Day Trippin' › New Mexico › From Albuquerque
From Albuquerque, the Sandia Peak Tramway and Coronado Historic Site are about 20 minutes away, Petroglyph National Monument under 45, Santa Fe and Meow Wolf under an hour, and Acoma Sky City a little over an hour. The best day trips from Albuquerque, by drive time.
97 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
National monument · 43 min northwest
Thousands of images pecked into dark volcanic boulders on Albuquerque's West Mesa, reached by several short canyon trails plus a volcano day-use area.
Town · 57 min northeast
The state capital, with adobe streets around the historic Plaza, galleries, museums and Northern New Mexico food.
Family fun · 55 min northeast
A walk-through, hands-on art installation where a Victorian house opens into strange glowing worlds, near the Santa Fe Railyard.
Museum · 48 min northeast
A living-history ranch south of Santa Fe with restored Spanish colonial buildings, farm animals and festivals.
State park · 50 min northeast
Rolling hills of old turquoise and silver mines beside the village of Cerrillos, with about five miles of trails for hiking, biking and riding.
Museum · 58 min northeast
A Museum Hill museum filled with folk art, toys and textiles from around the world.
Museum · 59 min northeast
Galleries in downtown Santa Fe devoted to the paintings and life of Georgia O'Keeffe.
Town · 53 min northeast
A former coal-mining town on the Turquoise Trail reborn as an artists' village of galleries, shops and an old tavern.
National monument · 1 hr 3 min north
Cone-shaped tent rocks of volcanic ash on Cochiti Pueblo land, with a slot canyon trail that climbs to a mesa-top view.
Pueblo · 1 hr 6 min west
A centuries-old pueblo village built on top of a sheer mesa, visited on guided tours from the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum.
National monument · 1 hr 47 min north
A canyon of cliff dwellings and village ruins carved into soft volcanic tuff, with ladders up to alcove rooms along the Pueblo Loop Trail in Frijoles Canyon.
National park · 1 hr 48 min north
A huge volcanic caldera of open grass valleys ringed by forested domes, where elk herds graze and trails head out from the Cabin District.
National monument · 1 hr 52 min west
A sandstone bluff where travelers carved names and messages for centuries, with a longer trail over the top.
Scenic drive · 1 hr 14 min northeast
A 105-mile mountain route between Santa Fe and Taos through Spanish land-grant villages like Chimayo, Truchas and Las Trampas.
Hot spring · 1 hr 56 min north
A historic hot springs resort with a dozen mineral pools of different minerals, between Santa Fe and Taos.
State park · 1 hr 13 min northeast
A forested canyon park on Little Tesuque Creek above Santa Fe, with picnic spots, about four miles of trails and sledding in winter.
Pueblo · 2 hr 24 min northeast
A living Pueblo village of multi-story adobe homes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site lived in for centuries.
National park · 2 hr 58 min west
Fallen logs turned to rainbow stone, Painted Desert views and old petroglyphs along a 28-mile park road.
National park · 2 hr 59 min northwest
Massive stone great houses of the Ancestral Puebloans in a remote desert canyon, seen from a loop drive and short trails.
Viewpoint · 2 hr 28 min northeast
A tall steel bridge on US 64 northwest of Taos with dizzying views straight down into the Rio Grande Gorge.
Swimming · 2 hr 11 min south
New Mexico's largest state park, a big reservoir on the Rio Grande with beaches, boating and swimming.
Trail · 2 hr 12 min north
A red-rock ranch near Abiquiu that inspired O'Keeffe, with hiking trails such as Kitchen Mesa, two museums and a labyrinth.
Town · 2 hr 18 min northeast
A historic art colony with a plaza, galleries and museums, and the famous adobe San Francisco de Asis church in Ranchos de Taos.
State park · 2 hr 22 min south
A shady cottonwood park on the Rio Grande, good for picnics, fishing and birding.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 87102 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.