The Wayro route from Roswell to Cananea is 454 miles (730 km), about 9 h 3 min of driving without stops. The U.S.–Mexico border is at about mile 401 on this route, near the Douglas port of entry.
| Distance | 454 mi (730 km) |
|---|---|
| Driving time, no stops | 9 h 3 min |
| Main roads, in order | US-70 → US-54 → I-10 → US-80 Hist → MEX-2 |
| Border crossing | about mile 401 of this route, Arizona → Sonora (near the Douglas, AZ port of entry) |
| Mexican states on the route | Sonora (Level 3) |
| Fuel estimate (car at 25 mpg) | about 18.2 gal; actual use varies by vehicle and traffic |
| Stops listed below | 8 |
Crossing into Mexico: what you need for Cananea
| Passport | Passport book or passport card to enter Mexico by land |
|---|---|
| FMM entry permit | Required for this trip: Cananea is well beyond the 12-mile (20 km) border zone where the permit is not needed |
| Temporary vehicle import permit (TIP) | Not needed: Cananea is inside Sonora's free zone (west of Highway 15 as far south as Empalme, plus a strip along the border that includes Cananea). Going farther south or east of Highway 15 requires a permit |
| Mexican auto insurance | Required for all vehicles: buy a Mexican policy before you cross |
Sources: U.S. State Department, Mexico travel information (updated August 11, 2026); permits are issued by Banjercito. Sonora free zone: Explore Sonora.
Crossing at Douglas
The Raul Hector Castro port in Douglas sits directly across from Agua Prieta, Sonora. It inspects passenger vehicles, pedestrians and commercial trucks, and GSA plans to move truck traffic to a new stand-alone commercial port about 4.5 miles away.
What the drive from Roswell to Cananea is like
US-70 (175 mi) and I-10 (129 mi) carry about 67% of the 454 miles. The U.S. part of the drive runs through New Mexico, Arizona for about 401 miles; after the border at Douglas you have about 53 miles left in Mexico. Of the 8 stops listed below, 3 are within a mile of the road.
The route from Roswell to Cananea, road by road
| Road | Route miles (from–to) | Length, mi | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| US-70 | 0–103 | 103 | New Mexico |
| connecting roads | 103–104 | 1 | New Mexico |
| US-54 | 104–118 | 14 | New Mexico |
| US-70 | 118–190 | 72 | New Mexico |
| I-10 | 190–319 | 129 | New Mexico |
| US-80 Hist | 319–399 | 80 | New Mexico, Arizona |
| connecting roads | 399–403 | 4 | Arizona, Sonora |
| MEX-2 | 403–452 | 49 | Sonora |
| local roads | 452–454 | 2 | Sonora |
- Mile 351 of this route: New Mexico → Arizona (state line)
- Mile 401 of this route: Arizona → Sonora (international border)
Stops between Roswell and Cananea
- Right off the route (under 1 mile): White Sands National Park (mile 132), Downtown Deming Historic District (mile 242), Douglas Historic District (mile 400)
- Nature and outdoors: White Sands National Park (mile 132), Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument (mile 167)
- Museums and history: Lincoln Historic District (mile 55), New Mexico Museum of Space History (mile 115), Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument (mile 167), Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (mile 183), Prehistoric Trackways National Monument (mile 188), Downtown Deming Historic District (mile 242), Douglas Historic District (mile 400)
Lincoln Historic District
Adobe buildings from the 1870s and 1880s preserve the town where the Lincoln County War unfolded; visitors can follow Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett through museums such as the Old Lincoln County Courthouse and the Tunstall Store.
New Mexico Museum of Space History
Home to the International Space Hall of Fame, this Alamogordo museum covers space flight and New Mexico's role in it, with a dome theater and planetarium plus outdoor aerospace exhibits in the John P. Stapp Air & Space Park.
White Sands National Park
Wave-like gypsum dunes cover 275 square miles of the Tularosa Basin, the world's largest gypsum dunefield. The eight-mile Dunes Drive leads into the dunes, where visitors hike, picnic and sled down the white slopes.
Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument
Rocky spires of the Organ Mountains rise to about 9,000 feet above the Chihuahuan Desert in this BLM-managed monument near Las Cruces, where trails invite hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, rock climbing, and camping, with exhibits at Dripping Springs Visitor Center.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The mother church of the Diocese of Las Cruces stands on South Espina Street and holds regular Masses in both English and Spanish.
