How do I get to Las Cruces?
There are several possible routes to the City of Crosses! More detailed information on how to get to our venues will be provided once those have been finalized, but in the meantime, we encourage those wishing to attend ✕RFC to start planning their routes now!
Note:
Las Cruces is in the United States of America, in the southern part of the state of New Mexico. Non-American citizens, even those traveling legally with a verifiable tourist visa, have faced extreme and increasing difficulty traveling to and within the United States under the current regime. As a state, New Mexico is generally quite friendly to foreigners, as is the city of Las Cruces; however, travel to Las Cruces may prove challenging. The closest international airport, Amtrak station, and border crossing with Mexico are all in El Paso, in the neighboring state of Texas, which is far less friendly to foreigners. Additionally, the rural areas in the southern part of New Mexico are similarly unkind. Traveling into Albuquerque, New Mexico, and taking the longer highway route to Las Cruces is not advised, as there are border patrol checkpoints along every major thoroughfare into Las Cruces from the north—no, you are not leaving the United States at any point, but there are still checkpoints upon trying to travel north out of the city. One of the goals of ✕RFC is to extend goodwill and expand relationships with the international community, but for the time being we must recommend all non-Americans to exercise extreme caution traveling to and within the United States.
Planes
The closest airport with regular service from major national airlines—and the one we recommend if flying to ✕RFC—is El Paso International Airport (IATA: ELP), about 50 miles away. While Las Cruces does have an airport called an international airport (IATA: LRU), at this time it only offers flights through Advanced Airlines, between it and the Albuquerque International Sunport (IATA: ABQ). ABQ itself is another option, but is about 220 miles away, with few options to close the gap.
Once you get to ELP, there are several options to travel the remaining distance. The airport has a car rental facility with several options for rental businesses. There are also several bus routes that will get you there—we recommend, if you can time it out correctly, taking the SunMetro brio Montana line to Five Points Transit Center, then taking the SunMetro 50 to the Bert Williams Downtown Santa Fe Transit Center. (Don't worry about that name, it's in El Paso! The street it's on is called Santa Fe.) From there, a short walk, less than a block, will get you to the first stop for NMDOT Park and Ride's Gold Route, which will take you the rest of the way to Las Cruces. Once in Las Cruces, the city's RoadRUNNER transit service can take you pretty much anywhere! If you can't time out your trip to use the Gold Route, Greyhound also offers service between the Santa Fe Transit Center and Las Cruces.
Trains
Unfortunately, Amtrak has been severely neutered in recent decades, but El Paso still hosts a stop at Union Depot, 700 W San Francisco Ave., a stop along the Sunset Limited route. Train travel is much slower than flying, but often faster than driving. Train travel also comes with its own unique experiences, from meeting new travel companions along the way, to witnessing incredible vistas across America you might not otherwise see! It's uncommon in this day and age, but it's an interesting option nonetheless.
This station is a little under a mile from the NMDOT Gold Route entry point, and no mass transit options exist; however, an Uber or Lyft could easily get you there. Greyhound also operates out of Union Depot and can take you directly to Las Cruces, though it will be more costly and may be inconveniently timed.
Automobiles
With our theme for 2027 being "✕-Country: The Great American Road Trip", you know we can't ignore the possibility of road-tripping on down! Las Cruces lies at the junction of I-10 and I-25—in fact, the origin of I-25—making navigation rather easy. I-10 covers most of the southern US, while I-25 travels along the Rocky Mountains, with its other terminus in Buffalo, Wyoming, and additional major junctions at Albuquerque (don't forget to take that turn!), Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Denver, North Washington, Cheyenne, and Casper. If you're gonna make a road trip, make it a memorable one, and enjoy the scenery, diners, and tourist traps along the way! The open road has a lot to offer, and no matter where you're coming from, you're bound to come across something amazing. For some ideas of spots to hit in and around Las Cruces, check out our Local Attractions page. (Coming soon!)