New Mexico · Hiking · Near Santo Domingo Pueblo

First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11

First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11Photo: NPS
Mar–May, Oct
best months

Is First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11 open right now?

Alert in the area

The National Park Service lists an alert for Bandelier National Monument.

As of · Source: NPS · Bandelier National Monument. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11 is a stop on the First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail in Bandelier National Monument, managed by the National Park Service in New Mexico. The stop sits among a series of ladders leading into cavates, human-made excavations that were used for food storage and sometimes housing. The Ancestral Pueblo people lived in this area for over 400 years, and their lives changed over time, just as ours do. No one knows why they left, but they didn't go far. Cochiti Pueblo, about 20 miles south of Bandelier, is the most closely related modern pueblo to the people who lived in Frijoles Canyon. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Cochiti Dam show April highs around 71°F and October highs around 74°F, while July and August average highs near 94°F. The stop is part of a network of trail stops. Soft Rock Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 10, Talus House Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 12 and Frijoles Canyon Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 13 all lie about 0.1 mile away. Climbers can find Potrillo Cliffs about 3.3 miles off.

Around this trail

Add any of these when you start a trip
  • Sleep close

    Juniper Campground Loop A

    Campground

    Campground · 1.0 mi from the trail
  • Eat after

    Sirphey at Bandelier Restaurant

    Fast food

    On your way back · 1 mi
  • If it rainsNewMexicophotographer1, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    El Rancho de las Golondrinas

    Museum

    Museum · 17 mi from Santo Domingo Pueblo

Places © OpenStreetMap contributors · Photos: NewMexicophotographer1, CC BY-SA 4.0 (commons)

More in Santo Domingo Pueblo

Local outfitters

Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.

  • Best time to go · Mar–May, Oct

    Best time to visit First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11

    Best months: March–May and 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.

    1. Jan

      50° / 20°

      4 wet · 1 snow

    2. Feb

      56° / 24°

      4 wet · 1 snow

    3. Mar

      64° / 30°

      4 wet

    4. Apr

      71° / 37°

      4 wet

    5. May

      81° / 46°

      5 wet

    6. Jun

      92° / 56°

      5 wet

    7. Jul

      94° / 61°

      10 wet

    8. Aug

      92° / 59°

      10 wet

    9. Sep

      86° / 52°

      6 wet

    10. Oct

      74° / 39°

      5 wet

    11. Nov

      60° / 28°

      4 wet

    12. Dec

      50° / 20°

      4 wet · 1 snow

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Cochiti Dam, NM, 10.3 mi away at 5,560 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

HIKE

Talus House Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 12

Next door

This is Talus House, reconstructed in 1920 to show the structures that would have been found in front of many of the cavates when the Ancestral Pueblo people were still occupying the canyon. For many years park staff believed the reconstruction was inaccurate due to what appea…

HIKE

Entering Tyuonyi Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 7

Next door

You are now standing in the central plaza of the village. Can you hear the dogs barking and the laughter of children playing or chasing the domesticated turkeys? This would have been a very active and noisy place during Ancestral Pueblo times. One theory suggests that this vil…

Burro TrailPhoto: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Burro Trail

Next door

5.89-mile out-and-back trail in New Mexico with 188 ft elevation gain.

HIKE

Frijoles Canyon Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 13

Next door

Stop and look out over the canyon. Does it look lush, and green compared to the mesa above it? As we discussed earlier this is a riparian area that has greater diversity of plants and wildlife than other nearby areas. Although much farming was done on the surrounding mesas som…

Pueblo Loop TrailPhoto: olekinderhook, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Pueblo Loop Trail

Next door

Compact 1.33-mile loop with steep elevation gain near Pueblo, NM.

HIKE

In Tyuonyi Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 8

Next door

The kiva you see in front of you served the same purpose as Big Kiva that you saw earlier on this walk. It too would have had a hard plastered roof with an entrance in and a ladder in the middle. Tyuonyi, as with many of the archeological sites along the Pueblo Loop Trail…

Main LoopPhoto: davidwilson1949, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Main Loop

Next door

0.15-mile lollipop trail with 44 ft gain in New Mexico.

HIKE

Exiting Tyuonyi Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 9

Next door

Notice the small slope and abundant plant life as the trail exits Tyuonyi. This is what the entire village would have looked like before excavations. Looking at the cliff ahead of you, you can see at least one of three ladders you will be able to climb to see the inside of a c…

Frijolito TrailPhoto: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Frijolito Trail

Next door

0.39-mile out-and-back trail with 559 ft gain in New Mexico.

HIKE

Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 14

Next door

Have you notice anything different about the cavates you have entered by climbing ladders? They all have concrete floors. Without the concrete to protect them from our footwear, the natural cavate floors would have been worn deeply by our entering these significant features. R…