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24 Best Destinations in New Mexico (2026)

Home/Destinations/New Mexico

Destinations in New Mexico

24 destinations to explore

Aztec Ruins National Monument, Monument in Aztec, New Mexico

Aztec Ruins National Monument

Aztec, New Mexico

Aztec Ruins has some of the best-preserved Chacoan structures of its kind. Learn more about the ancestral Pueblo people in the park's museum and explore the Aztec West great house to see exceptionally advanced architecture, original wooden beams, and a restored Great Kiva. Aztec Ruins is a deeply sacred place to many Indigenous peoples across the American Southwest. Please visit with respect.

Bandelier National Monument, Monument in Los Alamos, New Mexico

Bandelier National Monument

Los Alamos, New Mexico

Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of ruggedly beautiful canyon and mesa country. Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities.

Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Park Site

Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

In 1857, businessman and transportation entrepreneur John Butterfield was awarded a contract to establish an overland mail route between the eastern United States and growing populations in the Far West. What became known as the Butterfield Overland Trail made an arcing sweep across the southern rim of the country. Stagecoaches left twice a week carrying passengers, freight, and mail.

California National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

California National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Follow in the footsteps of over 250,000 emigrants who traveled to the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s: the greatest mass migration in American history. The California National Historic Trail is over 5,000 miles long and covers portions of 10 states. Step into history along more than 1,000 miles of ruts and traces from travelers and their overland wagons.

Capulin Volcano National Monument, Monument in Capulin, New Mexico

Capulin Volcano National Monument

Capulin, New Mexico

Part of the 8,000 square mile Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field, Capulin Volcano showcases the volcanic geology of northeastern New Mexico. The views are spectacular day or night, with views of 4 different states from the volcanic rim and one of the darkest night skies in the country. Whether it's a quick stop or a day's trip, enjoy exploring the landscape of this unique volcano!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, National Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Carlsbad, New Mexico

High ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus, and desert wildlife—treasures above the ground in the Chihuahuan Desert. Hidden beneath the surface are more than 119 caves—formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone leaving behind caverns of all sizes.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Historical Park in Nageezi, New Mexico

Historical Park

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Nageezi, New Mexico

Explore the monumental structures and breathtaking landscape at Chaco, a thriving regional center for the ancestral Pueblo people from 850 to 1250 CE (Common Era), through hiking & biking trails, ranger guided tours & programs, and more. Chaco Canyon is a sacred and deeply personal place for many Indigenous peoples throughout the Southwest. Please visit with respect.

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Explore a diverse array of histories contained within El Camino Real de los Tejas’ 150-year life, including the Spanish struggle to missionize American Indian nations, the growth of cattle ranching in the Mexican period, and the movement for Texan independence and statehood.

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Travel along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail to experience and learn from a complicated legacy of 300 years of conflict, cooperation, and cultural exchange between a variety of empires—European and non-European alike.

El Malpais National Monument, Monument in Grants, New Mexico

El Malpais National Monument

Grants, New Mexico

The richly diverse volcanic landscape of El Malpais (el-mal-pie-EES) offers solitude, recreation, and adventure. Explore incredible geologic features such as young lava flows, cinder cones, lava tubes, and sandstone bluffs. While some may see a desolate environment, people have been adapting to and living in this extraordinary terrain for generations. Come visit the land of frozen fire!

El Morro National Monument, Monument in Ramah, New Mexico

El Morro National Monument

Ramah, New Mexico

Imagine the refreshment of finding water after days of dusty travel. A reliable waterhole hidden at the base of a sandstone bluff made El Morro (the headland) a popular campsite for hundreds of years. Here, ancestral Puebloans, Spanish, and American travelers carved over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages, and petroglyphs. Make El Morro National Monument a stopping point on your travels.

Fort Union National Monument, Monument in Watrous, New Mexico

Fort Union National Monument

Watrous, New Mexico

Exposed to the wind, within a sweeping valley of short grass prairie, and along the eroded Santa Fe Trail, lie the adobe walled ruins of the largest 19th century military fort in the region. From 1851 to 1891, Fort Union functioned as an agent of change, desired or not, in the New Mexico Territory and throughout the Southwest.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Monument in Mimbres, New Mexico

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Mimbres, New Mexico

For thousands of years, groups of nomads used the caves above Cliff Dweller Creek as temporary shelter. In the late 1200s, people of the agricultural Mogollon (Southern Ancestral Pueblo) culture made it a home. They built rooms, crafted pottery and raised children in the cliff dwellings for one or two generations. By approximately 1300, the Mogollon had moved on, leaving the walls behind.

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Explore the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail across five states to see the 1,300-mile route traveled by Mormons who fled Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1846-1847.

Old Spanish National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Old Spanish National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Follow the routes of mule pack trains across the Southwest on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. New Mexican traders moved locally produced merchandise across what are now six states to exchange for mules and horses.

Oregon National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Oregon National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Imagine yourself an emigrant headed for Oregon: would promises of lush farmlands and a new beginning lure you to leave home and walk for weeks? More than 2,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen along the Oregon National Historic Trail in six states and serve as reminders of the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of early American settlers.

Pecos National Historical Park, Historical Park in Pecos, New Mexico

Historical Park

Pecos National Historical Park

Pecos, New Mexico

Pecos is a natural and cultural crossroads through which hunters, gatherers, traders, missionaries, immigrants, soldiers, ranchers, and other travelers passed and lived. Follow in their footsteps and imagine Pecos through the centuries. Visit sites where cultural demonstrations and traditional practices continue today - a living legacy of the people who passed this way. At Pecos, past is present.

Petroglyph National Monument, Monument in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Petroglyph National Monument

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish settlers.

Pony Express National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Pony Express National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

It is hard to believe that young men once rode horses to carry mail from Missouri to California in the unprecedented time of only 10 days. This relay system along the Pony Express National Historic Trail in eight states was the most direct and practical means of east-west communications before the telegraph.

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, Monument in Mountainair, New Mexico

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

Mountainair, New Mexico

Tucked away in the middle of New Mexico you’ll find Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. Its three distinct sites offer a glimpse into a unique time in history—a time entrenched with cultural borrowing, conflict and struggles. These sites continue to stand as reminders of the Spanish and Pueblo peoples’ early encounters and prompt exploration of today’s interactions among different people.

Santa Fe National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

You can almost hear the whoops and cries of "All's set!" as trail hands hitched their oxen to freight wagons carrying cargo between western Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Follow the Santa Fe National Historic Trail through five states and you'll find adventure and evidence of past travelers who made this remarkable trip before you!

Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail, Park Site in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people, forcefully removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to live in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They traveled by foot, horse, wagon, or steamboat in 1838-1839.

Valles Caldera National Preserve, Preserve in Jemez Springs, New Mexico

Valles Caldera National Preserve

Jemez Springs, New Mexico

About 1.2 million years ago, a spectacular volcanic eruption created a 14-mile-wide circular depression in the earth now known as Valles Caldera. The preserve is known for its huge mountain meadows, abundant wildlife, and meandering streams. The area also preserves the homeland of ancestral native peoples and embraces a rich ranching history.

White Sands National Park, National Park in Alamogordo, New Mexico

White Sands National Park

Alamogordo, New Mexico

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here.