While it’s always great to have time for extended trips, that’s not always reality. With just five days, it’s possible to do a New Mexico national park road trip. This itinerary is ideal for people who want to spend some time in nature, but don’t have a lot of time to do it. On this itinerary, you’ll visit White Sands National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It’s a busy few days, but it is also an awesome trip.
New Mexico National Park Road Trip
There are several ways to modify this New Mexico national park itinerary, which I’ll talk about later. This itinerary is nearly identical to what I did on my visit. It does have a few modifications, but it’s the itinerary I’d recommend most people to start with. Depending on your hiking abilities, you may want to adjust this itinerary and I’ll discuss options at the end of this post.
Day 1 – Arrive in El Paso
You’ll need to get to El Paso, Texas from wherever you call home. Despite this being a New Mexico national park road trip, we’ll be using El Paso for our start and end point. El Paso is the most convenient airport as all three national parks (in both New Mexico and Texas) on this five day road trip are within a three hour drive from here. Once you arrive, pick up your rental car and drive north to Alamogordo, NM.
If you arrive early enough, you can get a jump on some of the activities at White Sands National Park, but if you don’t have time or are too tired, you’ll have more time tomorrow.
Sleep: Alamogordo, NM
Day 2 – White Sands National Park
You have the morning to explore White Sands National Park. I recommend doing the trails in the front of the park before heading back to do the scenic drive. Once you get to the scenic drive, the front area of the park feels less impressive.
Hike the one mile nature trail and walk the half mile board walk. Continue to the back of the park and drive the scenic loop.
If you have the energy, the Backcountry Trail is a great option. If you do the Backcountry Trail, make sure you have a map since although the trail is signposted, the signs can and do blow over in strong winds. Without those signs, it is incredibly easy to become disorientated and get lost.
Once you’re finished at White Sands, it’s a three hour drive to Carlsbad.
It is at this point, where I have to make a note. My mom would like people to know that Alamogordo is home to the World’s Largest Pistachio. You’ll pass loads of billboards for it and she forced me to stop. You can just visit the statue, but there’s also a store selling more pistachios than you can possibly imagine. There’s also tours if you are really fascinated by the growing of pistachios.
Sleep: Carlsbad, NM
Day 3 – Carlsbad Caverns and an Intro to Guadalupe Mountains
Today is the halfway point of this New Mexico national park road trip. Start your morning off at Carlsbad Caverns. There are ranger led tours, but the self guided tour is also a great option. Regardless of which tour you take, you can, and should, make a reservation in advance. A visit here will only take two to three hours, depending on which tour you choose.
After your tour, head to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. You have a few options, but you can pick which trail suits you. I’d recommend looking at the Devil’s Hall Trail or the McKittrick Canyon Trail.
The Devil’s Hall trail has rock scrambling, but leads to some awesome views.
The McKittrick Canyon Trail is easier, but it is a bit more boring. For the McKittrick Canyon Trail, hike as far as you want and turn around when you’re ready (the trail goes on for over 12 miles one way). We hiked as far as the Grotto and enjoyed the experience.
When you complete your hike, return to Carlsbad.
Sleep: Carlsbad, NM.
Day 4 – A Big Hike at Guadalupe Mountains
You have one full day at Guadalupe Mountains, so make the best of it by tackling a longer hike. If you didn’t hike the McKittrick Canyon Trail yesterday, you could do that today. The Permian Reef Trail is less traveled, but from what I read, is more interesting than the McKittrick Canyon Trail. For a bucket list item, hike to Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas. The choice is yours.
Sleep: Carlsbad, NM
Day 5 – Return to El Paso
This New Mexico national park road trip is over. From Carlsbad, it’s a two and a half hour drive back to El Paso. Return your rental car and head home.
Hotels Needed
Day 1: Alamagordo, NM
Day 2: Carlsbad, NM
Day 3: Carlsbad, NM
Day 4: Carlsbad, NM
Modifications to This Itinerary
If you’re not a big hiker, I’d recommend some minor changes to this New Mexico national park itinerary.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is more geared for hikers and as such, doesn’t have scenic drives and some of the other options that other parks have. Still, there are some shorter, easier hikes you can do at Guadalupe Mountains. But if you’re thinking you won’t need all of that hiking time, consider the following itinerary:
Day 1 – Arrive in El Paso and Drive to Alamogordo.
Day 2 – White Sands National Park – Give yourself the full day to explore the national park and the city of Alamogordo
Day 3 – Drive to Carlsbad and Visit Carlsbad Caverns
Day 4 – Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Day 5 – Head home
Hotels Needed for the Modified Itinerary
Day 1: Alamogordo, NM
Day 2: Alamogordo, NM
Day 3: Carlsbad, NM
Day 4: Carlsbad, NM
When To Do This Itinerary
While this can be done all year round, I’d recommend spring or fall for comfortable conditions for a road trip around New Mexico (and Texas) national parks. In the summer, temperatures can soar, making it uncomfortably hot and even dangerous to hike. I visited in mid November. Temperatures were mild and for the most part, I was comfortable in my leggings and jacket.
Other Notes
Despite only needing two hotels for this New Mexico national park itinerary, there is a lot of driving involved. Carlsbad is the closest city to Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Park, but it’s 40 minutes one way to Carlsbad Caverns and 60 minutes one way to Guadalupe Mountains. When my mom and I did this trip, we logged just under 850 miles on our rental car.
To try to minimize your driving time, try to find a hotel on the south side of Carlsbad. Our hotel was on the very far north side of Carlsbad, NM (something I didn’t realize at the time), so every day, we added at least 15 minutes one way to get from one side of Carlsbad to the other (so 30 minutes per day). This doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s frustrating when you just want to get to your destination.
As you are driving, fill up with gas when you can. Many of these drives are incredibly rural and there are very limited options for gas. At one point, we passed a sign that said “No fuel 145 miles”. Make sure you always have plenty of gas to get to your next destination.
Final Thoughts
For those who love hiking, this itinerary is a perfect way to spend a long weekend. On this national park road trip, you’ll visit vastly different parks across New Mexico and Texas. It’s a short trip, but it’s a fun trip.
Continue Your Adventure
White Sands National Park: For a fun scenic drive and a great dune hike, visit White Sands National Park.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park: For a visit to the United States’ deepest cave, check out Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park: For epic mountain hiking with fewer crowds, visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Active hikers, or those looking to cross something off their bucket list, should look to add a hike to Guadalupe Peak to their visit.
More National Park Itineraries: If you want to visit more national parks across the United States, check out this 10 Day Itinerary Through Utah featuring Utah’s Mighty Five AND the Grand Canyon (in Arizona). Or this 10 Day Itinerary Through Colorado featuring all of Colorado’s national parks and so many scenic drives.