Las Cruces to Tucson road trip: Drive time, distance & best stops
The distance from Las Cruces to Tucson by car is 278 miles, with a 4h14m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Las Cruces to Tucson drive are Deming NM, the Fort Bowie National Historic Site and Tombstone.
Planning a Las Cruces to Tucson road trip itinerary
The Las Cruces to Tucson drive heads through the desert from New Mexico to Arizona.
Las Cruces lies on the Rio Grande and the cusp of the Chihuahuan Desert. The Organ Mountains provide a spectacular backdrop, and the most wholesome thing you can do here is go hiking in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
However, there’s also a lively bar and restaurant scene, thanks in part to the New Mexico State University. Attractions-wise, the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum has art to go with the agricultural history.
Well-reviewed Las Cruces accommodation includes the charismatic Hotel Encanto and the solidly affordable Best Western Mission Inn.
Tucson is often used as a base for exploring the Sonoran Desert. But it’s a proper city with an arty streak, a Spanish-tinged history and excellent Mexican food.
Top Tucson experiences include exploring the city’s many murals, taking a self-guided audio tour through Saguaro National Park and canyoneering at Mt Lemmon.
There are also several good bike tours you can do in and around Tucson. Choose from a history-focused ride through the city, e-biking in Saguaro National Park and taco-tasting on two wheels.
For resort-style accommodation in Tucson, take a look at the impressive Casino Del Sol Resort. To stay downtown, within walking distance of several restaurants, try the Leo Kent Hotel.
Las Cruces to Tucson distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Las Cruces to Tucson is 278 miles. That makes for a driving time of around four hours and 14 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-10.
The best stops to add to a Las Cruces to Tucson road trip itinerary are Deming NM, the Fort Bowie National Historic Site and Tombstone AZ.
Best stops between Las Cruces and Tucson: Deming NM
If you want to know more about the backstory of life in the Chihuahuan desert, the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum is pretty good as local history museums go. But Deming NM’s best attractions are two state parks. The City of Rocks State Park is to the north-west, with giant, wind-sculpted, volcanic ash boulders the main lure. The Rockhound State Park is to the southeast. Based around the Little Florida Mountains, it’s a better bet for hiking and camping.
You can also stop for wine-tasting at the Luna Rossa Winery.
Las Cruces to Tucson drive: Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Near the town of Bowie AZ, the Fort Bowie National Historic Site offers beautiful scenery. You caould easily come here just for the walking, birdwatching and wildlife-viewing.
However, it’s the history that really makes Fort Bowie. For 30 years, it was the centre of ongoing conflict between the US Army and the Chiricahua Apaches. Get more of the story at the Visitor Center before walking among the ruins.
Las Cruces to Tucson road trip attractions: Tombstone AZ
Tombstone, Arizona, is a fabulously silly place that buys whole-heartedly into Wild West mythology. The Boot Hill graveyard has comic epitaphs, and the streets look as they would back in the days of the Earp Brothers. Costumed actors stage a gunfight at the OK Corral, blacksmiths work the forge and there’s a bizarre collection of mini-museums and attractions
It’s also possible to do a series of themed walking tours that bring Tombstone even further to life. Choose from ghosts and gunslingers or bullets and bordellos.
- For more attraction options, visit the guide to the Tombstone to Tucson drive.
More Las Cruces road trips
Las Cruces to Albuquerque | Las Cruces to Phoenix | Las Cruces to San Antonio | Las Cruces to Santa Fe.
More Tucson road trips
Albuquerque to Tucson | Bisbee to Tucson | Casa Grande to Tucson | Chandler to Tucson | Tucson to Colorado Springs | Dallas to Tucson | Deming NM to Tucson | Tucson to Denver | El Paso to Tucson | Tucson to Flagstaff | Tucson to Grand Canyon (South Rim) | Houston to Tucson | Tucson to Mesa AZ | Phoenix to Tucson | Tucson to Prescott | Santa Fe to Tucson | Tucson to Scottsdale | Tucson to Sedona | Tempe to Tucson | Tucson to Tombstone | Yuma to Tucson.