue neon sign.
- Campground
Campground · NageeziHidden gem
Gallo Campground, Chaco
Twenty-eight desert sites inside Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
- Campground
Campground · FaywoodHidden gem
City of Rocks State Park
Rock formations scattered across the desert, with a campground and star-watching observatory.
- Campground
Campground · PilarHidden gem
Orilla Verde Recreation Area
Riverside BLM campsites in the Rio Grande gorge with rafting and fishing nearby.
- Campground
Campground · Eagle NestHidden gem
Cimarron Canyon State Park
Pine-shaded campground along a trout stream beneath tall granite walls.
Campground · ClaytonHidden gem
Clayton Lake State Park campground
Dark-sky gold park beside 100-million-year-old dinosaur trackways.
- Campground
Campground · AbiquiuHidden gem
Echo Amphitheater Campground
Ten sites at a natural sandstone amphitheatre near Ghost Ranch.
Campground · Las CrucesHidden gem
Aguirre Spring Campground
BLM desert campground beneath the spires of the Organ Mountains.
- Lodge
Lodge · Santa Fe
La Fonda on the Plaza
Historic adobe-style hotel on Santa Fe's plaza.
- Campground
Campground · DemingHidden gem
Rockhound State Park
Hillside campground where you can collect and keep rocks, with desert views.
- Campground
Campground · CarrizozoHidden gem
Valley of Fires Recreation Area
Camp beside a roughly 40-mile-long lava flow with a short nature trail.
- Campground
Campground · BandelierHidden gem
Juniper Family Campground
Camp among pinyon pines beside ancient cliff dwellings.
Motel · Gallup
El Rancho Hotel
A 1937 Route 66 hotel where movie stars once stayed.
- Hot pool
Hot pool · FaywoodHidden gem
Faywood Hot Springs
Soaking pools from 95 to 110F, plus camping and cabins, beside City of Rocks.
- Campground
Campground · RatonHidden gem
Sugarite Canyon State Park campgrounds
Forty developed sites at 6,664 feet beside old coal-camp ruins.
- Campground
Campground · Tierra AmarillaHidden gem
Hopewell Lake Campground
Lake camp in the high country between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla.
- Campground
Campground · VaditoHidden gem
Santa Barbara Campground
Rio Santa Barbara camp on the edge of the Pecos Wilderness.
- Campground
Campground · Santa Fe
Black Canyon Campground, Santa Fe
Pine camp at 8,475 feet above Santa Fe on the Hyde Park road.
- Campground
Campground · Jemez Springs
Jemez Falls Campground
Fifty pine-shaded sites at 7,880 feet in the Jemez Mountains.
- Campground
Campground · Abiquiu
Riana Campground, Abiquiu Lake
Red cliff lake camp in Georgia O'Keeffe country.
- Campground
Campground · Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa Lake State Park
State park campground on a reservoir north of Santa Rosa.
- Campground
Campground · Logan
Ute Lake State Park
Big reservoir on the Canadian River with camping near Tucumcari.
- Campground
Campground · PrewittHidden gem
Bluewater Lake State Park campground
149 sites at 7,554 feet in the high desert west of Grants.
- Campground
Campground · ColumbusHidden gem
Pancho Villa State Park campground
41 reservable sites on the border at the site of the 1916 raid.
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Plan the drive, not just the stops
Roadtrip works out what the drive costs in fuel for your car, splits it into days with the best stops and places to sleep, and finds the cheapest fuel on the way.
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