# Road trips in New Mexico > 14 road trips and 36 hand-picked places in New Mexico, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/new-mexico/ 14 road trips and 36 hand-picked places in New Mexico, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through New Mexico - [High Road to Taos](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/high-road-taos/): Adobe churches, weaving villages and Taos Pueblo on the back road from Santa Fe. - [Gila Wilderness: cliff dwellings, a catwalk and the Very Large Array](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b8-gila-loop/): Southwest New Mexico’s mountain country: rock pinnacles, cave dwellings, a canyon walkway and a field of giant radio telescopes. - [The Turquoise Trail: Albuquerque to Santa Fe via Sandia Crest](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-turquoise-trail/): Petroglyphs on Albuquerque’s volcanic mesa, the top of the Sandia Mountains and the old mining towns of Madrid and Cerrillos on the way to Santa Fe. - [Jemez Mountain Trail: Bandelier, Valles Caldera and Jemez Springs](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-jemez-mountain-trail/): From Santa Fe past Los Alamos to the cave rooms of Bandelier, across a volcanic caldera and down a red canyon of hot springs to Albuquerque. - [The Enchanted Circle: Taos, Red River and Eagle Nest](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-enchanted-circle/): A mountain loop around Wheeler Peak, New Mexico’s highest summit, with a Rio Grande gorge overlook, an old mining town and an alpine lake. - [Acoma Sky City, El Malpais and El Morro](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-acoma-el-malpais/): West of Albuquerque to a pueblo on a mesa top, a lava-field arch and an inscription rock carved by centuries of travelers, ending in Gallup. - [On the Santa Fe Trail: Trinidad to Santa Fe](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b8-santa-fe-trail/): The mountain route of the old trade trail, over Raton Pass past an extinct volcano and frontier forts to the plaza in Santa Fe. - [O’Keeffe Country and the Cumbres & Toltec railway](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-okeeffe-country-chama/): Follow Georgia O’Keeffe from her Santa Fe museum to the red cliffs of Abiquiu, then ride a narrow-gauge steam train over Cumbres Pass. - [Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-chaco-canyon/): From the Rio Grande up US-550 to the great houses of Chaco Canyon, the Bisti badlands and Aztec Ruins, ending in Durango. - [Chihuahuan Desert parks](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/chihuahuan/): Carlsbad Caverns and the white gypsum dunes of White Sands between El Paso and Roswell. - [West Texas and southern New Mexico: dunes, caves and Big Bend](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/west-texas/): White gypsum dunes, a famous bat cave, a fake boutique and one of the emptiest parks in the country. - [Route 66, part two: Oklahoma City to the Pacific](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/route66-west/): The Texas Panhandle, the Painted Desert and the Mojave, ending on the Santa Monica Pier. - [Canyons and cliff dwellings of the Four Corners](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/four-corners-loop/): Ancestral Puebloan villages, slot canyons and the Grand Canyon's South Rim. - [Navajo Nation: Window Rock, Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-navajo-nation/): Across the Navajo Nation from Gallup to Utah, stopping at a historic trading post, the rims of Canyon de Chelly and a 13th-century village. ## Places worth the detour in New Mexico - [Blue Swallow Motel](https://camping-spirit.com/places/blue-swallow/): A 1939 motor court with a glowing neon sign and a private garage next to each room. Book early in summer. - [White Sands National Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/white-sands/): Wave-like dunes of gypsum that stay cool underfoot. Buy a sled at the visitor center. - [Carlsbad Caverns National Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/carlsbad/): Walk down the natural entrance into the Big Room, one of the largest cave chambers in North America. Bats fly out at dusk in summer. - [Taos Pueblo](https://camping-spirit.com/places/taos-pueblo/): Multi-storey adobe homes lived in for about a thousand years. Respect the photography rules and closures. - [Capulin Volcano National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-capulin/): A young cinder cone with a road spiraling to the rim and a one-mile trail around the crater. On clear days you see into four states. - [Fort Union National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-fort-union/): Adobe ruins of the largest 19th-century fort on the Santa Fe Trail, with wagon ruts still visible in the grass. - [City of Rocks State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-city-of-rocks/): Tall volcanic rock pillars standing like a village in the grassland, with campsites tucked between them and very dark skies. - [Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-gila-cliff/): Stone rooms built by the Mogollon people in caves above a creek in the 1200s, reached on a one-mile loop trail. - [Very Large Array](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-vla/): Twenty-seven giant radio telescope dishes lined up on the Plains of San Agustin. A visitor center and self-guided walk lead to the base of one. - [Sandia Crest](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-sandia-crest/): At 3,255 m, the top of the Sandia Mountains, reached by the paved Sandia Crest Scenic Byway (NM-536) from the Turquoise Trail. A small fee is charged to park at the top, where the view reaches across much of central New Mexico. - [Bandelier National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-bandelier/): Ancestral Pueblo cave rooms and ladders carved into soft volcanic tuff in Frijoles Canyon. Parking in the canyon is limited; on busy days a free shuttle runs from an overflow lot near the entrance. - [Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-cumbres-toltec/): A narrow-gauge steam railway owned by New Mexico and Colorado, crossing Cumbres Pass between Chama and Antonito. Runs late May to October; book ahead, especially in autumn. - [Acoma Sky City](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-acoma/): A pueblo on a sandstone mesa top 