Last Updated on June 1, 2021
It’s easy to find a great variety of day trips from Albuquerque, no matter what your interests are. There are so many getaways to choose, meaning you can easily combine three in a day. Doing this is perfect for getting the most from your day trips so I’ll offer more ideas on how to make the best use of your time. Of course, you can always take each trip singularly, too.
One of our favorite Albuquerque getaways includes a hike to see dinosaur bones at White Ridge Mesa, northwest of Bernalillo. Combine White Ridge Mesa with several other nearby destinations to make your own road trips from Albuquerque. Get the most out of your time and focus on combining other destinations in this article, too – we’ll tell you which ones.
Combining Your Albuquerque Trips
This article is grouped according to the type of Albuquerque trips you’ll be interested in. Those groups include quirky, historic, scenic and active day trips. Choose which group suits you best or choose them all!
Again, combine several of our suggested Albuquerque trips and enjoy a variety of things to see and do. For example, combine Tinkertown Museum, Sandia Man Cave and Sandia Peak together, or combine a day trip to Blue Hole in Santa Rosa with a fun visit to Clines Corners. Look for more of our Tips below for other Albuquerque getaways to mix and match.
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- Not enough time for a day trip? Find out where to get active with some great hikes near Albuquerque instead.
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In addition, Jemez and Gilman Tunnels combine very well with either White Ridge Trails or Coronado Historic Site. Whatever you do or wherever you go, make the best use of your time when planning your getaways from Albuquerque and have a proper road atlas with you at all times!
Quirky Albuquerque Day Trips
This state is full of wonderfully offbeat and kitschy destinations and you’ll find several within easy reach of the Duke City.
Tinkertown Museum
Where: 121 Sandia Crest Road. (NM Route 536), Sandia Park, NM
Hours: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm daily, late March through late October.
Phone: (505) 281-5233
Website: www.tinkertown.com
Tips: Combine this with visits to Sandia Peak and Sandia Man Cave (below). Also, many still-functioning vintage amusements live on forever here at Tinkertown Museum – bring plenty of nickels, dimes and quarters to experience them all. It gets chilly inside Tinkertown Museum at the beginning and end of the business season; bring a light jacket at these times.
Whimsical, unique and utterly fascinating perfectly describes Tinkertown Museum. Here, a collection of curios from the past effortlessly mingle with figurines, fantastical dioramas and inspirational quips brought to life by Tinkertown’s creator, Ross Ward, over a 40 year period. The museum itself is a warren of rooms and hallways and the grounds bring to mind a sort of old western town.
The real draw here is Ross Ward’s vision, brought to life vividly throughout Tinkertown Museum. Hand carved figures by this self-taught artist flesh out many of the displays here; over the years his dream of a folk art world became a reality which continues this day. Browse the 22 rooms filled with Ward’s eccentric collection and become inspired by his worldview, on show for all to see. Plan on spending several hours at this odditorium.
Clines Corners
Where: Interstate 40 west, Exit 218.
Hours:
- Gas and convenience store: 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Gift shop: 6:00 am – 7:00 pm, daily.
- Cafe on Route 66 Restaurant: 7:00 am – 3:00 pm, Thursday through Monday.
Phone: (575) 472-5488
Website: www.clinescorners.com
Tip: Clines Corners is one of the easiest road trips from Albuquerque. Easily combine this destination with a visit to Blue Hole in Santa Rosa (below).
This travel stop in the middle of nowhere has been pulling in weary travelers (and day trippers) since 1934. Make this one of your day trips from Albuquerque or combine it with a visit to Blue Hole in Santa Rosa. Clines Corners is ground-zero for New Mexico souvenirs, homemade fudge, saltwater taffy and a full line of cowboy boots and moccasins to round out the experience. There’s also a great restaurant here, too.
Browse the rather eclectic selection of merchandise and enjoy every kitschy moment of it. Even if you don’t buy anything you’ll walk away with a big smile on your face; this place is packed with cute and corny tidbits and interesting assorted oddities. Clines Corners is a classic roadside attraction still going strong to this day and you simply must stop in.
Aside from fun and tacky products you never knew you needed or wanted, Clines Corners has gas and a convenience store selling snacks, coffee and cold drinks. The Cafe on Route 66 restaurant serves a good selection of filling roadside fare at a reasonable price, should you need a proper fill-up yourself. Get here for a bit of fun – this is one of the easiest Albuquerque getaways you can do right now.
Meow Wolf
Where: 1352 Rufina Circle, Santa Fe, NM.
