Day Trippin' › New Mexico › From Albuquerque › Within 3 hours
85 places are worth the drive within 3 hours of Albuquerque, counted by road time from ZIP 87102: 11 under 1 hour, 32 1 to 2 hours and 42 2 to 3 hours.
The mix leans toward history, mountains & views and hikes, mostly to the northeast and north. Three hours each way makes a long day trip, or an easy overnight if you would rather not drive back the same day.
The headline places are Petroglyph National Monument, Meow Wolf House of Eternal Return and Santa Fe, and the closest real day trip is Petroglyph National Monument (43 min).
Under 1 hour 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours
Photo: formulanone, CC BY-SA 2.0
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.
Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0
Town · 57 min northeast
The state capital, with adobe streets around the historic Plaza, galleries, museums and Northern New Mexico food.
Photo: ObscuraNomad, CC BY 4.0
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.
Photo: Archinia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Museum · 48 min northeast
A living-history ranch south of Santa Fe with restored Spanish colonial buildings, farm animals and festivals.
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0
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.
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0
Museum · 58 min northeast
A Museum Hill museum filled with folk art, toys and textiles from around the world.
Photo: VitaleBaby at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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.
Photo: Scott Catron, CC BY-SA 2.0
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.
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY-SA 2.5
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.
Photo: Ancho., Public domain
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.
Photo: Thomas Shahan, CC BY 2.0
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.
Photo: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0
Wildlife refuge · 1 hr 22 min south
A Rio Grande refuge where thousands of sandhill cranes, geese and ducks spend the winter, seen from a 12-mile gravel scenic drive.
Photo: John Mackenzie Burke, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pueblo · 2 hr 24 min northeast
A living Pueblo village of multi-story adobe homes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site lived in for centuries.
Photo: Jeffhollett, CC BY-SA 4.0
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.
Photo: Katie Sekelsky, CC BY-SA 3.0
Swimming · 2 hr 11 min south
New Mexico's largest state park, a big reservoir on the Rio Grande with beaches, boating and swimming.
Photo: Artotem from Here, There, and..., CC BY 2.0
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.
Photo: Zeality, CC BY 2.5
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.
Photo: MRobison, CC BY-SA 4.0
State park · 2 hr 22 min south
A shady cottonwood park on the Rio Grande, good for picnics, fishing and birding.
Our picks, by drive time, include Petroglyph National Monument (43 min), Santa Fe (57 min), Meow Wolf House of Eternal Return (55 min), El Rancho de las Golondrinas (48 min) and Cerrillos Hills State Park (50 min). The full list on this page has 85 places, each with its drive time and direction from Albuquerque.
43 places within 2 hours, 85 within 3 hours and 127 within 4 hours of Albuquerque, by road from ZIP 87102.
26 of the 85 places need no pass or fee, such as El Malpais National Monument, Petroglyph National Monument and Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. Fees and passes change, so check each place before you go.
73 places are marked good for kids, including Petrified Forest National Park, Acoma Sky City and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
They are by real roads on a typical day, from the middle of ZIP 87102 to each place (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Traffic, weather and closures can change them. Places under 25 minutes from the city center count as in town, not a day trip, so they are left out.
Yes. Type your ZIP code into Day Trippin' and it shows everything by drive time. Your ZIP is used for that one search and is not saved.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.