110 m high, inhabited for about 1,000 years. Visits are by guided tour only from the Sky City Cultural Center; photography requires a permit. - [Chaco Culture National Historical Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-chaco/): Great houses of the Ancestral Puebloan world, including Pueblo Bonito. The last 21 km of the approach from US-550 (CR 7900/7950) is rough dirt, impassable after rain and unsuitable for large RVs. - [Blue Hole](https://camping-spirit.com/places/blue-hole/): An artesian pool of clear blue water in the high desert, 80 feet deep and about 62°F all year. Scuba divers train here. - [International UFO Museum](https://camping-spirit.com/places/roswell-ufo/): Newspaper clippings, dioramas and a flying-saucer stage explain the 1947 incident. Even the streetlights are shaped like alien heads. - [Meow Wolf – House of Eternal Return](https://camping-spirit.com/places/meow-wolf/): An immersive art maze where a fridge door can lead into another dimension. Allow at least two hours. - [Rio Grande Gorge Bridge](https://camping-spirit.com/places/rio-grande-gorge/): A steel bridge 650 feet above the river, crossing a canyon cut into the flat sagebrush plain. - [Pecos National Historical Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-pecos/): The ruins of a large pueblo and a Spanish mission church on a ridge, along a short trail. Travelers on the Santa Fe Trail camped nearby. - [The Catwalk](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-catwalk/): A metal walkway bolted to the walls of narrow Whitewater Canyon, following the route of an old mining pipeline. - [Petroglyph National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-petroglyph/): Thousands of images pecked into volcanic boulders on Albuquerque’s West Mesa. Boca Negra Canyon has short paved trails; Rinconada Canyon offers a longer sandy walk. - [Cerrillos Hills State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-cerrillos-hills/): Low hills pocked with old turquoise and silver mines, crossed by easy hiking trails. The park entrance is on a dirt road just north of Cerrillos village. - [Valles Caldera National Preserve](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-valles-caldera/): A 20 km wide volcanic caldera filled with grassland meadows and elk herds. NM-4 skirts Valle Grande; a gravel road leads to the visitor center at the historic cabins. - [Soda Dam](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-soda-dam/): A natural mineral dam of travertine that has built up across the Jemez River beside NM-4. The river flows through a hole in it; roadside pullouts. - [Jemez Historic Site](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-jemez-historic-site/): The ruins of the 17th-century San José de los Jemez mission church and the pueblo of Giusewa. A short trail passes through both; closed on some weekdays. - [Georgia O’Keeffe Museum](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-okeeffe-museum/): The largest single collection of O’Keeffe’s work, a few blocks from the Santa Fe Plaza. Timed tickets; parking downtown is tight for RVs, so park at the edge and walk. - [Abiquiu Lake](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-abiquiu-lake/): A reservoir on the Chama River framed by red mesas and flat-topped Pedernal Peak. Campgrounds and overlooks are run by the Army Corps of Engineers. - [Echo Amphitheater](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-echo-amphitheater/): A curved sandstone alcove that throws back your voice, reached by a short paved trail from US-84. The Forest Service site has a small campground and a day fee. - [Wild Rivers Recreation Area](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-wild-rivers/): Overlooks at the confluence of the Rio Grande and Red River, within Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Paved roads, campsites and trails dropping into the gorge. - [Eagle Nest Lake State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-eagle-nest-lake/): A high-country lake at 2,500 m in the Moreno Valley below Wheeler Peak. Good for elk sightings at dusk; the visitor center is just south of Eagle Nest village. - [Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-vietnam-memorial/): A chapel and museum built by the parents of a Marine officer killed in 1968, one of the first memorials of its kind in the country. It stands beside US-64 above the Moreno Valley, with easy parking. - [La Ventana Natural Arch](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-la-ventana/): One of New Mexico’s largest arches, in El Malpais National Conservation Area. Pull-off from NM-117 and a short trail lead toward it; nearby Sandstone Bluffs overlook the lava flows. - [El Morro National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-el-morro/): A sandstone bluff above a waterhole where travelers carved names for centuries, including Spanish inscriptions from 1605. A trail loops over the top to an ancient pueblo. - [Coronado Historic Site](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-coronado-hs/): The ruins of Kuaua Pueblo beside the Rio Grande, with a reconstructed kiva showing copies of pre-contact murals found here. It is just off US-550 in Bernalillo, 30 minutes north of Albuquerque; closed on some weekdays. - [Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-bisti/): Badlands of eroded hoodoos and petrified wood with no marked trails. Park at the main lot off NM-371 and navigate by GPS; carry plenty of water. - [Aztec Ruins National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-aztec-ruins/): A 900-year-old Ancestral Puebloan great house with a reconstructed great kiva you can walk into. Compact site with a visitor center in the town of Aztec. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in New Mexico?** Popular routes include High Road to Taos, Gila Wilderness: cliff dwellings, a catwalk and the Very Large Array, The Turquoise Trail: Albuquerque to Santa Fe via Sandia Crest and Jemez Mountain Trail: Bandelier, Valles Caldera and Jemez Springs. CampingSpirit has 14 trip guides that pass through New Mexico, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in New Mexico are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Blue Swallow Motel, White Sands National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Taos Pueblo, Capulin Volcano National Monument and Fort Union National Monument.