Hours: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm, Wednesday through Monday. Closed Tuesday
Phone: (505) 395-6369
Website: www.meowwolf.com
Tip: I don’t recommend combining Meow Wolf with other Albuquerque day trips. Instead, take your time here to properly see this unique attraction.
What is Meow Wolf? A surreal fun house which breathes and grows all around you while incorporating esoteric elements in a clever and entirely familiar way. If that sounds too difficult to imagine then visit Meow Wolf yourself to figure it out. Even if this warehouse-sized interactive art installation leaves you confused and disoriented, you’ll still have a blast exploring one crazy display after another.
The start of the experience puts visitors inside an actual house full of clues to a crazy and slowly unfolding story. This encourages further exploration of closets, cupboards and even the refrigerator in the kitchen. Those discoveries lead to a strangely expanded world full of other rooms and deeper universes. Meow Wolf is simply one of the oddest day trips from Albuquerque and must be seen to be believed.
Open that refrigerator door in the kitchen, step into the white light and be prepared for whatever awaits. Further exploration throughout Meow Wolf reveals assorted hidden passages. One of these passages somehow puts you inside the clothes dryer in the laundry room of the house at the beginning of Meow Wolf! Does this sound strange? Just get here and see it for yourself!
If you’ve ever wished to play xylophone on the fluorescent rib cage of a Woolly Mammoth while traipsing through a bizarre world of endless possibilities, Meow Wolf will be one of your most pleasantly unique New Mexico day trips. Speaking of music, Meow Wolf is a live venue for concerts with bands performing in the heart of this trippy, whimsical wonderland.
Historic Road Trips from Albuquerque
From a controversial discovery in a cave to the collision of two different cultures, you’ll uncover plenty of historic Albuquerque day trips.
Sandia Man Cave
Where: NM Route 165, off Sandia Crest Highway at Balsam Glade Picnic Area.
Tip: Combine this with a visit to Tinkertown Museum (above) and Sandia Peak (below). Also, bring a flashlight to explore the cave!
Beyond Tinkertown is Sandia Man Cave, known for what it isn’t and for what it was once thought to be. Controversy surrounds what exactly was found here in 1934 by Frank Hibben, a renowned figure still associated with the University of New Mexico’s archaeology department. His “discovery” of a new culture he called Sandia flew in the face of the widely-accepted Folsom culture, predating the latter by about 10,000 years.
This discovery still led to great renown for him and the state’s university at the time. Those findings fell out of favor decades later and remain… buried in controversy. Today, an easily accessible cave remains to be explored, accessed via a winding steel staircase precariously perched on the side of a steep canyon wall. Sandia Man Cave is free
Reach the parking area for Sandia Man Cave via a 5-mile drive along a dirt road, suitable for any vehicle during dry conditions. Getting to the entrance of Sandia Man Cave involves an easy 15-minute hike and a very brief white-knuckle climb up a spiral staircase. Again, combine this with Tinkertown Museum and Sandia Peak to get the most out of your day trips from Albuquerque.
Salinas Pueblo Missions
Where: Reach Quarai, Abó and Gran Quivira from the Salt Missions Scenic Byway, near the villages of Mountainair and Manzano.
Hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, daily. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Phone: (505) 847-2585
Website: www.nps.gov.sapu
Tip: We don’t recommend combining this day trip with others simply due to the time involved in visiting all three missions.
These three separate sites, known collectively as Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, are easily seen in a single day trip from Albuquerque. Each site is testament to relationships between Puebloans and the Spanish who built missions alongside them in the 17th century. Prior to Spanish arrival in the region, Quarai, Abó and Gran Quivira thrived as population centers on an important ancient salt trading route.
Explore ruins of the missions, kivas and pueblo rooms at each site and learn how strategically situated these settlements actually were to commerce. Access each separate site from the 150-mile Salt Mission Scenic Byway which runs through the eastern slopes of the Manzano Mountains and the plains south of Estancia. Take in the entire scenic byway or just the sites of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.
Coronado Historic Site and Kuaua Pueblo
Where: 485 Kuaua Rd. Bernalillo, NM
Hours: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Wednesday through Monday. Closed Tuesday
Phone: (505) 867-5351
Website: www.nmhistoricsites.org
Tip: Combine a visit to Coronado Monument with either a visit to White Ridge Trails or Jemez and Gilman Tunnels (both below).
A riverside setting with views of the Sandia Range makes this beautifully situated archaeological site an easy day trip from Albuquerque. Coronado Historic Site features the only known ceremonial kiva ever found with painted interior murals. Guided tours of the kiva at Coronado Historic site are the only way to see these murals during your visit.
The site was home to Kuaua Pueblo during the arrival of Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. That arrival established the earliest European trade route in the United States, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. This trade route and many other events related to it changed the history of this pueblo and the people who called this area home for many generations.
