Turquoise Trail
Turquoise Trail is a National Scenic Byway in New Mexico. Within New Mexico it covers roughly 65 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Turquoise Trail with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
State Route 14 runs the back way between Albuquerque and Santa Fe along the eastern flank of the Sandia Mountains, through old mining towns turned artist colonies. Madrid, once a near-ghost town, is now lined with galleries and cafes, and Cerrillos preserves a frontier-era main street long used as a film set. The route is named for the turquoise and other minerals mined here for centuries.
- Madrid arts town
- Cerrillos
- Sandia Mountains
- old mining country
- SR-14
Plan a drive on Turquoise Trail →
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.