During our week-long trip to New Mexico in May, my travel partner David and I visited two National Parks (White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns) and Bandelier National Monument, spending one day at each place. Our trip began in Albuquerque and ended in Sante Fe, which is where we were staying when we visited Bandelier. We drove about an hour and a half to reach the Frijoles Canyon, the location of Bandelier National Monument.
Visiting Information for Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier National Monument is open year-round. Expect Bandelier to get busy! And, during busy season (mid-May through October) there’s a free required shuttle service into the canyon due to limited parking. Arrive early because it gets busy!! When we visited in April, it was very busy but luckily we were able to find a parking spot in the small parking area near the visitor center. At the visitor center, there are exhibits about the park and a great informational video (narrated by Meryl Streep!). There is also a park store (don’t forget to get the stamp for your passport if you’re into that like I am!), and a café that is open seasonally. The park does not have lodging, but there is a campground near the park.
The visitor center is open from 9-5. Entrance cost is $25 per vehicle or $15 a person walking in. The pass is good for one week, though we just spent one day in the park. However, we had previously bought the $80 America the Beautiful interagency pass. This park also has a two dollar trail guide available for purchase that narrates the stops along the Pueblo Loop Trail. It highlights such things as Big Kiva, Tyuonyi village, and the Talus and Long Houses.
Rules For Visiting Bandelier National Monument
There are a few important rules for visiting Bandelier to ensure future visitors can enjoy it too. Stick to the trail and respect the spaces by not defacing them! (Seems pretty obvious right? But one area was closed because of vandalism). Also, make sure to bring water as it can get hot! Bandelier is also at a high elevation, and there is not very much shade. Finally, no pets are allowed in the buildings or on the trails.
About Bandelier National Monument
Bandolier National Monument has 3 miles of public roads and over 70 miles of trails. It is 33,750 acres big. There is evidence that people lived in this area for more than 11,000 years, as evidence of the petroglyphs and dwellings that are carved into the soft rock cliffs in this area that are known as volcanic tuffs. The main attraction in Bandelier National Park are the Ancestral Pueblo dwellings. The ancestral Pueblo people lived here from around 1150 CE to 1550 CE and there are several dwellings that are a short walk from the visitor center.
Bandolier was designated by President Woodrow Wilson as a National Monument in February 1916, and was named after Adolph Bandolier, a Swiss-American anthropologist who researched the cultures of this area. Mr. Bandolier also did a lot of work towards preservation of these sites. When he visited in 1880 he was quoted as saying, while looking at the cliff dwellings, “ it’s the greatest thing I ever saw”. I have to say it was pretty incredible.
Pueblo Loop Trail
We started on the Pueblo Loop Trail (formerly called the Main Loop Trail), which is a paved 1.4 mile loop. There are 21 points of interest along this trail. The first point of interest is the Big Kiva. This was the center of religious and political life for the Ancestral Pueblo people. It is an underground room that would have been covered by a roof that was just slightly above ground level. The roof is where people would have entered and exited via ladders.
Just shortly down the trail visitors will pass the Tyuonyi Village. The Tyuonyi Village was once two stories tall with over 400 rooms built from blocks of volcanic tuff. People lived here in this circular communal pueblo, and many of the rooms were used for storing food.
Another highlight on the trail is Talus House. It was built in 1920 at the bottom of the cliff from rock debris. It resembles what the pueblo homes in this area would have probably looked like.
Also along the Pueblo Trail is Long House. Long House is a series of homes that were built at the base of the cliff. Some of them would have been three to four stories tall. Also in this area are hundreds of petroglyphs. Can you spot any of them in the pictures below?
Exploring the cavates
My favorite thing to do during our one-day adventure at Bandelier National Monument was being able to climb up the ladder to explore the cavates. Cavates are the small alcoves in the cliff side that were used as home/shelter for the Ancestral Pueblo people. It was so interesting going up in them, which are accessed by the wooden ladders. Some of them were small and other seemed to be six or seven room houses. We joked that we were doing home tours to find our dream house.
Alcove House
During our day at Bandelier National Monument we opted to take a half-mile trail up to the Alcove House. This trail is just off the main trail (the Pueblo Loop Trail) and from there it’s only a half mile to the viewpoint. The Alcove House is a cliff dwelling that can only reached by climbing 140 feet up stone stairs and wooden ladders that are affixed to the canyon walls. There were about four different ladders that are only accessible one person at a time. We actually had to wait while some people came down before we ascended.
Once you reach the top, you get great views of the surrounding area. There were about 25 ancestral Pueblo people who lived in the Alcove House, and it was fun going into some of the small homes. Additionally, there was a great vantage point of the beautiful surrounding scenery.
Other hiking at Bandelier National Monument
While we only spent one day at Bandelier National Monument, there were other opportunities for exploring we did not take. The 3 mile round-trip falls trail leads to the Upper Falls. Additionally, 12 miles away from the main entrance is the The Tsankawi Unit, which offers hikes such as a mesa-top walk which includes 4 different ladders. Unfortunately the Tsankawi area was closed when we visited, but it is planned to reopen in October 2023. Be sure to check out the Bandelier National Monument website before you visit to find out about any other closures. And if one day isn’t enough, the backcountry of Bandelier offers all day or multiple day/overnight backpacking trips with over 70 miles of trails. Bandolier wilderness permits are required for this, though they are free.
Bandelier National Monument has been hit recently with some extensive wildfire activity, as well as some major flooding, which you can still notice as you were hiking. Just a reminder about how fragile our planet is, that we need to handle it with care and appreciate it.
There you have it- Bandelier National Monument in one day. While we were in the area we visited the town of Los Alamos, which is where the Manhattan project was held to develop the atom bomb, check out that blog post here. Thanks for reading my blog, catch you soon!
-Catching Katie
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