An on-site museum highlights artifacts found here along with a replica sword and crossbow you can wield. Some reproduction conquistador armor can also be donned if you wish to bring the historical experience to the next level! Outside is the great kiva with it’s impressive murals and foundations of several reconstructed pueblo rooms.
Note: Visits to the kiva involve a climb up and into into the ceremonial structure on a ladder and photography of the murals is prohibited.
Bandelier National Monument
Where: The entrance to Bandelier National Monument Visitor Center is located on NM Route 4. Important! Access to Bandelier from May 16th through October 16th, between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, is by shuttle bus only! Look online for full up-to-date information and the shuttle bus schedule regarding this seasonal access to Bandelier National Monument.
Hours: Open daily except Christmas and New Years’s Day. See their official information online regarding seasonal and recreational hours.
Website: www.nps.gov/bandelier
Tip: Combine this with Valles Caldera National Preserve and the Jemez and Gilman Tunnels (both below) during your next Albuquerque getaway.
A strategic location first brought humans here 10,000 years ago. Today, visitors experience that ancient history and get to see how special this spot still is. Here, a sheer cliff served the perfect location for the Ancestral Puebloans who built homes at its base over two separate eras between 1150 and 1600 AD. Walking paths get you close to the ruins and hiking trails through the park offer a chance to escape the crowds.
The original builders made use of natural fissures in the cliff-side and even hollowed out holes in the soft rock to accommodate timber beams for supporting roofs. Still visible are several rectangular sections below where those timber beams would’ve been; these sections still contain geometric paintings and it’s certainly easy to imagine these as almost “framed” works on the wall of a pueblo home generations ago!
Ancestral Puebloans practiced extensive agriculture here, aided by several techniques suited exactly to the location and climate. In the end they were driven into the Rio Grande Valley, possibly due to sustained drought. One can imagine that drought today while exploring the ruins of Frijole Canyon at Bandelier National Monument.
Scenic Day Trips From Albuquerque
Really take a moment or two to enjoy the legendary scenery which awaits one of your next Albuquerque getaways.
Jemez and Gilman Tunnels
Where: About 5 miles north on NM Route 485. To access NM Route 485, take NM Route 4 north beyond Jemez Pueblo; follow signs for NM 485 left.
Tip: Combine this with either White Ridge Trails (below), Valles Caldera National Preserve (below), Coronado Historic Site or Bandelier National Monument (both above) for an action-packed day trip from Albuquerque.
Just north of Jemez Pueblo on NM Route 485 is the very scenic canyon known as Guadalupe Box. Here, two impressive tunnels (Jemez and Gilman) pass through solid rock and several small parking areas allow you to get out and explore. This paved road is seldom used and walking through Jemez and Gilman tunnels, separated by only a hundred feet or so, is very safe to do.
Below Jemez and Gilman Tunnels is the Guadalupe River and several falls, visible from the pull-ins here. The river has refreshing pools to soak in and further upstream anglers can fish for trout. The scenery at Guadalupe Box is amazing and the drive to Jemez and Gilman Tunnels is just as beautiful. Note: NM Route 485 is closed just before Jemez and Gilman Tunnels from December 15th through April 15th.
NM Route 485 remains paved just beyond Jemez and Gilman Tunnels. Forest Road 376 (gravel) begins where route 485 ends; 376 then climbs to a dead end some 10 miles beyond. Several free campsites line the road and pull-ins offer access to the river for trout fishing and summertime soaking. This is an incredibly scenic area and therefore makes for a great place to spend the entire day.
Valles Caldera National Preserve
Where: Valles Caldera National Preserve is located off NM Route 4, between Santa Fe and the village of Jemez Springs.
Hours: Open daily. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Hours may vary seasonally.
Website: www.nps.gov/vall/
Tip: Combine this day trip from Albuquerque with White Mesa Bike Trails, the Jemez and Gilman Tunnels (both below) or Bandelier National Monument (above). Don’t forget to check out San Antonio and Spence Hot Springs just north of Jemez Springs village.
Not many road trips from Albuquerque give you a chance to drive into the crater of a giant ancient volcano! Get out of the car for some stunning hikes through Valles Caldera National Preserve. This is the newest addition to the National Park system and admission is free, likely for some time due to nascent infrastructure. Still, this wild spot remains an extremely scenic and easily-accessed area.
Valles Caldera was once ranch land and several old cabins, barns and stables remain in the interior of the preserve. Hunting in the caldera eliminated the native elk population by the early 1900’s. Today, this area is home to New Mexico’s second largest elk population and Valles Caldera has several resident herds.
