Amarillo to Santa Fe road trip: Best stops, drive time & distance
The best road trip stops on the Amarillo to Santa Fe drive are Adrian TX, Tucumcari NM and Santa Rosa NM. The distance from Amarillo to Santa Fe by car is 279 miles, with a 4h9m driving time.
Planning an Amarillo to Santa Fe road trip itinerary
The Amarillo to Santa Fe drive connects north Texas with the historic capital of New Mexico.
Amarillo is a classic stop on Route 66. Highlights include Cadillac Ranch, an art installation featuring 10 brightly-painted Cadillacs buried nose-first in the ground. You’ll also find the Texas Air and Space Museum here, and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. For the great outdoors, Palo Duro Canyon State Park is just to the south-east of the city.
Interesting Amarillo activities include Route 66 walking tours and scavenger hunts.
For high quality Amarillo accommodation, try the historic Barfield or the spacious Embassy Suites Amarillo Downtown.
Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the US, and has a huge arts scene. The glut of adobe architecture makes the New Mexico capital highly photogenic. These buildings are best seen on an architecture walking tour.
Fab Santa Fe experiences include history walks covering the city’s past, on-the-move photography classes and New Mexican food tours through the evocative Santa Fe Plaza.
For other options, try small group e-bike tours through lesser-known areas of the city and ghost story tours.
If you want memorable Santa Fe accommodation, try the Hacienda in the Railyard Arts District or the adobe-style La Fonda on the Plaza.
Top tip for Santa Fe
The Canyon Road Arts District plays a huge part in Santa Fe’s distinctive character. But with 80-plus galleries, it’s difficult to know where to start looking. Taking a Canyon Road Arts District tour with an art historian guide helps you zero in on the most interesting works. You’ll also get to chat to the artists and gallery curators. Find out more here.
David Whitley, editor of Best3Stops.
Amarillo to Santa Fe distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Amarillo to Santa Fe is 279 miles. That makes for a driving time of around four hours and nine minutes. The quickest route is via the I-40, US-285 and I-25.
The best stops to add to an Amarillo to Santa Fe road trip itinerary are Adrian TX, Tucumcari NM and Santa Rosa NM.
Amarillo to Santa Fe drive: Adrian TX
The Texas town of Adrian is fairly non-descript in most respects, but it does have the honor of being exactly halfway between Chicago and Los Angeles. This makes it the halfway point on Route 66. Unsurprisingly, there are signs pointing this out, which make it a popular photo stop for roadtrippers making their way across the States.
Best stops between Amarillo and Santa Fe: Tucumcari NM
Tucumcari NM makes a big play of its location on Route 66, and the Route 66 Monument here makes for a classic photo.
For more information and stories about the Mother Road, you can visit the New Mexico Route 66 Museum. The other Tucumcari attraction worth considering is the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum, which showcases the wealth of dino fossils discovered nearby.
Tucumcari accommodation is mainly motel-style, with the Roadrunner Lodge Motel generally getting the best reviews.
- For more suggestions, read the guide to the Amarillo to Tucumcari drive.
Amarillo to Santa Fe road trip attractions: Santa Rosa NM
Santa Rosa NM bills itself as the Scuba diving capital of the Southwest, largely thanks to the Blue Hole. This 81ft deep pool, fed by an artesian spring, is naturally heated to 62 degrees year-round. Divers need a permit, swimmers don’t.
Another alternative for swimming is Park Lake, which is patrolled by lifeguards in summer and has an inflatable obstacle course that’s very popular with children.
Car-lovers, meanwhile, can enjoy the Route 66 Auto Museum.
More Amarillo road trips
Abilene to Amarillo | Amarillo to Albuquerque | Amarillo to Colorado Springs | Dallas to Amarillo | Amarillo to Denver | Amarillo to El Paso | Amarillo to Flagstaff | Fort Worth to Amarillo | Houston to Amarillo | Lubbock to Amarillo | Amarillo to Oklahoma City | Amarillo to San Antonio | Amarillo to Santa Fe | Santa Rosa NM to Amarillo | Tucumcari to Amarillo | Tulsa to Amarillo.
More Santa Fe road trips
Albuquerque to Santa Fe | Austin to Santa Fe | Colorado Springs to Santa Fe | Dallas to Santa Fe | Denver to Santa Fe | El Paso to Santa Fe | Flagstaff to Santa Fe | Houston to Santa Fe | Las Cruces to Santa Fe | Phoenix to Santa Fe | Sedona to Santa Fe | Santa Fe to Tucson.