Town · 35 min south
Hatch
The self-named Chile Capital of the World, a farm village with roadside chile stands and the smell of roasting chile in harvest season.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round (best late summer)
- Free
Day Trippin' › New Mexico › From Truth or Consequences
Day trips from Truth or Consequences
From Truth or Consequences, Elephant Butte and Caballo lakes are about 20 minutes away, Hatch about 35, the Bosque del Apache refuge about an hour, and Mesilla and Las Cruces a little over an hour. The best day trips from Truth or Consequences, by drive time.
61 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
10 day trips from Truth or Consequences
- Hatch 35 min south
- Fort Selden Historic Site 52 min southeast
- Leasburg Dam State Park 56 min southeast
- Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge 1 hr 1 min northeast
- Mesilla 1 hr 12 min southeast
- Dripping Springs Natural Area 1 hr 21 min southeast
- White Sands National Park 1 hr 45 min east
- City of Rocks State Park 2 hr 2 min southwest
- Old Town Albuquerque 2 hr 5 min north
- Petroglyph National Monument 2 hr 40 min north
Within an hour from Truth or Consequences 4 spots
State park · 56 min southeast
Leasburg Dam State Park
A quiet park on the Rio Grande near Las Cruces with a cactus garden, short trails and paddling and swimming spots.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- New Mexico State Parks day-use fee (per vehicle)
Historic site · 52 min southeast
Fort Selden Historic Site
Adobe ruins of an 1865 frontier fort once home to Buffalo Soldiers, north of Las Cruces.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round (closed Mon-Tue)
- Admission
Ghost town · 1 hr southwest
Lake Valley Historic Townsite
A silver-mining ghost town from 1878 with a restored schoolhouse and chapel and a self-guided walking tour.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
1 to 2 hours from Truth or Consequences 8 spots
Town · 1 hr 12 min southeast
Mesilla
A walkable historic town by Las Cruces built around a lively plaza and the 1906 Basilica of San Albino.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
National park · 1 hr 45 min east
White Sands National Park
Rolling dunes of glittering white gypsum, with an 8-mile scenic drive, short trails and sledding on the sand.
- Half day · Easy to moderate
- Year-round
- National park entrance fee (per vehicle) or America the Beautiful pass
Wildlife refuge · 1 hr 1 min northeast
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
A Rio Grande refuge where thousands of sandhill cranes, geese and ducks spend the winter, seen from a 12-mile gravel scenic drive.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round (best early Nov to late Jan)
- Day-use fee (per vehicle) or America the Beautiful pass
Trail · 1 hr 21 min southeast
Dripping Springs Natural Area
Easy trails in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument wind through desert scrub and oak woodland, with good odds of seeing hawks, eagles and mule deer.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Day-use fee (per vehicle)
Museum · 1 hr 10 min southeast
New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum
A Las Cruces museum on 4,000 years of farming and ranching, with live animals and demonstrations.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Admission
Wildlife refuge · 1 hr 5 min southeast
Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park
A day-use park of river woodland and restored wetlands near Mesilla, known for birding from wildlife blinds.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- New Mexico State Parks day-use fee (per vehicle)
National monument · 1 hr 26 min south
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument
Rocky canyons in the Robledo Mountains holding fossil footprints and petrified wood about 280 million years old, older than the dinosaurs.
- 2-3 hrs · Moderate
- Fall to spring
- Free
Trail · 1 hr 48 min northeast
Valley of Fires Recreation Area
A paved nature trail across a young black lava flow near Carrizozo.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Day-use fee (per vehicle)
2 to 3 hours from Truth or Consequences 46 spots
State park · 2 hr 2 min southwest
City of Rocks State Park
Volcanic rock pinnacles up to 40 feet tall laid out like city streets in the desert between Silver City and Deming, with trails and an observatory.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- New Mexico State Parks day-use fee (per vehicle)
Town · 2 hr 5 min north
Old Town Albuquerque
The city's 1706 birthplace, a walkable plaza ringed by adobe shops, restaurants and the San Felipe de Neri church dating to 1793.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
National monument · 2 hr 40 min north
Petroglyph National Monument
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.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy to moderate
- Year-round
- Free
Pueblo · 2 hr 51 min north
Acoma Sky City
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.
- Half day · Easy to moderate
- Year-round (Fri-Mon)
- Admission (guided tour)
Town · 2 hr 53 min northeast
Santa Fe
The state capital, with adobe streets around the historic Plaza, galleries, museums and Northern New Mexico food.
- Full day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
National monument · 2 hr 53 min west
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Ancient stone rooms built inside cliff caves, reached by a one-mile loop trail in the Gila Wilderness.
- Full day · Moderate
- Year-round
- Free
National monument · 2 hr 59 min north
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
Cone-shaped tent rocks of volcanic ash on Cochiti Pueblo land, with a slot canyon trail that climbs to a mesa-top view.
- Half day · Easy to moderate
- Feb 1 to Dec 14, Thursday to Monday
- BLM ticket (per person) plus Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Access Pass
Viewpoint · 2 hr 18 min north
Sandia Peak Tramway
A 2.7-mile aerial tram that lifts you from Albuquerque's foothills to the 10,378-foot summit of the Sandias, with a restaurant at the top.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round (closed Tuesdays)
- Admission
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Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 87901 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.