Looking for a unique, family friendly vacation spot full of culture and outdoor adventure? We spent a week exploring the beautiful and completely underrated state of New Mexico this spring. From exploring historic buildings, to fun and family friendly hiking, we saw so much of this incredible state.
Here is the perfect weeklong family-friendly itinerary to explore the gorgeous and underrated state of New Mexico.
We drove into New Mexico from Kansas, and started our week in the city of Santa Fe. If you are flying, you will fly into Albuquerque, which is just 45 minutes south of Santa Fe.
We started our week by exploring downtown Santa Fe with a walking tour of all the historic sites. You can read more about the walking tour we took here. Don’t miss out on the town square, where you can find local vendors and grab a quick bite for lunch.
After lunch, we headed to Meow Wolf museum for an immersive and unique art exhibit unlike any other. This art installation will transport you into a kaleidoscope of imagination and creativity as you wander through neon lit corridors and alternate dimensions. Definitely a do-not miss spot if you are an art lover!
After we finished at Meow Wolf, we drove to the Atalaya Mountains for a family friendly hike. We had a hard time finding parking at St. John’s college, which is where AllTrails told us the trailhead was, so we headed
We started day 2 by heading north out of Santa Fe to Bandelier National Monument. Start in the Visitor’s Center, where you can grab a Junior Ranger booklet for your kiddos to work on during the hike. Then return it when complete to get sworn in as a Junior Park Ranger.
We hiked the Pueblo Loop trail, which takes you up into several alcoves. These were so fun to climb up into, and my kids did great, although there are a lot of stairs. Make sure to have good shoes, and I would recommend baby wearing toddlers for their safety.
At the end of this trail, you have the option to go ½ mile further, which leads you to climb up to the big alcove house. We decided to check it out, but once we arrived we decided we did not feel comfortable taking our kids up. You climb up several wooden ladders to the large alcove that is 140 feet up. I made the climb up alone while my husband stayed on the ground with the kids, and I would definitely recommend having kids under 10 wait on the ground.
After we finished on the trails, we grabbed some lunch at the cantina. Then, we headed north through the gorgeous Jemez Mountains for some fun trails. We visited in March, and there was a big snow storm right before we arrived, so unfortunately most of the trails we wanted to explore were closed due to snow.
But further down the mountain we stopped and explored the Jemez soda dam, and then made our way to Gilman Tunnel Falls. To access Gilman Tunnel Falls, park your vehicle where the road is closed, then enter and walk along it. You will walk through several tunnels and come across a stunning waterfall at the end.
We spent day 3 enjoying the amazing Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort. This family-friendly resort is located just north of Albuquerque. We spent the day exploring the trails, riding our bikes out to the stables to see the horses, playing yard games, and swimming in the heated pool. They have bikes for all ages, and even a couple bike trailers that we were able to pull our toddler in.
We enjoyed dinner at one of the 3 on-site restaurants, which was fantastic and had amazing views, then enjoyed some relaxing time in the lobby. At dark, we headed out to the firepit and roasted marshmallows.
The next day, we headed south to Albuquerque to check out the Petroglyph National Monument. We stopped by the visitors center to grab some Junior Ranger booklets, then headed to the Mesa Point trail. This easy, 1/2 mile hike takes you along boulders to see ancient petroglyphs. There is zero shade here, so make sure to bring lots of water and a hat/sunscreen.
After we finished checking out the petroglyphs, we headed to Explora! Science Center and Children’s Museum. Our kids had a blast exploring this fun place, and we spent several hours here. Then we headed to El Patio de ABQ for some AH-MAZING Mexican food!
We started our morning at the ABQ Biopark. For the sake of time we chose to skip the zoo, but hit the aquarium and botanical gardens. The aquarium is pretty small, but the gardens had a fun children’s area and lots of cool spots to explore. Don’t miss the aquarium cafe for lunch- you can sit right next to the sunken ship tank and watch sharks and rays while you enjoy your meal.
After lunch, we headed south to Alamogordo for the night. We stopped along the way to visit the San Lorenzo Canyon and the Las Cruces Slot Canyon, both of which are absolutely amazing and totally worth the stop! Tip: GPS does not pull up the right location for the San Lorenzo Canyon. Instead, input the GPS coordinates to get there (34.222995, -106.922238).
This National Park was my favorite part of our trip! We headed to White Sands National Park first thing in the morning to beat the heat and the crowds. Start at the visitor’s center and grab your Junior Ranger booklet. Either bring your own sled, or you can purchase one from the gift shop, then head to the back of the park for some sand sledding. Eat your packed lunch at one of the picnic spots, and don’t miss some of the unique hiking trails in the park. Find more details of our day at White Sands National Park here.
After we finished at White Sands, we drove 3 hours to Carlsbad for the night.
For our last day in New Mexico, we explored 2 more National Parks. We started at Carlsbad Caverns, checking out the Visitor’s Center, earning the Jr. Ranger badge, and then taking the Natural Entrance trail into the cave. Read our full itinerary here.
After a quick lunch, we headed across the state line into Texas to visit Guadalupe National Park. We explored the visitor’s center, and then hiked the Pine Springs trail, a quick ½ mile loop right outside the visitor’s center. There are so many unique hiking trails here to explore, so make sure to take a look at the map and pick one that works for your family!
New Mexico is such an underrated place to visit, and we had the absolute best time exploring all that the state has to offer! Definitely add this road trip to your must-do list!