Bandelier backcountry trails

The Low Down

This article describes backcountry trails at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, USA. If your first exposure to the beautiful canyon country and fascinating archaeology of the park, via the Main Loop Trail, catches your fancy, keep reading here for hikes that'll take you away from the crowds, possibly for several days if you wish.

Getting There

Most of the Bandelier backcountry trails are accessible from the monument's visitor center, off New Mexico state road 4 near Los Alamos. Pay the entrance fee ($6/person or $12/vehicle, Park Pass applies) and continue on the main road, down a steep, exposed grade, to the visitor center. If you're day hiking, you can park in the main lot in front of the visitor center, but for overnight trips, you'll need to park in the subsidiary lot across the Rito de los Frijoles, the creek in the canyon bottom (and also pick up a backcountry permit at the visitor center). There are also trails from NM 4 itself, mainly for day use but in one case extending into the backcountry by way of Upper Crossing, a crossing of Frijoles Canyon reached from Ponderosa Campground (group camping by reservation only).

A few of the trails are most easily reached from other, more remote locations, particularly St. Peters Dome Road in the Jemez Mountains. This road is reached via NM 4 well west of the visitor center, after you've climbed a spectacularly winding and scenic section of road past the turnoff to Los Alamos (NM 502). The Dome Road is gravel but passable for most of its length in passenger cars; however, the trailheads are in a rough section of road that may call for a high-clearance vehicle.

Route Finding

Note that if you're using the trails mentioned here, you should inquire at the visitor center about backcountry permits. Not all of the trails given here require permits, but you'll certainly need one if you're planning on backpacking overnight. Details on potential campsites are available from the helpful rangers and volunteers when you get your permit.

Trailheads at the visitor center

Upper Frijoles Canyon

This trail is an extension of the Main Loop Trail and continues up-canyon from Alcove House (formerly Ceremonial Cave), a shelter cave with a restored kiva (ceremonial structure) on its floor. The route is about as easy to follow as you can imagine; it's on the canyon bottom and you basically can't get off trail, as the canyon narrows upstream. Simply hike up this attractive and cool trail for as far as you want to go, then either turn around or climb out of the canyon at Upper Crossing, the first junction that you come to, almost 6 miles west of the visitor center. The trail to your right as you look up-canyon at this point leads to Ponderosa Campground via a steep, taxing set of switchbacks, while the left-hand trail crosses the Rito de los Frijoles and connects into the backcountry. Note that there is no camping in Frijoles Canyon itself; this trail is either for day use or a connector into the canyons and mesas of the deeper backcountry where backpacking overnight is allowed.

Frijolito/Stone Lions Trail

This is the most important of the backcountry trails with trailheads in the main canyon, from the standpoint of access to interior trails, attractions on the way, and probably frequency of use. Its trailhead is on the south side of the Rito de los Frijoles, near the bridge leading to the secondary parking area. A complex junction just above the parking area leads in several directions: down-canyon (left) to the Lower Frijoles Trail (see separate article), up-canyon on the Long Trail (see next section), and the one you want, straight ahead up a set of switchbacks to the canyon rim. After a grinding ascent, you reach the mesa top and Frijolito Ruin, an important, largely unexcavated archaeological site that you can circumnavigate on a sketchy secondary loop trail. Also at Frijolito is a junction with the Lower Alamo Trail, one of the "interior" trails that heads east along the mesa top.

From Frijolito, you can turn around to make a short day of it, or continue west (up-canyon) to the junction with the Long Trail, where you have several options: return to your car via the Long Trail, continue up-canyon on the Frijoles Rim Trail, or head for Stone Lions, as described here. The Stone Lions route is the left hand trail at this junction. It leads past Corral Hill, with some more "modern" artifacts dating to the 1930s, and minor Lummis Canyon en route to Alamo Canyon, one of the monument's major canyons and one that frequently has running water. Many day hikers turn around here; the view from the canyon rim is superb, and it's about a 6-mile round trip that feels about right for a day outing. Campsites in Alamo Canyon may be available to the backpacker, but a combination of forest-fire damage and greater sensitivity to environmental stresses makes it unlikely; check at the visitor center when you get your permit.

Beyond Alamo Canyon (with a real grunt of a climb out on the south side), the trail heads across the mesa top to Yapashi Ruin, another archaeological site of considerable interest. From here it's a short distance to Stone Lions Shrine and your turnaround point if you're day-hiking. Stone Lions consists of a pair of boulders that have been worked into crude shapes resembling resting mountain lions (if you use some imagination), and remains the site of some religious observances by local peoples. Please be respectful and don't disturb any artifacts (including recent ones) that you find here.

