Driving directions from Santa Fe to Big Bend
 

Which is the fastest route from Santa Fe, NM, to Lajitas/Terlinga, Big Bend?

The route planners make different suggestions:

- via I-25, I-10, Marfa, Presidio
- via I-25, I-10, Alpine and SR 118
- via Carlsbad, Pecos, Fort Davis and then either via Marfa or via Alpine
- via Carlsbad, Pecos, Fort Stockton, Marathon

What would be fastest, regarding mountains, speed limits etc.?

Thank you for your help.

Option 1 through Presidio is out - the road (FM 170) is closed due to flood damage from Presidio to Redford.

Are you using online route planners? What times do they give you for each of the different routes?

Using Mapquest, option 4 is supposedly the fastest but it really isn't and just takes you out of the way. I would go with option 3.

Thank you for the information on FM 170. This means for me, one important decision is made.

In fact, I have used about 10 different route planners. Most of them give different routes and different traveling times. Mapquest is particularly strange.

If you enter Santa Fe-Lajitas you get the Marathon route, traveling time 9:47.

If you enter Santa Fe-Alpine and if you add Lajitas you get a traveling time of 9:25 - which is considerably shorter than the time without restrictions!!! This route looks quite good, especially since I have found that almost the whole section from Santa Fe to Carlsbad is a four-lane, divided highway (I wonder about the speed limit there).

The main question is: Shall we take the interstates (about 70miles longer) or the shorter route via Carlsbad? It depends on speed limits and thoroughfares through towns.

Another factor is that interstates are more relaxing to drive (we are two drivers who will take turns from time to time).

Mapquest is generally accurate with calculating the actual travel time. It is not always accurate at showing the fastest route when asked for that, as you have noted. If you ask for the shortest distance between Santa Fe and Lajitas, it'll give you option 3 with a travel time of 9:25. If you ask for the shortest time, it gives you option 4 with a travel time of 9:47. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Anyway, that leaves you with 2 options: the interstate route and then down through Alpine, or the route through Carlsbad and then down through Alpine. It looks like the interstate route (option 2) will take about 9:45 while option 3 is about 20 minutes faster. If you are more comfortable on interstates, then #2 is the clear favorite as an extra 20 minutes of driving is minimal given the overall length of the trip. I'm pretty sure you'll have to go through a Border Patrol checkpoint outside of El Paso, and I'm positive you'll go through one when leaving the Big Bend region no matter which direction you head, but it should take no more than a minute or so. The Carlsbad route would avoid that but I'd still vote for #2 if you prefer interstate highways.

You'll probably find some streches of speed limits on the Interstate of 80 mph.

WhereAreWe--Do you have any idea of when the FM170 road from Presidio will be open again? As you may know, we are planning (or were planning!) to drive that route during the first week of February. I will be so disappointed if it is not open as I hear that it is a very scenic drive. We will still go to Big Bend though.
Thanks for any update--Margo

The speed limit on New Mexico freeways is 75, 65 in a city. I *think* it's 65 on Hwy. 285 between Santa Fe and Carlsbad, but I'm not absolutely sure.

If you go that way, do not take the ring road around Roswell. It takes longer than just driving through town.

Lee Ann

Thank you all. You were a great help.

I am leaning towards the Carlsbad route - it IS considerably shorter and since nobody mentioned obstacles it should be faster too (I am usually faster than the route planners' estimations, even without speeding).

"WhereAreWe--Do you have any idea of when the FM170 road from Presidio will be open again? "

According to the state DOT website it is projected to open January 24. You would want to keep checking though.

http://www.dot.state.tx.us/travel/road_conditions.htm

One last question regarding the section between Carlsbad and Alpine:

Shall we drive via Fort Davis or via Fort Stockton?

Mapquest says the Fort Davis route is 14 miles shorter but takes 6 minutes longer, I assume because the road is smaller and somewhat windy.

What do the experts think?

traveller-- we were in Terlingua/Lajitas in late October and were able to drive from Lajitas on 170 almost all the way to Presidio before the road was blocked off. You can see a lot of great scenery even if you can't make the entire route.

"Mapquest says the Fort Davis route is 14 miles shorter but takes 6 minutes longer, I assume because the road is smaller and somewhat windy."

Yes, you'll be going through some mountains (small ones) via Fort Davis. Definitely the more scenic route though. Doesn't sound like you'll have time to make any long stops, but Fort Davis has more to see than Fort Stockton.

You may want to check the weather/road conditions just before setting out as the windy roads could be a pain if they're icy. In that case the safest route is through Fort Stockton, down to Marathon and through the park to Terlingua.

I just read online FM 170 between Presidio and Lajitas is open but there is a 3 mile detour on dirt roads. The TX DOT website still shows it as closed but you could call them and check to make sure.

That would add some time to your trip if you took that route but it is very scenic. Otherwise, you could do as jayne1973 suggested and just drive from Lajitas westward and then backtrack to Lajitas. The latter portion of the drive closer to Presidio isn't really that scenic so you wouldn't be missing much.

Thank you again for your advice which will save us an hour driving time - which is something, since this will allow us to arrive in Lajitas before dinner time.

We will leave tommorrow for Santa Fe.

After playing around with several route planners, I cannot recommend Mapquest at all. Really strange results. E.g. Mapquest insists in driving through Fort Stockton and ignores the shortcut via road 1776.

The best route planner that I could find appears to be:

http://maps.yahoo.com/

You can drag the suggested route and it calculates the alternative route. Very convenient!