New Mexico is the perfect place for a road trip for a few reasons. There’s so much to see, many places are only accessible by car, and there’s a lot of ground to cover. Here’s your guide to the perfect New Mexico Southwest road trip.
Getting There and Preparation
The plan was to fly into El Paso airport, drive north through New Mexico, then fly out from Albuquerque. (Santa Fe also has an airport, but Albuquerque flights were cheaper.) The biggest lesson from this trip was to prepare for the sun and heat. Bring LOTS of water to drink, sunscreen, hats, and whatever else you need to keep from getting burned and dehydrated. Even though many days were breezy and in the 70’s to 80’s, the sun was always shining and that makes a huge difference in how it feels.
I tracked our route with the app Polarsteps. You can add your own photos, a description for each stop, sites of interest, map your progress, and even purchase a customized travel book.
Due to COVID-19, many pueblos were closed to visitors at the time of my visit. The pandemic hit Native American communities especially hard. As much as I would have loved to visit, their health and wellbeing is more important.
With so much to see in New Mexico, a second trip is in order anyway. There was no way I could have seen and experienced everything in just one week. If you’re planning your own trip, take note of the sites I missed due to pandemic closings or lack of time. They include Carlsbad Caverns, Aztec, Roswell, and any or all of the 19 New Mexican pueblos (Taos, Acoma, Jemez, etc.)
Las Cruces and Mesilla
The first stop on our New Mexico Southwest road trip was Las Cruces. This was the perfect starting place because it’s the closest city to White Sands National Park, which was at the top of our list. The plan was to work our way north through the state.
After flying into El Paso, Texas, we picked up our rental car, drove about an hour to Las Cruces, checked into our hotel, and did some exploring. We had dinner at Andele! which was actually in the neighboring town of Mesilla. Closeby was Mesilla Plaza, a National Historic Landmark District, so we took a stroll among the historic adobe buildings and basilica.
White Sands National Park
The next day was our White Sands National Park day. White Sands is a dunefield of gypsum sand covering 275 square miles. The national park preserves over half of this. We drove about an hour to the park, which charges $25 entry per car. At the visitor’s center, you can purchase a sled and sled wax, which I recommend. There are options to picnic, camp, bike, and more, but we stuck to exploring on foot and sledding. That alone was enough to be in awe of this amazing place.
The time passed quickly as we sledded, walked, ran, jumped, and took lots of photos. The dunes really bring out the kid in you. The gypsum sand doesn’t absorb heat from the sun, so the dunes are always comfortable to walk on. If you dig your feet in deep, it’s actually nice and cool.
I highly recommend getting to the park as early as possible to avoid the midday heat and the crowds. We left around 11 am and on our way out there was a long line of cars waiting to enter. I also recommend wearing plenty of sunscreen because you will get burned without even noticing.
Truth or Consequences
The next day, we headed to Truth or Consequences. This is a small town that we chose for its hot springs resort and its proximity to the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
We couldn’t get a hotel room at the Riverbend Hot Springs resort because it was booked up. Still, we were able to reserve time in their hot springs while staying at a hotel down the street. They have private and public pools that you can reserve by the hour, so we made reservations for both. All of the pools overlook a narrow portion of the Rio Grande River. The pools are relaxing with soothing music and patrons that respect the rules of speaking softly if at all.
I did enjoy the hot springs, but there isn’t much else to do in the town so I wouldn’t recommend staying for more than one night.
Gila Cliff Dwellings
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in the Gila National Forest is a three-hour drive from Truth or Consequences. The rocks in this area look like something from another planet, but they’re the result of volcanic events 50-25 million years ago. Then, over millions of years, wind, water, and temperatures started the process of exfoliation, in which pieces of rock flake off and fall to the ground.
Over thousands of years, nomadic people used the cliff’s caves as temporary shelter. In the 1200’s, the Mogollon people turned them into homes. The Mogollon stayed there for about 20 years and left behind the walls they had built. It’s one thing to look at photos of these structures, but it doesn’t compare to seeing them in person.
Part of the road to the cliff dwellings takes you through the vast Gila National Forest. The roads are winding and scary at times when you are right at the edge of a cliff. If you have a fear of heights, it’s probably better for someone else to drive this section. Despite the long and intimidating drive, seeing the cliff dwellings up close and the gorgeous scenery was worth it.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Next in the New Mexico Southwest road trip was our first larger city, Albuquerque. I immediately liked a few things about ABQ: the cleanliness, the smooth roads that I’m not used to from years of living in Baltimore, the strong presence of Native American culture, the adobe homes, and great food options. I was amazed at how you could drive 10 minutes from the city center and, still within the city limits, take a quick hike to see petroglyphs.
