Flagstaff to Santa Fe road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time
The best road trip stops on the Flagstaff to Santa Fe drive are Petrified Forest National Park, El Malpais National Monument and Albuquerque. The distance from Flagstaff to Santa Fe by car is 384 miles, with a 5h35m driving time.
Planning a Flagstaff to Santa Fe road trip itinerary
The Flagstaff to Santa Fe drive takes you from central Arizona to the capital of New Mexico.
Flagstaff AZ is largely known as a gateway to the Grand Canyon. You can take a Grand Canyon day tour from here, but you can also do a day trip to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend.
Other Flagstaff experiences include haunted pub crawls, e-bike tours and an adventure course of wobbly bridges, ropes and ziplines. Stargazing enthusiasts can also take a tour of the Lowell Observatory and the Walnut Canyon National Monument is just to the east of the city. The latter is home to several ancient cliff dwellings.
Good Flagstaff accommodation options include the utterly charming Little America, and the great value Elev8.
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.
Flagstaff to Santa Fe distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Flagstaff to Santa Fe is 384 miles. That makes for a driving time of around five hours and 35 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-40 and I-25.
The best stops to add to a Flagstaff to Santa Fe road trip itinerary are Petrified Forest National Park, El Malpais National Monument and Albuquerque.
For more suggestions, see the guides to the Flagstaff to Albuquerque drive and Albuquerque to Santa Fe drive.
Flagstaff to Santa Fe drive: Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona gets its name from the vast fossil deposits of petrified wood. Most come from the Late Triassic period, and the short walk to the Giant Logs is arguably the best place to see what it’s all about.
But this national park has much more to it than the petrified wood. It is part of the Painted Desert, and several walking trails show off the multi-coloured Badlands. Try the one mile Blue Mesa Loop or 1.2-mile Tawa Trail from Tawa Point to the Painted Desert Visitor Center for particularly impressive, yet accessible, scenery.
Flagstaff to Santa Fe road trip attractions: El Malpais National Monument
A short diversion to the south from San Rafael, El Malpais National Monument covers a landscape formed by volcanoes. Get a special permit, and you can go caving in the lava tubes. Otherwise, there are several satisfying hiking trails. The 4.8 mile return hike to the top of cinder cone El Calderon is arguably the highlight.
The most popular sight is the Ice Cave by the Bandera Volcano. This is privately owned, and there’s a small charge to enter.
Best stops between Flagstaff and Santa Fe: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Fabulous Albuquerque experiences include a sunrise hot air balloon flight, old town ghost walks, nature tours by bike and guided hops between craft breweries . You can also pay a visit to the castle-like Turquoise Museum and old town food tours focusing on New Mexican flavours.
Great Albuquerque accommodation choices include the historic, adobe-style Casas de Suenos and the old town’s art-filled Hotel Chaco.
More Flagstaff road trips
Albuquerque to Flagstaff | Amarillo to Flagstaff | Denver to Flagstaff | Gallup to Flagstaff | Flagstaff to Grand Canyon (South Rim) | Flagstaff to Kingman | Mesa to Flagstaff | Phoenix to Flagstaff | Prescott to Flagstaff | Scottsdale to Flagstaff | Tucson to Flagstaff | Flagstaff to Williams.
Santa Fe road trips
Albuquerque to Santa Fe | Amarillo 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 | Houston to Santa Fe | Las Cruces to Santa Fe | Phoenix to Santa Fe | Sedona to Santa Fe | Santa Fe to Tucson.