This road trip started with BTS and turned into one of our favorite journeys we have ever taken.
We drove from Colorado to El Paso, Texas to see the BTS ARIRANG World Tour at Sun Bowl Stadium, and built an entire road trip around it. What we did not plan for was how much New Mexico would surprise us along the way, how many incredible stops we would make, and how full the trip would feel by the time we pulled back into Colorado.
This is the full day-by-day itinerary of our trip so you can use it as a framework for your own BTS road trip or future Sun Bowl adventure. For deeper detail on each New Mexico stop, head to our New Mexico road trip stops guide where we cover White Sands, PistachioLand, the Sacramento Mountains, and Santa Fe in full. This post is your logistics map: what we did, in what order, and how to make it all work.
The Drive: Colorado to El Paso, Texas
Distance: Roughly 8 hours from the Denver area
Our approach: Overnight drive to maximize daylight time on arrival
We drove overnight from Colorado, which is not our most comfortable strategy but it is one we use when we want to squeeze every possible hour out of a trip. Leaving at night means you arrive in the morning with a full day ahead of you rather than burning half of Day 1 on the road.
We pulled into El Paso around 8 AM, which gave us just enough time to freshen up and get ready for our 10 AM BTS merch pickup. If you are making this drive for a concert or any event, the overnight approach is worth considering if you can handle it. Just make sure you have a driver swap plan and caffeinate responsibly.
Driving Tip
If an overnight drive is not your style, consider breaking the trip with a night in Albuquerque, it makes for an easy stopover and adds an interesting city to the itinerary.
Day 1: El Paso Arrival, Merch Pickup, White Sands, and PistachioLand
Morning: Merch Pickup in El Paso
We arrived in El Paso around 8 AM and headed straight to the BTS Weverse Shop merch pickup location, which opened at 10 AM. Picking up merch on arrival day rather than concert day made a massive difference. Concert day was completely stress free from a logistics standpoint because that box was already checked.
If you are attending a large concert on a road trip, we cannot recommend this approach enough. See our full BTS concert travel guide for everything we learned about merch strategy and concert day planning.
Afternoon: White Sands National Park
After merch pickup we made our way to White Sands National Park, arriving around 12 PM. We spent just under about an hour walking the dunes with Tira, taking photos at the park sign, and letting him run around on the sand. The dunes are unlike anything we have seen before, brilliant white gypsum stretching in every direction against a wide blue sky.
White Sands is pet friendly on leash and entry is covered by the America the Beautiful Annual Pass.
For full tips on visiting including what to bring, the best time of day for photos, and everything you need to know for a dog friendly visit, see our New Mexico stops guide.
Late Afternoon: PistachioLand and the World’s Largest Pistachio
On the way back toward Alamogordo we stopped at McGinn’s PistachioLand, home of the World’s Largest Pistachio. We were not planning this stop. We saw it, pulled over, got pistachio ice cream, took the photos, and loved every minute of it. Classic road trip energy.
Details and exactly what to expect in our New Mexico stops guide.
Check-In: Classic Desert Aire Hotel, Alamogordo
We checked in to the Classic Desert Aire Hotel in Alamogordo around 3 to 4 PM. We stayed here both nights, which made Alamogordo our home base for the whole trip. The hotel is pet friendly, which was non-negotiable for us traveling with Tira.
Why Alamogordo instead of El Paso: By the time we were looking to book, hotels close to the Sun Bowl had already filled up. Alamogordo is about an hour and a half from the venue, which required some planning around concert day drive times and parking, but it worked out well and honestly gave us access to more of New Mexico than we would have had otherwise. Other ARMY members were also staying in Alamogordo, which made for a warm and fun shared atmosphere at the hotel the night of the show.
Use Booking.com or Expedia to compare options across both Alamogordo and El Paso. If you are attending a concert at the Sun Bowl, book the moment your tickets are confirmed. Accommodation fills fast.
Day 2: Sacramento Mountains, BTS Concert Day
Morning and Early Afternoon: The Sacramento Mountains
Concert day started with time for Tira to run at Bark Park, an off-leash dog park. While we were there we kept eyeing the mountains rising up in the distance and eventually decided to just drive toward them.
What followed was one of the most beautiful spontaneous drives of the trip. We stopped at the Tunnel Vista Observation Site for panoramic views and then continued to the Mexican Canyon Railroad Trestle, a stunning old railroad bridge set against a dramatic canyon landscape. Both are easy accessible stops, the trestle is just a short flat walk from a pull-off parking area.
Full details in our New Mexico stops guide.
