Trip Guide: Tucumcari

POPULATION :: 4,915

ELEVATION :: 4,091′

WEB :: tucumcarinm.com

CONTACT :: 575-461-1694

The neon signs of quirky motels and souvenir shops once illuminated Historic Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles. That heartbeat still pulses in Tucumcari, where historic preservation and a love of car culture combine for a delightful getaway. The Route 66 Museum brims with signs, gas pumps, jukeboxes, and classic cars, and a drive or stroll down the main drag will tempt you with a variety of lodging and restaurant options.

Throughout town, you’ll spy more than 100 murals depicting past lives and new ones. (Pick up a walking-tour brochure at the Chamber of Commerce.)

And for a trip to the far, far past, pop into Mesalands Dinosaur Museum and Natural Sciences Laboratory, where children and adults delight in the fossils recovered nearby. Visit during May’s Rawhide Days or June’s Rockin’ on Route 66 for a weekend’s worth of high-octane fun.

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For more ideas on what to do in New Mexico, check out our Travel page or our monthly calendar of events.