The trail does continue beyond the Stone Lions, to join up with the network of trails coming down from the west side of the monument; possibilities beyond here will be described in the "Interior trails" section. If day hiking, return the way you came, with possibly the Long Trail variant when you reach the rim of Frijoles Canyon. This is about a 13-mile hike total, with enough up and down to give you a solid sense of satisfaction (and sore muscles) when you make it back to your car.

Long Trail

This trail starts from the same junction as the previous one, but instead of switchbacking up the canyon wall, follows a longer, gentler, direct route to the mesa top, hence its name. Good views of the main ruins in Frijoles Canyon are available as you climb the wall. Shortly after reaching the mesa top, it joins the Stone Lions Trail; you can either head back down that way past Frijolito if you're just out for a short jaunt, or continue on one of the deep backcountry penetrations described in the previous section. There is a bit of exposure in some places. Note that if you're heading specifically for Stone Lions and other points in the deep backcountry, and don't care about seeing Frijolito, going in this way saves a bit of time and distance compared to the Frijolito trail.

Trailheads near St. Peters Dome

Trailheads on State Road 4

These trails have trailheads along NM 4, which flanks the monument on the east. See also Bandelier XC ski trails, describing a pair of loop trails at the high northeast end of the monument that are specifically set up for Nordic skiing but can be hiked during warm weather.

Burnt Mesa Trail

This easy mesa-top trail starts at a parking lot about 3.5 miles north of the turnoff from NM 4 to the Visitor Center, just beyond a sign for "Technical Area 49," one of the sites at adjacent Los Alamos National Laboratory (closed to the public). Just park and follow the obvious trail northwest, ending at a sudden dropoff with good views down into the canyon about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. Return the way you came.

This is a very nice spring and fall hike, with great views of the mountains, some wildflowers (remember, this is dry country and it won't look like a flower garden), and occasional wildlife encounters. As there's little shade along the trail, it's uncomfortably hot in the summer, and by mid-July the thunderstorm season will be starting, which will "encourage" you to be off the trail before noon, as there's nowhere to seek shelter from lightning.

Ski trails

These are a pair of loop trails in the high northern corner of the monument, primarily intended for nordic (cross-country) skiing, but hikeable after the snow melts off. See separate article for details.

"Interior" trails

Trails in this section don't have trailheads accessible by car, but rather traverse the interior of the monument, connecting various of the trails that do have trailheads with road access.

Canada-Capulin Trail

Despite being classified as an interior trail, Canada-Capulin has an unconventional roadhead. This trail represents a southern approach to the interior trails of Bandelier. To reach the trailhead from the south, begin at the Pueblo de Cochiti Golf Course. About 1 mile to the northwest leave the pavement and turn right (north) on the road to St. Peter's Dome. Approx. 3.5 miles north and west, just before some significant switchbacks in the road, there is a parking area for the trail.

The trail itself winds northeast where it passes through an abandoned open-pit pumice mine just before reaching the rim of Sanchez Canyon. A gentle descent angling to the northwest takes you 1 mile to the stream in the bottom of the canyon (water usually present except in dry months).

After following the stream a short bit, the trail ascends the northeast side of Sanchez Canyon angling more or less eastward until it reaches the rim at 6750' elev. The trail to St. Peter's Dome joins Canada-Capulin here. It heads uphill to the north at this point.

Continuing to wind more or less northeast, our trail reaches Turkey Spring in about 1 mile. Those with excellent cross-country navigation skills can bushwack the mile downhill to San Miguel Ruin from the springs or from the top of the next ridge. It is possible to pick up the trail down to the Painted Cave at that point.

After Turkey Spring, water can only occasionally be found in the deeper side canyons, but generally this stretch is dry. Be on the lookout for petroglyphs on the cliffs beside the trail.

After 3 miles and a bit, the trail intersects the Boundary Peak trail coming in from the northwest. It is a hefty climb 2.5 miles past the side of Boundary Peak to the roadhead on the north side of St. Peter's Dome.

A steep half mile descent takes you to the rangers' cabin in Capulin Canyon. A third of a mile downstream is the trail to the Stone Lions or to the upper Alamo crossing. Heading upstream from the cabin, one can reach another trail switchbacking steeply to the north and then heading across the mesa to upper Alamo crossing. Sticking to the canyon, which tends west, one eventually leaves the Monument and reaches Los Utes Spring and the network of logging roads west of Rabbit Hill.

