NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico has quickly become a global star thanks to the film industry. The Land of Enchantment has served as both the final frontier and the wild frontier, with hundreds of movies and television series produced for more than a century. While interior shots are often created on a sound stage (like Albuquerque Studios), many exteriors feature instantly recognizable locations around the state.
Here are ten iconic filming locations across the Land of Enchantment.
Bonanza Creek Ranch, Santa Fe County
Bonanza Creek Ranch has been a staunch advocate for New Mexico’s film industry for more than 70 years, earning a reputation as one of the top filming locations in the western United States. Both indie and large motion pictures, TV series, music videos, ads, and catalogs have all been produced there. The ranch, which spans several thousand acres, offers a wide variety of filming opportunities, ranging from seven unique sets to large rock formations on the hillside and deep arroyos.
Filmed at Bonanza Creek Ranch:
- Snag (2023)
- Two Sinners and a Mule (2023)
- Hostile Territory (2022)
- Walker Independence (2022)
- End of the Road (2022)
- The Town Called Parable (2021)
- The Harder They Fall (2021)
- News of the World (2020)
- Half Brothers (2020)
- Showdown at Shelby’s Shack (2019)
- Big Kill (2019)
- Hostile Territory (2019)
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
- Back to Billy (2018)
- Justice (2017)
- Hostlies (2017)
- The Redemption of Henry Myers (2014)
- A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
- Manhattan (2014)
- The Preacher and the Gun (2013)
- Sweetwater (2013)
- Billy the Kid (2013)
- Django Unchained (2012)
- In Plain Sight (2011)
- Truth Be Told (2011)
- Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
- The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)
- My One and Only (2009)
- Triggerman (2009)
- Outlaw Justice (2009)
- Shoot First and Pray You Live (2008)
- Sex and Lies in Sin City (2008)
- Conspiracy (2008)
- The Burrowers (2008)
- Appaloosa (2008)
- Wild Hogs (2007)
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
- Kid Nation (2007)
- The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
- Curse of the Sacred Mountain (2005)
- Around the Bend (2004)
- The Missing (2003)
- Wild Bill (2002)
- All the Pretty Horses (2000)
- Troublemakers (1994)
- The Desperate Trail (1994)
- Lightening Jack (1994)
- Lucky Luke (1991)
- Into the Badlands (1991)
- Lonesome Dove (1989)
- Young Guns (1988)
- Power (1986)
- Silverado (1985)
- The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
- Nightwing (1979)
- The Cowboys (1972)
- Easy Rider (1969)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
- The Man from Laramie (1955)
White Sands National Park, Otero County and Doña Ana County
Rising from the center of the Tularosa Basin, 275 square miles of desert are covered by enormous wave-like dunes of shimmering gypsum sand. The national park’s boundaries protect the local flora and fauna as well as a significant chunk of the largest gypsum dune area in the world. This otherworldly setting makes for a popular filming location.
Filmed at White Sands National Park:
- The Book of Eli (2010)
- Stargate Universe (2009)
- The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Year One (2009)
- Afterwards (2008)
- Transformers (2007)
- The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
- Jarhead (2005)
- Lovest (1997)
- Mad Love (1995)
- Tank Girl (1995)
- New Eden (1994)
- White Sands (1992)
- Lucky Luke (1991)
- Young Guns II (1990)
- Courage (1986)
- Wrong is Right (1982)
- Convoy (1978)
- The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
- Bite the Bullet (1975)
- My Name is Nobody (1973)
- Molly and Lawless John (1972)
- Scandalous John (1971)
- Hang ‘Em High (1968)
- King Solomon’s Mines (1950)
Ghost Ranch, Rio Arriba County
Encompassing 21,000 acres of towering rock walls, vivid colors, and vast skies, this landscape was made famous by painter Georgia O’Keeffe. The magnificent natural beauty of multicolored plains and canyons makes for a versatile filming location, hosting ancient geological history and amazing scenery.
Filmed at Ghost Ranch:
- Oppenheimer (2023)
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
- Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)
- The Lone Ranger (2013)
- Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
- Brothers (2009)
- Year One (2009)
- Georgia O’Keeffe (2009)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- The Missing (2003)
- All the Pretty Horses (2000)
- Wild Wild West (1999)
- Wyatt Earp (1994)
- Earth 2 (1994)
- The Last Outlaw (1993)
- City Slickers (1991)
- Outrageous Fortune (1987)
- Silverado (1985)
- Red Dawn (1984)
- Showdown (1973)
- And Now Miguel (1966)
- The Light That Failed (1939)
El Rancho Hotel, McKinley County
This historic Gallup hotel was built by R.E. Griffith, the brother of film director D.W. Griffith. The brothers encouraged early film productions in the nearby area. Located on the historic Route 66, many Hollywood stars made the hotel their temporary home. Originally, in 1937, the hotel was built with the intention of becoming a base for film production and was later restored after the opening of Interstate 40.
