New Mexico Travel Forum

Hello everyone,

I'm wondering what the drive from Roswell to Albuquerque is like, scenery-wise. I'm planning on visiting Roswell, Carlsbad, and White Sands, but I'm flying out of Albuquerque. The other option I was considering was driving from Carlsbad through Texas past Guadalupe Mountains NP, stopping for a couple hours, and getting to Albuquerque via interstate 25 (not necessarily all in one day).

Thanks :)

The US-62/180 route is the least scenic in my mind. US-82 through Cloudcroft is not bad, but US-70/380 is better. There is always the back way to Albuquerque via NM-55/14.

Carlsbad to Albuquerque via US 285 is a really, really dull drive.
Personally, I prefer US 82 over US 380: there's less traffic, it goes up higher in elevation and the country is prettier. However, if you're going to Albuquerque, I think it makes more sense to take 380. Maybe spend the night in Capitan (although an overnight isn't really necessary, unless you think it's too long), then do Gran Quivira in the morning. From there, there are a few other sites part of the Salinas Pueblo National Monument on back roads, but it's up to you if you want to do them. Otherwise, you can cut back to I-25 via US 60 and Belen.

I suppose you could call it dull, 285 doesn't have mountains or rivers or lakes, but I thought it was beautiful. I saw tons of antelopes and lots of big sky and no cars or housing developments. There's a rest stop with a sign bidding you to watch out for rattlesnakes. I say go there!

OR, skip Roswell (I went there and wish I hadn't bothered) and go east to 54.

Thanks for the replies. So I'm thinking about going from Albuquerque down I-25 to the VLA, then 380 and 54 to the White Sands NM, followed by 82 and 285 to Carlsbad, back up 285 to Roswell, continuing to Santa Fe before returning to Albuquerque, so that way I will see all the roads. I'd rather not backtrack too much. I thought about it after I posted and decided going the Guadalupe route wasn't worth it in February (though I'd love to visit the park in the warmer months!).

New question: do you think it's feasible to visit both the VLA and White Sands in one day, leaving Albuquerque in the early morning? I want to take four days to see all these locations. Meaning:

1. VLA/White Sands
2. Carlsbad
3. Roswell
4. Santa Fe

Or something like that. There are many possible permutations of this!

Thanks!

p.s. Yes, I know there's a lot of driving involved, but it may be a one-time opportunity to see these places.

Barbara, your itinerary is quite doable and has good selections. Now that I know that you are flying in and out of Albuquerque, let me suggest a couple of additions. I would recommend Sky City (Acoma Pueblo) highly and agree with others that there is not much to see in Roswell. I also agree that you don’t have time to do much backtracking since you really have only four days. Let me suggest an itinerary for you.

Stay in Albuquerque the first night. The Frontier or the Flying Star restaurants are good dinner options if you arrive late. If you stay near the airport, you could eat at the K&I Diner early the next morning, then drive to Acoma Pueblo (~ 1-1.5 hrs). Take the tour, have lunch at the casino, and then back to I-25 south via the NM-6 shortcut. Drive to Socorro on I-25 then west on US-60 to the VLA. In the evening you may want to try the Bosque del Apache, not so much for the sunset (which I think can be impressive; see the lead photo in my Albuquerque travelogue on southern NM) but for the birds. In the winter, the evening is when they all return after being out feeding in the valley during the day.

Spend the second night in Socorro after dinner at the Owl Café in San Antonio. The next day see the Valley of Fires and Three Rivers Petroglyphs on US-380 and US-54, respectively. If you have time, you may want to stop at the Space Museum in Alamogordo. You want to be at the White Sands National Monument in the late afternoon and for the evening tour. Note that it will cool off very quickly in the evening at most times of the year.

Spend the third night in Alamogordo. Drive to Carlsbad Caverns via Artesia, Carlsbad, and White City (US-82/285/62). You definitely want to make it in time for a natural entrance tour; the last one is at 2:30 PM.