Lower Alamo Trail

Frijoles Rim (Upper Frijoles) Trail

This trail parallels Upper Frijoles Canyon Trail, but is atop the mesa rather than in the canyon bottom, between the Long Trail and a canyon-crossing trail starting at Ponderosa Campground. It is one of the more interesting trails in the park from the standpoint of geological scenery, as it not only gives interesting views into Frijoles Canyon, but also approaches a major scarp at the higher end of the canyon that creates hilly terrain not encountered at the lower elevations. From the Long Trail junction to the canyon bottom at the high northwestern end of the trail is about a 5.5-mile hike one way.

West Alamo Rim Trail

Other

From just upstream (north) of the Painted Cave in Capulin Canyon one can head northwest up a significant side canyon. A dim trail eventually ascends the left (southwest) canyon wall to gain the mesa top. If followed diligently, this faint trail leads to San Miguel Ruin, an unexcavated site fairly high up the mesa. Don't attempt without topo maps, compass or GPS, and good cross-country navigation skills.

Trail Resources

Helpful Hints

In general, you should carry all the water you'll need, as water sources in the backcountry are few and far between. Alamo, Capulin, and maybe Lummis Canyons might have water flowing in them, but you can't count on it, particularly late in the year. All water in the monument should be purified before use.

These are good three-season hikes, generally available from March until November or so, although they can be uncomfortably hot during the summer. The mesa tops are sparsely wooded (and in many areas entirely devoid of large trees, due to several major forest fires in the 20th century), so you can't count on shade to help cool you off. On the other hand, there is negligible brush or undergrowth along the trails, so it's feasible to hike in shorts. Because of the high elevation and thin air, temperatures drop rapidly when the sun goes down; if you're backpacking, have clothing and sleeping bag appropriate for temperatures as much as 40 degrees below those of midday.

Before planning an outing in May, June or early July, it's wise to check with the monument (505-672-3861) to confirm that the backcountry is open. Forest-fire hazard usually peaks during these months, and backcountry trails may be restricted as regards campfires, limited to day use, or sometimes closed entirely. The closures may persist for several weeks, even into the beginning of the "monsoon" season that usually starts in early to mid-July. Please honor the closures. Several of the disastrous forest fires of recent years have started through carelessness with fire.

If hiking in July or August, be prepared for sudden, intense, but short-lived thunderstorms that may start any time after noon. The good news is that from the mesa tops, you can see thunderclouds building a long way away; the bad news is that while you're on the mesas, shelter from the storm can be hard to find, and Jemez Mountains thunderstorms are notably rich in electrical activity with cloud-to-ground strikes common. If day hiking, get an early start, which is desirable anyway as the lighting in the morning is great for photography. The major canyons are all wide enough to pose less flash-flood hazard than in Utah canyon country, and you'll generally be better off in the canyon bottoms if caught in a thunderstorm than on top. Be a bit cautious, however, about being in upper Frijoles Canyon if there are big storms about, as there are narrow spots.

Winter hiking on these trails varies from year to year. In many years the trails will remain snowpacked (at least on the southern canyon walls) from December to February, becoming disagreeably muddy for a month or so thereafter. However, in drought years (which have been the norm recently, the wet winter of 2006-7 notwithstanding), the trails may be hikable through the winter.

Activities Allowed

These are hiking trails; no mountain bikes or other wheeled vehicles are allowed. Pack animals are allowed on some, but not all, trails, and require a permit issued at the visitor center.

Overnight stays in the backcountry via backpacking or horsepacking are allowed in most areas (get permit at visitor center), although Frijoles Canyon, areas near major archaeological sites, and usually most of Alamo Canyon are closed to camping. Camping in Capulin Canyon is restricted to specified sites on a reservation basis. Cross-country sites and sites in/near the minor canyons are generally easy to get; inquire when you get your permit. Plan on carrying lots of water; it's intermittent at best in the backcountry, and for much of the year, you may not find any running water at all when you get out of Frijoles Canyon. (Exception for the Rio Grande, of course, but it's not close to most of the trails, and the brown, smelly, Giardia-contaminated stuff that accumulates behind Cochiti Dam downstream of the monument barely qualifies as "water" in some people's view!) Any surface water that you do encounter should be purified before drinking.

External Links

The indispensable hiker's aid for Bandelier is the guidebook A Guide to Bandelier National Monument, Dorothy Hoard, ISBN 0941232042. The author, a well-known naturalist who founded the "Friends of Bandelier" auxiliary group, issues frequent revisions, so the ISBN given here may be obsolete by the time you arrive. Look for it at the visitor center. Thoughtfully laid out and well written, with abundant information on the flora, fauna and culture of the monument; it's also sized to fit comfortably into your pack.