Roswell to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico Road Trip: Route & Stops

By admin, 30 September, 2026

The Wayro route from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez is 207 miles (333 km), about 4 h 18 min of driving without stops. The U.S.–Mexico border is at about mile 204 on this route, near the El Paso port of entry.

U.S. State Department travel advisory: Chihuahua — Level 3, Reconsider TravelAdvisory issued May 29, 2026; checked September 29, 2026. Chihuahua is the Mexican state that contains Ciudad Juárez. Check the full advisory for this state before you go.
Lincoln Historic DistrictTularosa Original Townsite DistrictNew Mexico Museum of Space HistoryAlameda Park ZooWhite Sands National ParkOliver Lee Memorial State ParkFranklin Mountains State ParkU.S.–Mexico borderRoswellCiudad Juárez
Route from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez with the 7 stops listed below (blue dots) and the approximate U.S.–Mexico border crossing (red square).
Distance207 mi (333 km)
Driving time, no stops4 h 18 min
Main roads, in orderUS-70 → US-54
Border crossingabout mile 204 of this route, Texas → Chihuahua (near the El Paso, TX port of entry)
Mexican states on the routeChihuahua (Level 3)
Fuel estimate (car at 25 mpg)about 8.3 gal; actual use varies by vehicle and traffic
Stops listed below7

Crossing into Mexico: what you need for Ciudad Juárez

PassportPassport book or passport card to enter Mexico by land
FMM entry permitNot needed if you stay within 12 miles (20 km) of the border for 6 days or less; required for longer stays or if you travel farther in
Temporary vehicle import permit (TIP)Not needed inside the border zone; required if you drive farther into Mexico
Mexican auto insuranceRequired 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.

Crossing at El Paso

El Paso and Ciudad Juárez are joined by several Rio Grande bridges, including Paso del Norte downtown for pedestrians and northbound cars, Stanton Street with a northbound SENTRI lane, and the Bridge of the Americas for passenger vehicles and trucks. Paso del Norte also has Ready Lanes.

Sources: [1]

What the drive from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez is like

US-70 (103 mi) and US-54 (62 mi) carry about 80% of the 207 miles. The U.S. part of the drive runs through New Mexico, Texas for about 204 miles; after the border at El Paso you have about 3 miles left in Mexico. Of the 7 stops listed below, 2 are within a mile of the road.

The route from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez, road by road

RoadRoute miles (from–to)Length, miState
US-700–103103New Mexico
connecting roads103–1041New Mexico
US-54104–11814New Mexico
connecting roads118–1191New Mexico
local roads119–15334New Mexico
US-54153–20148New Mexico, Texas
connecting roads201–2032Texas
local roads203–2074Texas, Chihuahua
  • Mile 183 of this route: New Mexico → Texas (state line)
  • Mile 204 of this route: Texas → Chihuahua (international border)

Stops between Roswell and Ciudad Juárez

  • Right off the route (under 1 mile): Tularosa Original Townsite District (mile 103), Alameda Park Zoo (mile 116)
  • Nature and outdoors: White Sands National Park (mile 126), Oliver Lee Memorial State Park (mile 127), Franklin Mountains State Park (mile 194)
  • Museums and history: Lincoln Historic District (mile 55), Tularosa Original Townsite District (mile 103), New Mexico Museum of Space History (mile 115)
  • With kids: Alameda Park Zoo (mile 116)

Lincoln Historic District

Mile 55 · State historic site · 5 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

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.

Tularosa Original Townsite District

Mile 103 · Historic district · 0.4 mi from the route

Laid out in 1862 by settlers from Mesilla and the Rio Grande valley, Tularosa's 49-block grid still has irrigation ditches feeding each block, small adobe houses and the adobe St. Francis de Paula Church of 1868–69.

New Mexico Museum of Space History

Mile 115 · Aviation museum · 3 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

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.

Alameda Park Zoo

Mile 116 · Zoo · 0.6 mi from the route

Billed as the oldest zoo in the Southwest, this 12-acre zoo in Alamogordo houses nearly 300 animals from about 90 species and serves as a Species Survival Plan facility for the Mexican gray wolf.

White Sands National Park

Mile 126 · National park · 11 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

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.

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

Mile 127 · State park · 4 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Set in Dog Canyon on the Sacramento Mountains escarpment near Alamogordo, the park has year-round springs, cottonwoods, a rebuilt and furnished ranch house of Oliver Lee, campsites, and the Dog Canyon Trail with views over the Tularosa Basin.

Franklin Mountains State Park

Mile 194 · State park · 4 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Covering about 27,000 acres inside El Paso, this Texas state park offers more than 100 miles of desert trails for hiking and mountain biking, plus rock climbing at McKelligon Canyon and the Tom Mays Unit, where camping is available.

When you get to Ciudad Juárez

On the Rio Grande opposite El Paso, Ciudad Juárez grew up around a Franciscan mission founded in 1659 on the old route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. The city also played a real part in the Mexican Revolution: its former customs house served as Francisco Madero's provisional offices in 1911 and later as Pancho Villa's headquarters.

  • Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Founded in 1659 by Fray García de San Francisco, the mission is the city's oldest building and stands beside the cathedral built in 1941. source
  • Museo de la Revolución en la Frontera: Housed in the 1889 customs house where Porfirio Díaz and William Howard Taft met in 1909, the INAH museum tells the border's role in the Revolution. source
  • Parque Público Federal El Chamizal: This 237-acre park commemorates the peaceful settlement of the Chamizal boundary dispute and is a sister park to Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso. source

Chamizal National Memorial

National Memorial of the United States · in Ciudad Juárez

Along the border in El Paso, this memorial honors the peaceful settlement of a century-long U.S.–Mexico boundary dispute. Stop for borderlands art in the Franklin G. Smith Gallery, walking paths, and ballet folklórico performances.

El Paso Museum of Art

Art museum · in Ciudad Juárez

Founded in 1959 and set in downtown El Paso, this art museum holds more than 7,000 works strong in American, European, and Mexican art, including Kress Collection paintings by Botticelli and Canaletto and a notable group of Mexican retablos.

El Paso Zoo

Zoo · in Ciudad Juárez

Run by the City of El Paso, this 35-acre zoo groups its animals into four regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Chihuahuan Desert. It makes an easy family break on a drive through the borderland.

More drives to Ciudad Juárez

From Roswell to other places in Mexico

All routes to Ciudad Juárez, border crossings and permits in one place: Driving to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico from the U.S.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the drive from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez?

About 4 h 18 min of driving without stops, over 207 miles.

How far is Ciudad Juárez from Roswell by car?

About 207 miles (333 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 Ciudad Juárez drive cross into Mexico?

At about mile 204 of this route, from Texas into Chihuahua, near the El Paso port of entry.

Do I need a permit to drive my car from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez?

Not needed inside the border zone; required if you drive farther into Mexico. You also need Mexican auto insurance and a passport book or card.

Is it safe to drive from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez?

The U.S. State Department rates Chihuahua Level 3: Reconsider Travel (advisory issued May 29, 2026). Read the full advisory before you go.

What roads does the drive from Roswell to Ciudad Juárez use?

In order: US-70 and US-54. The road-by-road table above shows the route miles and states for each one.

What are good stops between Roswell and Ciudad Juárez?

Closest to the road: Tularosa Original Townsite District (historic district, mile 103, 0.4 mi from the route); New Mexico Museum of Space History (aviation museum, mile 115, 3 mi from the route); Alameda Park Zoo (zoo, mile 116, 0.6 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.