Spend the fourth night in Carlsbad or Roswell, depending on when you finish your tour of the caverns. Get an early start if you are in Carlsbad. You can do the UFO museum in Roswell in about an hour, then head to Santa Fe via US-285 (~3 hrs). You will for sure want to spend more time in Santa Fe than Roswell. I don’t know what time your flight out of Albuquerque is the next day, but don’t underestimate the traffic on I-25 between Santa Fe and Albuquerque if you decide to spend the fifth night in Santa Fe. You are right about this being a lot of driving but you will see some amazing things.

Thanks for the fabulously detailed response! I have added petroglyphs and valley of fires to my itinerary. So now I am staying for longer and here is the new tentative itinerary. Let me know what you think!

Arrive into Albuquerque Friday.

Saturday I am taking an organised tour that visits the White Sands Missile Range and Bosque del Apache.

Sunday - another organised tour to Acoma Pueblo

Monday to Friday - Albuquerque for a conference. I intend to visit local attractions in my spare time. Any suggestions?

Saturday - Gallup, Canyon de Chelley NM, Arizona

Sunday - Petrified Forest NP, Arizona and VLA, stay in Socorro

Monday - Valley of Fires, Three Rivers Petroglyphs, White Sands NM, stay in Alamogordo

Tuesday - Carlsbad Caverns, probably stay in Roswell

Wednesday - Roswell, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, drive to Santa Fe

Thursday to Friday - Santa Fe, making my way back to Albuquerque Friday afternoon with a stop at Bandeliers NM

Saturday - flight out from Albuquerque

I know that a lot of time can be spend in many of these places, especially the outdoor attractions (hiking, etc.), but I'll be on a restricted activity level anyways, so some, like the Valley of Fires, will be more of a "stop to look for an hour" activity. But please let me know if something is altogether unrealistic!

Thanks again! I'm getting really excited now :)

Barbara, I have several questions and comments about your proposed itinerary, so I am going to switch to e-mail.

> Monday to Friday - Albuquerque for a conference. I intend to visit local attractions in my spare time. Any suggestions?
Where are you staying? Downtown?
Old Town should be your first stop. Next door to that is the Rio Grande Biopark. At the minimum, visit the Botanical Gardens.
Petroglyph National Monument is interesting. Lots of petroglyphs, as the name suggests. Visit Boca Negra, at the least.
The Sandia tram might be nice. It takes you up to a 9000'+ mountain peak overlooking the city. Not sure when you're coming, but it's at least 20 degrees cooler than the rest of the city, so you generally have to bundle up.
Also museums. The Museum of Albuquerque is interesting. The Rattlesnake Museum is popular with most tourists, as is the Atomic Museum, which is across the street from the Museum of Albuquerque, near Old Town. UNM also has a great (and free!) anthropology museum. http://www.unm.edu/~Maxwell/
And, of course, you can't forget the food. Check out the reviews for New Mexican food suggestions, but Garcia's on Central is a great place that's also cheap and just across from Old Town.

> Saturday - Gallup, Canyon de Chelley NM, Arizona
Good for you for seeing de Chelly! So many people miss it and it's such a great place. I'd also suggest Chaco, but I don't think that you'll have time.

> Sunday - Petrified Forest NP, Arizona and VLA, stay in Socorro
The VLA visitors center closes at sunset. Some of the best pictures you'll get of the place though, I think, is around sunrise and sunset. It's really beautiful around there at that time.

> Monday - Valley of Fires, Three Rivers Petroglyphs, White Sands NM, stay in Alamogordo
Consider, also, staying in Cloudcroft. It'll put you a tad closer to Carlsbad for the next day, and is also a really pretty town. Alamogordo... not so much, but they do have some decent motels.

> Tuesday - Carlsbad Caverns, probably stay in Roswell
There's an oil refinery there but, between the two is Artesia, and there's a cute little inn and very nice Downtown area. http://www.artesiaheritageinn.com/
The Holiday Inn Express at the north end of Carlsbad is also nice, but Roswell does have better hotels than Carlsbad, in general.

> Wednesday - Roswell, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, drive to Santa Fe
Get to Santa Fe as soon as you can. You'll want more than two days when you arrive.