Mesa to Albuquerque road trip: Best stops, drive time & distance
The distance from Mesa AZ to Albuquerque NM is 406 miles, with a 6h15m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Mesa to Albuquerque drive are the Mogollon Rim, Petrified Forest National Park and El Malpais National Monument.
Planning a Mesa AZ to Albuquerque road trip itinerary
The Mesa to Albuquerque drive links one of the biggest cities in Arizona to the biggest city in New Mexico.
Mesa is the third-biggest city in Arizona. You’ll find the Arizona Museum of Natural History here, as well as the Mesa Arts Center.
For fun in the sun, you can always take to the slides of the Golfland Sunsplash water park. Or, for hiking and outdoor activities in the Sonoran Desert, head for Usery Mountain Regional Park.
Top Mesa accommodation options with a pool include the Azure and the Delta.
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 take 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.
Mesa AZ to Albuquerque distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Mesa AZ to Albuquerque is 406 miles. That makes for a driving time of around six hours and 15 minutes.
The best stops to add to a Mesa to Albuquerque road trip itinerary are the Mogollon Rim, Petrified Forest National Park and El Malpais National Monument.
Mesa AZ to Albuquerque drive: The Mogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim is an enormous escarpment, dropping dramatically from the Colorado Plateau. It stretches for around 200 miles in northern Arizona.
The Mogollon Rim Visitor Center, explaining the geology and environment, is on the AZ-260 near Hunter Creek. A short branch-off will take you to the Rim Lakes Vista Overlook. A paved, accessible walking trail here brings superb views over Woods Canyon Lake and the surrounding landscape.
Best stops between Mesa AZ and Albuquerque: 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.
Mesa AZ to Albuquerque 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.
More Mesa AZ road trips
Mesa to Flagstaff | Mesa to Grand Canyon (South Rim) | Mesa AZ to Sedona | Tucson to Mesa AZ | Yuma to Mesa.
More Albuquerque road trips
Amarillo to Albuquerque | Austin to Albuquerque | Colorado Springs to Albuquerque | Clovis NM to Albuquerque | Dallas to Albuquerque | Denver to Albuquerque | El Paso to Albuquerque | Albuquerque to Flagstaff | Fort Worth to Albuquerque | Gallup to Albuquerque | Albuquerque to Grand Canyon (South Rim) | Holbrook AZ to Albuquerque | Houston to Albuquerque | Albuquerque to Kingman AZ | Las Cruces to Albuquerque | Lubbock to Albuquerque | Albuquerque to Phoenix | Albuquerque to San Antonio | Albuquerque to Santa Fe | Santa Rosa NM to Albuquerque | Albuquerque to Scottsdale | Albuquerque to Sedona | Albuquerque to Taos | Tucumcari to Albuquerque | Albuquerque to Tucson | Tulsa to Albuquerque | Winslow to Albuquerque.