The fair place to meet is Denver, CO — the city closest to the midpoint of Albuquerque and Salt Lake City. From the farther side that’s about 7 hr 46 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Denver, CO
From Albuquerque
7 hr 1 min
334 mi to Denver
From Salt Lake City
7 hr 46 min
371 mi to Denver
Albuquerque has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 45 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Albuquerque and Salt Lake City are about 485 miles apart.
Albuquerque and Salt Lake City are about 485 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Denver, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 7 hr 1 min of driving on the Albuquerque side and 7 hr 46 min on the Salt Lake City side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Denver suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Denver doesn't have what you're after, Las Vegas and Phoenix are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Albuquerque and Salt Lake City.
Denver is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Officially a consolidated city and county, it is located in the South Platte River valley on the western edge of the High Plains, and is just east of the Front Range of the Rocky… Read more →
Albuquerque is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Founded in 1706 as La Villa de Alburquerque by Santa Fe de Nuevo México governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, and named in honor of Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque… Read more →
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.