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument
In the Robledo Mountains near Las Cruces, this BLM monument protects 280-million-year-old Early Permian footprints of amphibians, reptiles, and insects, left long before the dinosaurs, and offers hiking.
Downtown Deming Historic District
Downtown Deming's historic commercial blocks include the 1893 Old Deming National Bank and the 1912 Mahoney Building; the city's self-guided walking tour starts at the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum, housed in a 1917 armory.
Douglas Historic District
Douglas grew up as a Phelps Dodge copper-smelting town, and this National Register district along G Avenue preserves its 1901-1935 commercial core, including the 1906 Gadsden Hotel and the terra-cotta-fronted Grand Theatre.
When you get to Cananea
High in the mountains of northern Sonora, about an hour south of the Arizona line at Naco, Cananea is a copper-mining town that Mexico's Culture Ministry calls a cradle of the Mexican Revolution. Its museums, old mining district and the giant working mine tell the story of the miners whose labor struggle earned the town that place in history.
- Museo de la Lucha Obrera (Cananea jail): The town's old jail now houses a museum of the labor struggle that made Cananea's miners part of Mexico's revolutionary history. source
- Barrio El Ronquillo: Walk the historic El Ronquillo district, the old heart of the mining settlement that grew up around the copper operations. source
- Casa Coronel Greene: The house of Colonel William C. Greene, the American who founded the town's early copper company, is one of Cananea's listed points of interest. source
More drives to Cananea
- Tuba City, AZ to Cananea
- Gallup, NM to Cananea
- Palm Desert, CA to Cananea
- Scottsdale, AZ to Cananea
- Apache Junction, AZ to Cananea
- Laughlin, NV to Cananea
From Roswell to other places in Mexico
- Roswell, NM to Ciudad Juárez
- Roswell, NM to Cuauhtémoc
- Roswell, NM to Ojinaga
- Roswell, NM to Ciudad Acuña
- Roswell, NM to Piedras Negras
- Roswell, NM to Múzquiz
All routes to Cananea, border crossings and permits in one place: Driving to Cananea, Mexico from the U.S.
Continue Your Adventure
Frequently asked questions
How long is the drive from Roswell to Cananea?
About 9 h 3 min of driving without stops, over 454 miles.
How far is Cananea from Roswell by car?
About 454 miles (730 km) on the Wayro route. Other map services may show a few miles more or less, depending on where they start and end in each city.
Where does the Roswell to Cananea drive cross into Mexico?
At about mile 401 of this route, from Arizona into Sonora, near the Douglas port of entry.
Do I need a permit to drive my car from Roswell to Cananea?
No vehicle permit is needed. Cananea is inside Sonora's free zone (west of Highway 15 as far south as Empalme, plus a strip along the border that includes Cananea). Going farther south or east of Highway 15 requires a permit. You also need Mexican auto insurance and a passport book or card. An FMM entry permit is required too.
Is it safe to drive from Roswell to Cananea?
The U.S. State Department rates Sonora Level 3: Reconsider Travel (advisory issued May 29, 2026). Read the full advisory before you go.
What roads does the drive from Roswell to Cananea use?
In order: US-70, US-54, I-10, US-80 Hist and MEX-2. The road-by-road table above shows the route miles and states for each one.
What are good stops between Roswell and Cananea?
Closest to the road: White Sands National Park (National park, mile 132, 0.1 mi from the route); Downtown Deming Historic District (historic district, mile 242, 0.3 mi from the route); Douglas Historic District (historic district, mile 400, 0.2 mi from the route). All stops are described above.
How we put this guide together
Wayro calculates the route from OpenStreetMap road data; mile numbers are positions along this route, not highway mile markers, and "from the route" distances are straight-line, so the real detour depends on access roads. Stops are chosen from parks, natural sites, museums, historic sites and attractions close to the route (roughly 2 to 7 miles depending on the type, farther for World Heritage sites): at least one strong stop for each stretch of the drive, then the best-known places nearest the road, with no more than five of one type, up to nine in all. Places that are closed, private or not open to visitors are removed. Place and city descriptions are written by the Wayro team from official park, museum, tourism and government websites and other published sources. Safety levels and entry rules were checked against the U.S. Department of State on September 29, 2026. Conditions change, so check the linked sources before you travel.
Route data © OpenStreetMap contributors.