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New Mexico
184 ft
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Fire Tyuonyi Overlook Trail Stop 4
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No permit or access details on file for this trail — check with the local land manager before you go.
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 recent decades several large-scale landscape altering fires have affected this terrain. All of these fires have been caused by human activity. Las Conchas Wildfire in 2011 was the largest, intensely burning over ¾ of the park and having impacts far into the future. That fire reached the mesa across the canyon from you and threatened to destroy the historic park visitor center in the canyon below until heroic firefighting efforts quelled its progress. Look at the difference in vegetation from this side of the canyon to far side. That is the result of fire removing most of the larger trees and leaving more open grasslands.
Petroglyphs Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 21
~0 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
~0 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
~0 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
~1 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.
Alcove House Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 22
~1 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
~1 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…
Junction Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 17
~1 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
~1 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-…
Frey Trail Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 16
~1 min drive
The dirt trail to your right is the Frey Trail, named after an early concessionaire in the park. If you follow this trail, it will switchback its way out of the canyon, gaining approximately 500 feet in the climb. There are excellent views back into the canyon as the trail asc…
Cave Kiva Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 15
~1 min drive
This is Cave Kiva. Unlike the other cavates you could climb into, this one is a kiva. Do you remember earlier on this walk when you saw Big Kiva? This cavate was used for the same purpose as Big Kiva. Unfortunately, this kiva cavate must be smoked and replastered regularly to…
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