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New Mexico
2.7 mi
Distance
501 ft
Gain
No conditions check on file for this trail yet — always verify current conditions before you go.
Why you'll love it
Burnt Mesa Trail
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No permit or access details on file for this trail — check with the local land manager before you go.
Burnt Mesa Trail is a scenic 2.7-mile route featuring moderate elevation gain through New Mexico's high desert landscape. This accessible hike showcases the geological character of the region with views across mesa terrain and typical high desert vegetation. The trail offers a rewarding half-day outing suitable for hikers seeking solitude and natural beauty without extreme technical demands.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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?<br /> <br /> The people of Frijoles Canyon lived, worked, laughed, an…
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…
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…
Orchard Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 18
~3 min drive
The trees below you are what is left of a historic orchard. When Evelyn Frey, her husband, and son arrived in 1925 to run the park’s first concession they brought dozens of fruit trees with them.
Junction Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 17
~3 min drive
At this point, you may turn right to continue on to Long House and Alcove House or turn left to return to the Visitor Center for a shorter walk.
Frey Trail
~3 min drive
The Frey Trail is a historic trail that travels from the park visitor center in Frijoles Canyon up onto the mesa and Juniper Family Campground. Distance one way is 2 miles and approximately 550 feet elevation change. Lots of great vistas and closeup encounters with the Piñon-…
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