Recreational opportunities here include mountain biking, scenic drives, fishing and even cross country skiing and snowshoeing in winter. This preserve is full of old growth pine forest and pristine mountain streams and as a result Valles Caldera remains incredibly scenic year round. Make the drive to Valles Caldera National Preserve and enjoy this stunning Albuquerque day trip.
Looking For Even More Albuquerque Trips and Getaways?
- Explore the scenic drive along the high road to Taos.
- While you’re there check out our favorite day trips fromTaos.
Ready to Get Wild and Go Camping in New Mexico?
- Make the epic journey to Chaco Canyon, sleep out under the stars and hike to some ancient ruins.
- Drive along the Pecos River and head into the pine-studded mountains for some camping in the Santa Fe National Forest.
Sandia Peak
Where: Eastbound on Interstate 40 to exit 175; stay left and merge with NM Route 14 to San Antonito, 9 miles north. Sandia Crest Scenic Highway begins here on the left.
Tip: Combine a trip to Sandia Peak with visits to Tinkertown Museum and Sandia Man Cave (both above).
Head up to Sandia Peak for lofty views of Albuquerque and much of the state of New Mexico. The road to the top is accessed from the east side of the Sandia Range, offering a vastly different landscape than the valley west of the range. The scenic drive to Sandia Peak passes through thick pine and oak forest before topping out at 10,679 feet. A visitor center, shop and restaurant await after taking in the views.
Enjoy the drive up Sandia Crest Scenic Highway, too. Along the way are numerous opportunities to hike the forested eastern slope of the Sandia Range. For a moderate hike on the way to Sandia Peak try the Tree Spring Trail – look out for fossils on the trail during your climb. The views of Albuquerque and the foothills from the top of Tree Spring Trail are quite nice, too.
Active Day Trips from Albuquerque
Take a hike to see dinosaur bones or go for a swim in a refreshing, deep blue pool; get out and get moving on your next outing from Albuquerque.
White Ridge Trails
Where: The left turn for White Ridge Mesa Bike Trails is off US Highway 550 north of Bernalillo just before the village of San Ysidro. Follow Cabeza Road (gravel) for 4.4 miles to the parking area for White Ridge Bike Trails. This site is free.
Website: www.blm.gov/whiteridge
Tip: Combine this getaway from Albuquerque with a visit to the Jemez and Gilman Tunnels, Coronado Historic Site, Valles Caldera National Preserve or Bandelier National Monument (all above) IF you don’t attempt the full hike at White Ridge Trails.
Not many road trips from Albuquerque give you the chance to see dinosaur bones in situ. However, this series of multi-use trails 45 minutes northwest of the city does just that. A roughly 10-mile loop circles the area from above, dipping into the valley before returning to the top again. Or bypass the loop for an easier hike by heading out and turning back at any point. Come during the week and you’ll have this area to yourself!
The location of the dinosaur bones at White Mesa is a simple 45 minute hike from the parking lot – head uphill from the parking lot and stay right, ascending to the rim in about 10 minutes. From here keep right and follow the east rim for 30 minutes to a fork in the trail. Here, a faint trail heads left as the main trail slowly climbs to the right; this faint path is for viewing the dinosaur bones.
This faint path connects again with the main trail, about 100 yards beyond the fork. Find the dinosaur bones on this lesser trail (left fork) on your right side, about three feet above your head and roughly 50 yards from the fork. Two areas of dinosaur bones remain here – look for them both! Backtrack or continue your hike and enjoy more stunning views of White Ridge Mesa. Pick up a map at the parking lot and take a hike!
Blue Hole
Where: Interstate 40 east to exit 275 to US Highway 84 (old Route 66). Head west on US 84 briefly, turning left onto Lake Drive, then left onto Blue Hole Road.
Hours: 8:00 am – 8:00 pm, daily.
Phone: (575) 472-3763
Website: www.bluehole.com
Tip: Don’t forget to combine this day trip with a visit to Clines Corners (above) on your way back to Albuquerque.
Natural pools of refreshing clear blue water don’t spring to mind when you think of New Mexico. However, just over 100 miles east of Albuquerque in the town of Santa Rosa is the aptly named Blue Hole, with an impressive depth of 80 feet. This town-maintained spring serves as one of the most refreshing day trips from Albuquerque in summer months. Admission to Blue Hole is free!
Blue Hole gets rather busy on summer weekends with locals flocking to this unique oasis – the water stays a constant 62 degrees all year which is more than enough to keep you refreshed. Scuba divers take note: Blue Hole features a dive shop and this is the best training facility in the entire region. Certified divers pay $20 for a week-long permit, or $50 annually.
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