Juniper Campground Loop C
Campground
Campground · 1.0 mi from the trail
New Mexico · Hiking · Near Santo Domingo Pueblo
Burnt Mesa Trail
Photo: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- 2.7 mi
- round trip
- 432 ft
- climb
- 7,340 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- best months
Is Burnt Mesa Trail open right now?
Alert in the area
The National Park Service lists an alert for Bandelier National Monument.
The Use of GPS is NOT Recommended
Park alert covering Bandelier National Monument · NPS · Bandelier National Monument
As of · Source: NPS · Bandelier National Monument. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Burnt Mesa Trail is a 5.4-mile out-and-back hike in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, managed by the National Park Service. The trail gains about 432 feet from its low point at 6,894 feet to the high point at 7,340 feet, and it is rated moderate. The most comfortable months for a visit are typically May and September. A nearby weather station at Los Alamos records typical average highs of about 70°F in May and 74°F in September, with summer months bringing more frequent wet days. A fee is charged for the trail. The route is about 2.7 miles one way. Several other trails lie within a short drive, including the Frey Trail, the Alcove House Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 22 and the Tyuonyi Overlook Trail, each within about a mile and a half. Climbers can find the Hall of Giants area roughly 3.7 miles away.
Around this trail
Add any of these when you start a tripSleep close Eat after Sirphey at Bandelier Restaurant
Fast food
On your way back · 2 mi
If it rainsNewMexicophotographer1, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Places © OpenStreetMap contributors · Photos: NewMexicophotographer1, CC BY-SA 4.0 (commons)
More in Santo Domingo PuebloBest time to go · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
Best time to visit Burnt Mesa Trail
Best months: April–June and September–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
40° / 21°
6 wet
Feb
45° / 24°
6 wet
Mar
53° / 30°
7 wet
Apr
61° / 35°
6 wet
May
70° / 44°
6 wet
Jun
81° / 53°
7 wet
Jul
83° / 57°
13 wet
Aug
80° / 55°
14 wet
Sep
74° / 49°
9 wet
Oct
63° / 38°
6 wet
Nov
50° / 28°
5 wet
Dec
40° / 21°
6 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Los Alamos, NM, 4.5 mi away at 7,424 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive
Photo: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)Frey Trail
~2 min drive
Steep 1.69-mile hike with 535 ft gain near Frey, New Mexico.
HIKE
Alcove House Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 22
~2 min drive
Many find climbing the 140 feet of ladders and stone stairs at Alcove House to be one of the highlights of their visit. Do you think you would have felt differently if you had to climb into this housing area multiple times every day, carrying food, water, and small children? W…
Photo: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)Burro Trail
~4 min drive
5.89-mile out-and-back trail in New Mexico with 188 ft elevation gain.
HIKE
Welcome Tyuonyi Overlook Trail Stop 1
~2 min drive
Welcome to the Tyuonyi (QU-weh-nee) Overlook Trail, which is partially a loop and partly an out-and-back, 2.2 miles roundtrip. You are approximately 0.25 miles down this trail that passes through the Piñon-Juniper Woodland and provides excellent views of Frijoles Canyon, the P…
HIKE
Petroglyphs Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 21
~3 min drive
Petroglyphs (carved drawings) are far more common than pictographs (painted drawings) at Bandelier. Do you see the carving of a macaw under the overhang? How about the one of an elk to the left of the macaw? The people of Frijoles Canyon lived, worked, laughed, and died here…
Photo: Greg Willis from Denver, CO, usa, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)Tyuonyi Overlook Trail
~2 min drive
Easy overlook hike with views of historic Tyuonyi pueblo ruins.
HIKE
Rock Drawings Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 20
~3 min drive
Also look for numerous petroglyphs (carved rock drawings) as you stroll past Long House. There are hundreds of them in this location. There is also a pictograph (painted drawing) under glass. Once upon a time this pictograph was covered with plaster. It was uncovered during ea…
HIKE
Native Plants Tyuonyi Overlook Trail Stop 3
~3 min drive
The Ancestral Pueblo people had an agricultural-based society and relied heavily on the crops they could produce, storing as much as possible in times of plenty for the years when a dry season produced scarcer harvests. During those times, knowledge of native plants was essent…
HIKE
Long House Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 19
~3 min drive
For the next hundred yards you will be walking past Long House. Look for the base layers of rocks that served as the bottom of walls. Today these look-like outlines of stone boxes but once they would have stood several stories high. Take a closer look at the cliff wall behind…
HIKE
Fire Tyuonyi Overlook Trail Stop 4
~3 min drive
Fire has always been a part of life in the Bandelier area and fires likely burned this area many times while the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here. From studying tree rings scientists know that the natural fire cycle here was a low intensity fire every fifteen years or so. In…
Route details
- Distance
- 2.7 mi round trip
- Climbing
- About 432 ft
- Summit
- 7,215 ft
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Questions about this route
How long is the Burnt Mesa Trail on Burnt Mesa?
About 2.7 mi round trip.
How much elevation gain is on the Burnt Mesa Trail?
About 432 ft of climbing round trip.
How hard is the Burnt Mesa Trail?
It is rated moderate.
Conditions and forecast on Burnt Mesa
Daily highs and lows, wind and the chance of precipitation at the summit and route start for the next 7 days, from the Open-Meteo model.
Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors
