Roswell, NM Road Trips

1 International UFO Museum and Research Center, 114 N Main St, ☏ +1 575 625-9495, [email protected]. Daily 9AM-5PM. Devoted to the local cult activity; you can decide for yourself whether it's serious or not. $7; children (5-15) $4; seniors and military $5. (updated Jan 2026) 2 Roswell Museum and Art Center, 100 W 11th St (Civic Center Plaza, corner of 11th and Main), ☏ +1 575 624-6744. M-Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 1PM-5PM, closed major holidays. This one is definitely serious, incorporating a surprisingly good art collection for a small town, with works by Georgia O'Keeffe and Peter Hurd, among others. There is a wing devoted to space flight and rocket science (but not UFOs!) that includes the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium, named in honor of the rocketry pioneer who did much of his research in Roswell. Free. (updated Oct 2016) 3 Bottomless Lakes State Park, 545 A Bottomless Lakes Rd (from Roswell, head east on US 380 for 12 miles and then south on NM 409 for 3 miles), ☏ +1 575 624-6058. A state park with swimming, fishing, and hiking. The lakes are very deep with nearly vertical cliffs surrounding them. Day use $5/vehicle. (updated Jan 2026) 4 Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, 409 E College Blvd, ☏ +1 575-623-5600. Free, donations. (updated Jan 2026) 5 Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, ☏ +1 575 625-4011. Free. (updated Jun 2019)

UFO Festival. Every year in early July, there is a UFO Festival to commemorate the 1947 Roswell incident. (updated Nov 2019)

Martin's Capitol Cafe, 110 W 4th St, ☏ +1 575 624-2111. Delicious and inexpensive.

Roswell New Mexico doesn't sell alcohol in stores on Sundays, however restaurants serve from noon 10PM on Sunday. Black Cock Brewing, 1719 SE Main, ☏ +1 575-742-8389. Su-W11ː30AM-10PM, Th-Sa 11ː30AM-11PM. Makes their own hard cider, hard lemonade and boozy slushies. Also has craft beer and hard liquor from New Mexico, a food truck with burgers and green chili cheese fries, and live music. (updated Jan 2026)

1 Best Western El Rancho Palacio, 2205 N Main St, ☏ +1 575-622-2721. (updated Oct 2016) Holiday Inn Express, 3 Military Heights Drive (behind the Applebees), ☏ +1-575-208-0736. Affordable. Clean. Friendly. (updated Oct 2018) 2 Fairfield Inn, 1201 N Main, ☏ +1-575-624-1300. Includes breakfast, Wi-Fi, and swimming pool. (updated Nov 2019)

1 Roswell International Air Center (ROW IATA), 1 Jerry Smith Circle, ☏ +1-575-347-5703. American Eagle from Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix/Sky Harbor (updated Nov 2019) Roswell is served by American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines, with daily flights to Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix. If you fly in, you may be amazed to see some big planes (including widebodies) at the airport or flying near town at low altitude, but they aren't there for passenger service: the Roswell air park is a former US Air Force base that has been used from time to time by major airlines as a training site for aircrews and to check out new aircraft. Road access is via US 285 from north or south and US 70 or 380 from east or west. You go through a lot of emptiness getting there, particularly from the north; don't set out for the city from I-40 with a near-empty fuel tank. Limited bus service is available.

There is a bus that travels the length Main Street from the Walmart in North Roswell to the airport in the South several times during the day. Information about the transportation system can be found at its website. There are also local taxi services.