Filmed at El Rancho Hotel:
- Bottom of the World (2017)
- The Hallelujah Trail (1964)
- A Distant Trumpet (1963)
- Fort Massacre (1957)
- Raton Pass (1951)
- Ace in the Hole (1951)
- Fort Defiance (1950)
- New Mexico (1950)
- Rocky Mountain (1950)
- Streets of Laredo (1948)
- Colorado Territory (1948)
- Four Faces West (1947)
- Song of the Nile (1944)
- The Desert Song (1942)
- Sundown (1941)
- The Bad Man (1940)
Rail Yards Market, Bernalillo County
Owned by the city of Albuquerque, this unique site utilizes its natural grit and intrigue to evoke America’s industrial heritage with passing passenger trains, railroad turntables, and nearby buildings ranging from the Fire House and brick Blacksmith Shop to the industrial cathedrals, the Machine and Boiler Shops. Easily one of the most recognizable filming locations in New Mexico, the Rail Yards can be spotted on the season 5 DVD cover of “Breaking Bad.”
Filmed at Rail Yards Market:
- The Cleaning Lady (2022-Present)
- Army of the Dead (2021)
- Big Sky (2020)
- Daybreak (2019)
- Better Call Saul (2015-2022)
- Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
- The Avengers (2012)
- Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
- Terminator Salvation (2009)
- Gamer (2009)
- The Spirit (2008)
- Transformers (2007)
- Beerfest (2006)
- Lost Room (2006)
The Plaza Hotel, San Miguel County
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this restored grand hotel led its distinctly Western aesthetic to cowboy flicks dating back to the silent film era. The dusty railroad town of Las Vegas became the setting for western star Tom Mix’s sagebrush sagas. Mix shot between 20 and 30 of his films here. The Plaza Hotel remains a prominent New Mexican filming location to this day.
Filmed at The Plaza Hotel:
- Midnight, Texas (2017-2018)
- Longmire (2012-2017)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Vampires (1998)
- Easy Rider (1969)
- The Golden God (1917)
- The Rattlesnake (1913)
- Various Tom Mix silent pictures (1910-1935)
Santa Fe Plaza, Santa Fe County
Another National Historic Landmark packed with restaurants, local businesses, art galleries, and historic monuments, the iconic Santa Fe Plaza has served as a film location for decades. With plenty of dazzling exteriors and a variety of aesthetic interiors, there are opportunities for every genre here. Jeff Bridges has a particular preference for Evangelo’s Cocktail Lounge just off the Santa Fe Plaza, where he shot scenes for both “Only the Brave” and “Crazy Heart.”
Filmed at Santa Fe Plaza:
- Finch (2021)
- Only the Brave (2017)
- Crazy Heart (2009)
- Powwow Highway (1989)
- Twins (1988)
- Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
Acoma Sky City, Cibola County
Approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque, the Acoma Pueblo is made up of four distinct communities: Sky City, Acomita, Anzac, and McCartys. Many locations in Sky City have been featured on screen, including graveyards, historic pueblo streets, churches, and overlooks with stunning desert views. There are many restrictions surrounding filming, however. While photography is allowed with a permit, video recordings are largely prohibited.
Filmed at Acoma Sky City:
- Petrocelli (1974-1976)
- My Name is Nobody (1973)
- Gas-s-s-s (1970)
- Flap (1970)
- Sundown (1941)
- Way Out West (1930)
Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, Socorro County
The Very Large Array Radio Telescope Observatory, located 50 miles west of Socorro on NM-166, has been used by astronomers to track intricate gas motions at the center of the Milky Way, conduct important studies of black holes, and uncover new details about the fundamental processes generating radio waves. It’s no wonder this impressive display has served as inspiration for fictional extraterrestrial contact. The twenty-eight 25-meter radio telescopes lend their distinct look to film observatories.
Filmed at the Very Large Array:
- Terminator Salvation (2009)
- Armageddon (1998)
- Contact (1987)
- 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)
The Gilman Tunnels, Sandoval County
For the Santa Fe Northwestern Railroad, the historic Gilman Tunnels were blasted out of the Jemez mountains in 1924, just north of Jemez Pueblo. However, the railroad never recovered from the Great Depression, and the tunnels were shortly abandoned. The timeless desert visuals of both the Jemez mountains and the Gilman Tunnels lend to a filming location that can serve as either the past or the future.
Filmed at the Gilman Tunnels:
- Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
- The Lone Ranger (2013)
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)