Evening: BTS ARIRANG World Tour at Sun Bowl Stadium – the Moment We Came For
We left Alamogordo with plenty of time to make the roughly 90-minute drive to El Paso, find parking, and get settled before doors opened. The show started at 8 PM and we had stadium seating.
Great, both confirmed then! Here is the updated version:
A few things that made concert day smooth: We handled merch on arrival day so we walked straight into the venue with no queue stress. We ate a full meal before leaving Alamogordo since outside food is not permitted inside the Sun Bowl, arrived at least 90 minutes before doors opened to account for parking and the security lines, and downloaded our tickets offline since cell signal can be spotty at the venue.
The Sun Bowl is a beautiful and unusual venue, built into a hillside and surrounded by the Franklin Mountains. Every fan, regardless of their seat, had a superb view of the performance thanks to the 360-degree stage setup, which was a completely different experience from a traditional concert stage. The production was stunning with the dancers, fireworks, the confetti, and the stage design that referenced Korean culture throughout. All seven of them were visibly happy to be there, performing in El Paso for the very first time.
Jin took a moment to admire the mountains surrounding the venue and said it felt like a movie set. Coming from someone who has performed in stadiums all over the world, that felt like a genuine reaction to just how special the Sun Bowl setting is.
El Paso is a predominantly Spanish-speaking city, with over 80% of residents identifying as Hispanic, and BTS leaned into that beautifully. Jin closed out a speaking moment by shouting “Te amo” to the crowd and the stadium erupted. It was one of those moments that felt completely genuine and made the whole arena feel seen.
Suga, my bias, never disappoints and seeing him perform with all seven members together was a completely different energy from his solo shows. The passion of the El Paso crowd was electric and you could feel the members feeding off it. And at the end of the night, Jungkook made sure to wish everyone a safe journey home, just the sweetest way to close out a night like that. As ARMY, standing in that stadium was a reminder of exactly why we plan trips around the things that matter most to us.
The Surprise Song Tradition
At every stop of the ARIRANG tour, BTS performs two surprise songs at the end of the show. No two nights are the same, once a song has been performed it is typically retired, and the anticipation before the reveal is half the fun. Here is what El Paso got.
Following the surprise song tracker before your show date is part of the ARMY experience. Make your predictions and get ready to lose your voice.
For the complete concert day planning guide including venue tips, clear bag policy, parking, and everything we wish we had known in advance, see our BTS concert travel guide for ARMY.
Whether you are counting down the days, finalizing your accommodation, or still deciding what to wear, we are rooting for you. Every mile you travel to see them is worth it.
Day 3: Santa Fe and the Drive Home
We left Alamogordo in the morning and made Santa Fe our final stop before the drive back to Colorado. Santa Fe is about two hours north of Alamogordo and sits beautifully on the route home if you are heading back toward Denver.
We spent a few hours walking the historic downtown Plaza, admired the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, and had lunch at Torogoz, a Mexican and El Salvadoran restaurant.
Santa Fe is wonderfully pet friendly. We saw dogs everywhere on a Sunday afternoon and Tira fit right in completely.
From Santa Fe back to Colorado is roughly another 4 to 5 hours depending on your exact destination, which makes for a very manageable final driving day.
Full Santa Fe details and tips in our New Mexico stops guide.
Full Itinerary at a Glance
Overnight Drive
Colorado to El Paso, approximately 8 hours
Day 1
10 AM: BTS merch pickup, El Paso, Texas
1:30PM: White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Mid-afternoon: PistachioLand, Alamogordo, New Mexico
3 to 4 PM: Check in to Classic Desert Aire Hotel, Alamogordo
Day 2
Morning: Bark Park off-leash dog park, Alamogordo
Late morning: Tunnel Vista Observation Site, Sacramento Mountains
Late morning: Mexican Canyon Railroad Trestle, Sacramento Mountains
Evening: BTS concert at Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas (show at 8 PM)
Day 3
Morning: Drive to Santa Fe, approximately 2 hours from Alamogordo
Midday: Historic Plaza, Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, lunch at Torogoz
Afternoon: Drive home to Colorado, approximately 4 to 5 hours from Santa Fe
Why This Route Works
The Alamogordo home base is the key to making this itinerary flow. It puts you within reach of White Sands, the Sacramento Mountains, and El Paso all within a day’s drive in any direction, and Santa Fe sits naturally on the route home. If you are heading to any major event at the Sun Bowl or anywhere in El Paso, building New Mexico into the trip around it is one of the best decisions you can make.
New Mexico completely surprised us and we left talking about coming back for a longer dedicated trip. If you have been treating it as a pass-through state, this route will change that.
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