Farmington Day Trips - New Mexico Tourism

Farmington is a hub for outdoor recreation and Native American Culture.

Here you can explore area trading posts offering a wide variety of Native American arts and crafts; enjoy lunch in one of the many varied restaurants in Farmington; or fish some of the nation’s best fly-fishing waters located in the San Juan River.

Chaco Culture NHP and
Aztec Ruins National Monument

Salmon Ruins / Heritage Park

The park is comprised of eight habitation units representing human occupation of the San Juan Valley for thousands of years. Tree-rings from the site date the Salmon Ruins between 1088 and 1095 A.D., a very short period in view of the size of the huge structure. By the mid 1100s, after approximately 60 years of occupation, the Salmon Ruins were abandoned by its Chacoan occupants.

Travel 10 miles east of Farmington on Highway 64 to Salmon Ruins and you’ll find Heritage Park.

Salmon Ruins

Aztec Ruins National Monument

This amazing site is located only 14 miles east of Farmington. At this site, you will tour a 12th-century pueblo featuring the only fully restored Great Kiva in the Southwest. It is believed that the 450-room pueblo was first built in the early 1100s and used by people related to Chaco and then later modified and used by people more akin to the Mesa Verde region. The reconstructed Great Kiva now serves as the center for communitywide events and ceremonies.

Traveling east on Highway 64 to Bloomfield and go north on Highway 550. You’ll find the Aztec Ruins National Monument located just off Highway 516.

Navajo Nation and Shiprock

At Shiprock, you’ll see the Shiprock Pinnacle, a large shaft of rock jutting out from the desert. The Navajo call Shiprock, “Tse ‘Bit’a’I” or “the rock with wings.” The rock is sacred to the Navajo people and is also a landmark of the surrounding communities. At the Four Corners Monument, visitors can stand in four states (Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico) at the same time.

Travel 30 minutes west of Farmington on Highway 64 and discover the Navajo Nation and Shiprock, New Mexico. Just south of Shiprock on Hwy 491, you’ll see the Shiprock Pinnacle.

Continue driving west for 30 miles and you’ll discover the Four Corners Monument.

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

At Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness you’ll find a federally protected area where time and the natural elements have etched out a fantasy world of unique rock formations and fossils. The highly erosive soils often erase the footprints of others that came before and give visitors a sense of isolation. The landscape has often been described as a moonscape where your imagination and artistic talents can run wild.

DIRECTIONS: Drive south from Farmington on Highway 371 for 36 miles to the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness.