Lower Water Canyon Bottom

Soft Rock Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 10

~4 min drive

The cliff in front of you has numerous holes, some big and some small. These holes are created by wind and water erosion of the volcanic tuff we talked about earlier. Water freezes and thaws in the permeable rock breaking off big and small pieces (most are microscopic). Wind p…

Cuesta Colorada

~4 min drive

Easy 2.4-mile trail with gentle elevation gain near Cuesta Colorada.

First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11

~4 min drive

You have arrived at the first of three ladders you can climb into cavates (CAVE-eights), human excavated openings. Although sometimes used for housing, the main purpose of cavates was often food storage. Remember the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here for over 400 years and th…

Ancient Life Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 1

~4 min drive

Welcome to the Main or Pueblo Loop Trail. This trail is 1.4 miles roundtrip and will take you past many archeological sites. Portions of the trail are relatively flat and can be traveled by wheelchairs and strollers. Other sections have numerous narrow stairs and can be diffic…

Pueblo Loop Trail

~4 min drive

The Main Pueblo Loop Trail is the most popular trail in Bandelier at 1.4 miles roundtrip, you see more archeological sites here than on any other trail. This trail begins directly behind the park visitor center and includes climbing ladders into cavates, petroglyphs, and a pav…

Geology Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 2

~4 min drive

Frijoles Canyon is carved into a thick layer of volcanic ash that over time compacted into a soft rock known as tuff. This ash was deposited over 1 million years ago in two separate eruptions of the Jemez Volcano, each spewing over 600 times more ash than Mt St Helens in 1980.…

Falls Trail Tour - Introduction

~4 min drive

<p>Frijoles Canyon is a lush green ribbon in this arid environment. Creekside areas, known as riparian zones, are home to an amazing diversity of plant and animal life due to the relative abundance of water. Frijoles Creek is a permanent stream (runs year-round) for most of it…

Falls Trail

~5 min drive

The Falls Trail begins a short distance from the park visitor center and travels down Frijoles Canyon to an 80 foot waterfall (unfortunately often dry in summer). The roundtrip is 3 miles with 400 foot elevation change. Lots of cool geology, plants, and wildlife on this hike t…

Talus House Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 12

~5 min drive

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…

Frijoles Creek Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 3

~5 min drive

Looking at Frijoles Creek it is hard to imagine it carving this dozen mile long canyon. In recent years it is not uncommon for this stream to dry up in summer from near Alcove House and downstream. Before Las Conchas Fire in 2011 this stream ran at least past the visitor cente…