Petroglyph National Monument
Petroglyph National Monument is actually a few different locations where petroglyphs can be seen. We visited two of the three. Piedras Marcadas Canyon has 400 petroglyphs along a 1.5-mile, sandy loop, and Boca Negra Canyon has 100 petroglyphs along three trails. These are pretty amazing hikes that don’t even take that long, so it’s definitely worth a visit.
Other highlights of Albuquerque included the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The IPCC preserves the cultures of New Mexico’s 19 Pueblo communities. It includes a gallery, store with Pueblo arts, outdoor plaza for performances and events, and the Indian Pueblo Kitchen. The restaurant offers indigenous cuisine and culinary events.
We also found some great places to eat, like Sawmill Market and Vinaigrette.
Pecos National Historical Park
After Albuquerque, we headed north to visit both Pecos National Historical Park and Bandelier National Monument—in the same day!
Pecos is only half an hour from Santa Fe. You can walk a trail through the remains of Indian pueblos and follow the history of Native Americans, Spanish colonizers, and the Franciscan Friars they brought. Here, the Pueblo Revolt happened in 1680. It was the only time indigenous people successfully expelled European invaders from the country, although the Spanish eventually returned.
Bandelier National Monument
About an hour’s drive from Santa Fe in Los Alamos is Bandelier National Monument. Like the Gila Cliff Dwellings, Ancestral Pueblo people made their homes by excavating cliff rocks and building homes on the ground. They lived here from about 1150 CE to 1550 CE.
The cliffs have a Swiss-cheese appearance caused by volcanic activity. That activity created what’s called volcanic tuff, which is soft and easier to break into blocks and excavate. Where ladders are placed in front of cliff dwellings, you can climb up and peer into them. You can also see some petroglyphs carved into the cliffs, or pictographs painted onto the walls. Both of these sites are a short drive from Santa Fe and and easy to knock out in one day.
Santa Fe
After Pecos and Bandelier, we checked into our Santa Fe hotel for the final stop on our New Mexico Southwest road trip. This was the first time we spent a little extra on a nicer hotel and it was a relief!
Inn of the Governors is a beautiful and charming hotel. They welcomed us with sherry and biscochitos, New Mexico’s official state cookie. We spent a lot of time in Old Town Santa Fe which was just outside our hotel. There, we did some window shopping/actual shopping and had some great New Mexican food and margaritas at The Shed.
Kakawa Chocolate House
We made sure to stop by Kakawa Chocolate House. It specializes in historic drinking chocolate elixirs including traditional Pre-Columbian, Mesoamerican, Mayan, Aztec, 1600’s European, Colonial American, and Colonial Mexican. I had the Mayan Full Spice Elixir. It’s a mix of unsweetened 100% chocolate, coconut sugar, herbs, flowers, nuts, spices, Chihuacle Negro Chili, and Mexican Vanilla. I wanted to sample as much as I could, so I also got ice cream (chocolate chili) and some truffles to go (prickly pear truffle, mezcal truffle, and chocolate chili again).
El Rancho de las Golondrinas
Another notable stop in Santa Fe was El Rancho de las Golondrinas. El Rancho is a living history museum that shows Spanish colonial living. The original buildings on the site date from the early 1700’s, and others show life in the 1800’s. If you read the American Girl books as a child, you’ll be excited to know that this is where research was done for the Josefina character. Looking back at my Josefina books from the 1990’s, some of the illustrations were taken exactly from rooms in the ranch.
Because of COVID, we were only allowed to sign up for a private tour. But during normal times the ranch has events, workshops, and docents dressed in historical clothing. I recommend signing up for a tour if you’re in Santa Fe.
Meow Wolf
For me, the highlight of Santa Fe was Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf is hard to explain, so I’ll share how they describe it. “Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return is a mind-bending, explorable art experience for people of all ages. Featuring over 70 rooms of immersive art, House of Eternal Return takes participants on a macrocosmic adventure of seemingly endless possibilities.”
The experience begins from a house where you’ll find secret passageways into other “worlds.” You can stay as long as you need to explore it all. Without planning it, we spent about four hours in there, but it didn’t even feel like that long. There’s also a cafe and a gift shop with eclectic items.
For more photos and videos from this New Mexico road trip, check out my Instagram and TikTok. Plus, watch the YouTube video below for the full experience.
Would you go on this New Mexico Southwest road trip, or did I miss any must-see spots along the way? Let me know in the comments below!
If you liked this, check these out:
How to Explore Mexican Culture, Art, & History in El Paso, Texas
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App-Guided City Tours with AmazingCo: Mystery Picnic in Washington, DC
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