New Mexico · Hiking · Near Santo Domingo Pueblo

Tsankawi Trail

Tsankawi TrailPhoto: Paul and Jill, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)
1.4 mi
round trip
207 ft
climb
6,686 ft
high point
Out and back
route
Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
best months

Is Tsankawi Trail 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.

Tsankawi Trail is a short, easy hike in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, managed by the National Park Service. The trail is about 1.4 miles long and rises about 207 feet from a low point of 6,495 feet to a high of 6,686 feet. It is an out-and-back route, roughly 2.9 miles in total, and it makes a natural pairing with the guided hike stops that sit along its length. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to go. Typical averages from the nearby Los Alamos weather station show May highs around 70°F and October highs around 63°F, while July and August bring the most wet days, about 13 to 14 a month. A fee is charged for the visit. The More Than History Tsankawi Guided Hike Stop 1 is about 0.1 mile away, and the Carved Trail Tsankawi Guided Hike Stop 16 is about 0.4 mile away. Climbers can find The Y about 1.1 miles off, and the Anniversary Trail is about 1.4 miles away.

Around this trail

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

    Main Gate Park RV Park

    Campground

    Campground · 2.2 mi from the trail
  • Eat after

    El Rigoberto's Tacos

    Restaurant

    On your way back · 2 mi · Open after 6
  • If it rainsNewMexicophotographer1, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    El Rancho de las Golondrinas

    Museum

    Museum · 21 mi from Santo Domingo Pueblo

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

More in Santo Domingo Pueblo
  • Best time to go · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

    Best time to visit Tsankawi 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.

    1. Jan

      40° / 21°

      6 wet

    2. Feb

      45° / 24°

      6 wet

    3. Mar

      53° / 30°

      7 wet

    4. Apr

      61° / 35°

      6 wet

    5. May

      70° / 44°

      6 wet

    6. Jun

      81° / 53°

      7 wet

    7. Jul

      83° / 57°

      13 wet

    8. Aug

      80° / 55°

      14 wet

    9. Sep

      74° / 49°

      9 wet

    10. Oct

      63° / 38°

      6 wet

    11. Nov

      50° / 28°

      5 wet

    12. Dec

      40° / 21°

      6 wet

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Los Alamos, NM, 5.7 mi away at 7,424 ft. The station sits about 700 ft higher than this place, so expect it a little warmer here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

HIKE

More Than History Tsankawi Guided Hike Stop 1

Next door

No Pueblo people live at Tsankawi today.  However, this place still contains tangible and intangible connections with the past for the descendants of the people who once occupied these canyons and mesas.  A petroglyph (image etched into rock) carved into the soft stone walls o…

HIKE

Intro Tsankawi Guided Hike Stop 0

Next door

Tsankawi is part of the ancestral lands of the modern pueblo of San Ildefonso.  Using the soft volcanic rock to construct houses and the flat open lands between mesas for farming, Ancestral Pueblo people called this place home in the 1400’s and 1500’s.  Life was not easy on th…

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Carved Trail Tsankawi Guided Hike Stop 16

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From this point forward, you will be walking in a trail carved into the volcanic tuff.  The rock is very soft and malleable.  It is very important to stay on the trail.  In just a very short time, our shoes can do more damage than many years of erosion.  Thank you for helping…

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Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors