There are locations that you just go to the place you may really feel the presence of those that have come earlier than and the historical past that’s held inside. Once I stepped onto the path at Bandelier Nationwide Monument, I couldn’t assist however envision the Ancestral Pueblo individuals strolling alongside an analogous path.
I’d seen photos of cliff dwellings earlier than, however I used to be nonetheless amazed that these historic dwelling areas have been so well-preserved, enabling guests to see, contact, and even climb into the identical locations which were standing for hundreds of years. Climbing ladders and peering into the hollowed-out rooms of those stone partitions is like touching a bit of historical past.
Typically we go to Nationwide Parks to expertise the great thing about nature, marvel on the distinctive landscapes, or hard-to-spy wildlife. However different occasions there are particular locations which were designated as Nationwide Monuments to protect a slice of historical past. Bandelier Nationwide Monument presents a little bit of each.
Strolling by means of the canyon surrounded by the safety of rugged cliffs, with the crisp scent of pine and juniper within the air, it isn’t laborious to understand why this spot has attracted individuals for greater than 10,000 years.
If you happen to get pleasure from nature, historical past, and studying, you’ll respect visiting Bandelier Nationwide Monument. To assist, I’ve put collectively this journey information of suggestions for visiting Bandelier Nationwide Monument close to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
About Bandelier Nationwide Monument
Earlier than we dig into visiting Bandelier Nationwide Monument, I’d like to supply a land acknowledgement: Bandelier Nationwide Monument rests on the ancestral homelands of the Ancestral Pueblo individuals of many tribal nations, whose descendants span 23 Pueblos and tribes, together with the modern-day Pueblos of Cochiti, San Ildefonso, and others, who’ve maintained deep ties to this land for hundreds of years. I honor their enduring connection to this area, recognizing it as a spot of cultural, religious, and historic significance.
Bandelier Nationwide Monument is situated in northern New Mexico, making it a straightforward day journey when visiting Santa Fe or Los Alamos. The park spans over 33,000 acres of rugged canyon and mesa nation, providing volcanic cliffs, deep canyons, and expansive high-desert terrain to discover. Nevertheless, it’s most well-known for the cliff dwellings that have been utilized by Ancestral Pueblo individuals from 1150 to 1550 AD.
The cliffs’ mushy volcanic tuff made a pure shelter for the Ancestral Pueblo individuals and at present you may climb ladders into historic dwellings, view petroglyphs, and see the stays of kivas, which have been round, subterranean constructions used for non secular and ceremonial functions.
Suggestions for Visiting Bandelier Nationwide Monument
You might be most likely excited to get to Bandelier Nationwide Monument and begin exploring these historic cliff dwellings. However earlier than you go, I’ve some suggestions for you:
Take Summer season Shuttles
Bandelier could not get the crowds of Yellowstone or Glacier, however there are nonetheless measures in place to stability crowd management. Throughout mid-Might to mid-October, there’s a obligatory shuttle from 9:00 a.m. to three:00 p.m. day by day which picks up on the White Rock Customer Heart and brings you to the park. The shuttle runs each half-hour in the course of the week and each 20 minutes on the weekend. The trip takes about 25 minutes and stops first on the Frey Path/Juniper Campground.
I visited in August and we arrived on the White Rock Customer Heart simply earlier than 9:00 a.m. This labored out completely as a result of there was no bother discovering parking (there may be an overflow car parking zone throughout the road) and we have been two of solely 4 individuals on the primary shuttle out. By the point we have been prepared to go away, it was a reasonably full bus that unloaded earlier than we boarded for our return journey.
Get an Early Begin
As I alluded to, as ordinary the early hen will get the worm. Or, will get to discover historic cliff dwellings with out ready in lengthy traces to climb ladders or crowd in with others. In case you are visiting in the summertime, getting an early begin additionally helps you beat the warmth.
Whereas Bandelier Nationwide Monument has a excessive elevation, the solar can nonetheless be robust and that dry, excessive desert air may not be what you’re used to. Beating the warmth with an early begin will help you get pleasure from your go to much more.
Don’t Observe Google Maps
Google Maps or Apple Maps may ship you to an alternate part of the park. If you wish to attain the principle customer heart and the highest sights, comply with these instructions from the official web site. Or, simply set your GPS to the White Rock Customer Heart and take the shuttle (whereas in season.) The roads approaching the park are additionally fairly properly signed.
Remember the fact that Bandelier Nationwide Monument is about one hour from Santa Fe and 20 minutes from Los Alamos.
Put on Good Footwear
Whereas the Important Loop Path (Pueblo Loop Path) is only one.4 miles on a straightforward, principally flat, gravel or paved path, if you wish to climb into the cavates (small human-carved alcoves), you have to to climb wood ladders which have been worn easy and might be fairly slippery in case you are in sandals.
I’d additionally suggest closed-toe footwear given among the wildlife that you just may encounter comparable to tarantulas, lizards, snakes, and so forth.
Convey a Water Bottle (and a Backpack!)
Given the altitude and desert atmosphere, you should be considerate about staying hydrated. I’d counsel bringing a refillable water bottle as there are bottle refill stations on the customer heart. You too can discover flushing restrooms on the Customer Heart and compost/pit bathrooms alongside the paths.
I’d additionally suggest bringing alongside a small backpack to retailer your belongings and water bottle. Since we have been on a cross-country street journey, I didn’t have my typical climbing backpack and since we have been first making an attempt the brief loop path, we simply carried our water bottles and a small bag. This was nice till we went to climb the ladders!
Climbing steep, tall ladders whereas holding on to your water bottle is hard. We lastly realized we must always simply depart them on the backside and retrieve them after we climbed again down. It might have been simpler if I may have saved them in a backpack as a substitute.
Defend Your self from the Parts
In case you are visiting in the summertime, be certain to use sunscreen and put on a hat. You may additionally need a mild climbing layer for solar safety. At different occasions of the yr, take into account that the temperature can differ enormously all through the day and the elevation means will probably be colder (and presumably snowier) than it’s in Santa Fe.
Remember the fact that the park is open from daybreak to nightfall year-round, besides on Christmas Day and through heavy snow.
Plan to Keep at Least Half a Day
The 1.4 mile Important Loop Path will most likely take you 45-minutes to an hour to discover as a result of it would be best to cease to learn the interpretative indicators, climb into the cavates, admire the petroglyphs, and soak within the historical past.
You’ll then want one other 45 minutes or extra so as to add on a go to to the Alcove Home and return to the Customer Heart. When you’ve got a full day to spend at Bandelier, you can too hike the Frey Path by means of Frijoles Canyon. This path branches off the Important Loop Path, accessible from the Customer Heart, and ends on the Juniper Campground, the place you may then hop on the shuttle again to the White Rock Customer Heart (in season.)
Get pleasure from Lunch at Bandelier
I will surely counsel packing just a few snacks to get pleasure from throughout your hike as a result of climbing these ladders might be laborious work! However in case you are searching for lunch after a morning at Bandelier, Sirphey at Bandelier is a full service restaurant situated close to the park customer heart and present store. You’ll be able to chow down on inexperienced chili cheeseburgers, fry bread, yak steaks, elk or native bison burgers, and extra. They even declare to have the perfect ingesting chocolate in North America however it was too heat for us to provide it a strive.
Remember the fact that Sirphey closes on a seasonal foundation sometimes November-March.
Watch out for Heights
I don’t actually have a worry of heights. The truth is, in my home I’m the one who must climb the ladders to wash gutters or wash home windows. Going up the ladders at Bandelier Nationwide Monument felt like a bit of cake. Taking place? A complete different story.
To go to the Alcove Home, you should climb 140 ft of 4 steep wood ladders and stone stairs. A few of these ladders are fairly tall and going again down them (particularly whereas clutching a water bottle) was sufficient to have me gripping the handles for expensive life and happening very, very slowly. I felt that climb in each muscle the subsequent day.
When you’ve got a worry of heights, I’d suggest skipping the climb to the Alcove Home and simply viewing it from beneath.
Go away the Canine at Residence
Pets are permitted within the car parking zone of the Customer Heart and the campgrounds, however not on the paths. You don’t need to depart them in a sizzling automotive so I’d counsel leaving them at dwelling (or on the resort/campground.)
Take Benefit of Free Park Days or the America the Stunning Go
After we set out on our cross-country street journey, we have been positive we’d be capable to reap the benefits of my daughter’s Annual America the Stunning Go, which will get you into all Nationwide Parks all yr for less than $80.00. She had already used it on the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Arches Nationwide Park earlier in the summertime. However our first cease was Nice Smoky Mountain Nationwide Park, which we found was free to go to (however you must pay to park). Then we received to Bandelier and little did we all know, we have been visiting on a free park day (examine the calendar to seek out out when admission is free at Nationwide Parks.)
If you happen to plan on visiting a number of Nationwide Parks inside a yr, the America the Stunning Go presents are nice financial savings (and it’s a straightforward method to help the Parks.)
Go away No Hint
After we visited, among the cavates have been closed as a result of that they had been broken or vandalized and I discovered that heart-breaking. Listed here are dwellings which have existed for hundreds of years and petroglyphs that depict early civilization and other people draw graffiti on them? I can’t even perceive that degree of disrespect.
However bear in mind, the ideas of Go away No Hint go additional than simply not littering or vandalizing. It additionally means not going off path and damaging fragile ecosystems and never eradicating something from the park.
High Issues to do at Bandelier Nationwide Monument
When you’ve got simply in the future to spend at Bandelier Nationwide Monument, listed here are the highest sights that you just don’t need to miss:
- Cultural demonstrations – examine with the Park Rangers within the Customer Heart to see what could also be going down throughout your go to. Demonstrations are free and happen on the again patio of the Bandelier customer heart.
- Ranger applications – examine to see what Ranger Packages are going down throughout your go to. These embrace free guided walks, talks, and night applications that cowl how people, wildlife, and vegetation have survived on the Pajarito Plateau.
- Customer Heart Museum – there’s a small museum within the Customer Heart that gives extra context of the historical past of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples and what life was like within the Pueblos and cliff dwellings.
- Pueblo Loop Path – this straightforward, principally accessible 1.4 mile loop path is the right introduction to Bandelier Nationwide Monument and the Ancestral Pueblos. You’ll be able to decide up a $3 path information on the Park Retailer to be taught extra in regards to the websites alongside the path by means of descriptions of 21 numbered stops, or you may scan a QR code to learn extra about every web site (simply take into account that cell service might be spotty within the park). This path presents lovely views and winds by means of archeological websites such because the Massive Kiva communal assembly place, Tyuonyi (stays of a construction that used to have over 400 rooms for storing meals), Talus Home (which is a reconstruction of a home that will sit in entrance of a cavate), and Lengthy Home, the place you could find petroglyphs. A principal spotlight of the path is climbing into the cavates (the place allowed). You’ll be able to both loop again to the Customer Heart or take a facet path to go to the Alcove Home.
- Alcove Home – it’s a further one-mile to tack on the go to to the Alcove Home however it’s properly value the additional stroll. This a part of the path is usually shaded and crosses a few small bridges (be aware that Frijoles Canyon is liable to flash flooding so double examine that these crossings are open earlier than heading out.) As I discussed above, entering into the Alcove Home consists of climbing a collection of steep, tall ladders. I’m very glad that I did it as a result of it was such a novel expertise to face in these historic dwellings, however it’s not for these with a worry of heights or ladders.
- Frey Path – when you’ve got a full day, you may take the Frey Path within the afternoon from the Customer Heart to the Juniper Campground after which decide up the shuttle. Simply take into account that climbing up from the canyon flooring is strenuous and be ready with loads of water.
- Falls Path – Alternatively, you could possibly take the Falls Path. This begins on the finish of the Backpacker’s Parking Lot close to the customer heart and descends 400 vertical ft in its 1.5 mile size to the Higher Falls. Simply take into account that the falls could also be dry in the summertime (which is why we skipped it) and it isn’t cleared of snow or ice within the winter. There are additionally steep drop-offs alongside the path and plank bridges throughout the creek.
The place to Keep Close to Bandelier Nationwide Monument
If you happen to aren’t tenting within the park, you might have the choice of staying close by in both the small city of White Rock or Los Alamos. Nevertheless, if that is extra of a day journey, you’ll most likely favor to remain in or close to Santa Fe, which is about one hour from Bandelier Nationwide Monument. This allows you to mix the allure and tradition of historic Santa Fe with the outside journey of Bandelier Nationwide Monument.
Since we wished to go to each Santa Fe and Bandelier, and have a while to chill out, we selected to remain on the Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder. It is a on line casino and resort property with a beautiful pool space and eating places on-site, solely about quarter-hour from downtown Santa Fe.
After all, there are many great accommodations to select from in downtown Santa Fe as properly and the Inn of the 5 Graces got here extremely advisable to me. We ate at their restaurant Pink Adobe and beloved the courtyard setting and scrumptious meals.
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Tamara Gruber is the Founder and Writer of We3Travel. A former advertising and marketing govt and journey advisor, Tamara is an award-winning journey author and acknowledged knowledgeable in household journey. Tamara is a member of SATW and the Journey Journey Commerce Affiliation, and serves on the Board of the Household Journey Affiliation. She can also be the writer of YourTimetoFly.com and the co-host of the Trip Experts journey podcast.