Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: May 2024
Petroglyph National Monument is located on the west side of Albuquerque. It protects one of the largest collections of petroglyphs in North America. These rock carvings have been etched onto the volcanic rocks, mainly by the ancestral Pueblo people, hundreds of years ago. There are four sections within the park, but only three contain trail systems to view some of the petroglyphs.
After spending the past couple of days in Santa Fe, it was time for us to move on. On the drive to Grants we stopped at Petroglyph for the day. We started at the Information Center, which doesn’t have much in terms of exhibits or facilities. Nevertheless, we grabbed a map of the park and headed to the Rinconada Canyon section.
From the parking lot we found the trailhead for the Rinconada Canyon Trail (3.5km loop, rated moderate. The path is sandy and follows the northern volcanic escarpment of the canyon. There are reputed to be up to 300 petroglyphs along this section of the trail. The path contains a few information panels along the way that provide more information about the history of the petroglyphs and to help signal where some of them are located. They also denote how much distance has been covered.
Archaeologists have estimated that there may be up to 25,000 petroglyphs. Most of them were made 400 to 700 years ago by the ancestral Pueblo people with some dating as far back as 3,000 years ago. They were made from stone tools which were used to remove the desert varnish from the volcanic rocks, exposing the lighter colour of the basalt’s interior. It is thought that they were created based on cultural and spiritual beliefs, as well as for communication.
The petroglyphs are reputed to be best viewed in the morning and just before sunset. Factors such as the angle of the sunlight, moisture on the rocks, time of day and whether it’s sunny or cloudy can influence whether a petroglyph is visible. We hiked this trail mid-morning on a hot (28°C) and sunny day and thankfully were able to see quite a few petroglyphs from the trail. They were a little hard to spot at first and some were in way better condition than others.
The back of the canyon contains the largest concentration of petroglyphs. After trying to spot as many as we could, we moved on to complete the rest of the loop. While there were no more petroglyphs visible from this part of the trail, we got a closer look at some of the desert shrubbery. Some of the cacti were just starting to bloom.
Once we returned to the parking lot, we decided to eat our lunch underneath the sheltered picnic area. While there weren’t any picnic tables, there were a few benches. We didn’t mind much as all we cared about was the shade. We had brought a picnic blanket with us and put baby M on it to do some tummy time.
We then headed to the Boca Negra Canyon section, the only fully developed section of the park complete with restrooms (with flush toilets) and a water fountain. There are three short trails that are partly paved. About 100 petroglyphs are reputed to be visible from the trails. We started with the Macaw Trail. It’s a super short trail that provides a close-up of a few petroglyphs that are in really good condition.
Next up was the Cliff Base Trail, another super short trail that passes several clearly visible petroglyphs. We didn’t have to work hard to spot them.
Last but not least was the Mesa Point Trail, the longest of the three trails. We only made it a few hundred metres before turning around. It was way too windy and the baby was having none of it. Part of the trail was partially closed anyway.
There are two more sections in the park, but it was time for us to hit the road again.
L
Petroglyphs always interest me. It’s like a treasure hunt trying to find them on trails. It’s tough on trail in the heat with no shade, I don’t blame baby M 🙂
Some of the petroglyphs were easy to spot, but others were a bit sneaky. I’m so glad we went first thing in the morning, but even then the sun was still pretty unforgiving. I ended up using an umbrella to give baby M some shade coverage which worked well. But she was having none of the wind on that one trail.
I find petroglyphs so beautiful and intriguing and I am always drawn to these parks. Some of the ones you’ve shown are a bit curious…is it sponge bob square pants and the M&M from the commercials? 😊
Oh I know! It’s too bad the meaning of many of the petroglyphs is unknown, but hey, it just means we get to use our imagination to try to figure it out. We got a good laugh from some of them. You can’t forget about the lizard eating a lollipop too!
I love these kinds of trails. We have only seen similar stone markings at Writing on Stone Provincial Park in Southern Alberta and Grotto Canyon hike near Canmore. These pictographs are not always easy to spot. Thanks for sharing and have a great Friday Linda. Allan
We have a few pictographs in Ontario as well at Bon Echo and Lake Superior Provincial Parks. It’s neat to think that even back then people had a need (and want) to try to preserve or record things for future generations. I’ll have to keep those places in mind for the next time we’re in Alberta. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Linda
What a Wonderful Visit.
Thank you for sharing and taking us along in your journey.
It was fun to try to find the petroglyphs along the trails. The sun was quite harsh though so we didn’t want to linger too long. Thanks for reading and leaving comment. Linda
Some of those petroglyphs are still in amazing condition! And there are so many in this area. Sounds like fun. Maggie
Oh I know! Some of them were very obvious and easy to spot while others required a bit more searching. And even then there were so many we missed altogether. Either way we were pretty pleased with how many we ended up finding.
Wow, incredible – it is amazing they’ve survived for so long! That round one with the arms that looks a bit like a character out of Monsters Inc looks far too modern to be hundreds of years old!! 🙂
Oh absolutely. And it’s incredible how many of them were in such great shape. We got a good laugh trying to figure out what some of them meant.
Great petroglyph photos! I love that your trip was a combo of our previous trip + the one we just got back from, so it’s been fun reading your experiences in these parks and remembering my own 😊
Thanks! It’s incredible how much history is in this area. I can’t believe we haven’t taken this road trip sooner. All I can say is that we’ll be back as there’s still so much for us to explore.
Great photos. Petroglyphs are fascinating. Very enjoyable post about this park – I visited years ago so it was fun to see it again.
Thanks for your kind words. Even though the meaning of many of the petroglyphs is lost, it was fun to use our imagination and try to guess what pieces of wisdom and stories they were leaving behind.
The desolate place , the stones that tell stories arts and the amazing flowers of the cactus plants 🌱 are all
very attractive in this place 🌷🙏👍🏻👌Traveling with baby 👶 is a wonderful experience to parents 🥰✌🏼
Thank you for sharing this incredible place and happy weekend my dear friend 🌷💕🌷
Even though we couldn’t do nearly as much with our little one, it was fun to share the experience with her. She was such a good little traveller and mostly slept while we were hiking. It was neat to explore the desert landscape and see all those petroglyphs. Thanks so much for reading and leaving a comment.
Wonderful photos of the petroglyphs. The one where a lizard-like creature seems to be eating a lollipop is really interesting. And, of course the Monster Inc one, to quote Hannah, is quite fascinating. Looks like a great place for a few quick trails and some ancient art spotting. Glad to hear that baby M is enjoying her explorations, as long as the conditions are not too windy of course. Hope you are having a lovely weekend!
Thanks for your lovely comment. It certainly does look like that lizard is eating a lollipop! We got a good laugh trying to figure out what some of them meant. It seems like they had quite an active imagination! The sun was quite harsh, but I ended up using an umbrella for some shade coverage for myself and the little one. It didn’t quite work so well in the wind though! I hope you had a wonderful weekend too. It’s been an absolute scorcher here so we’ve been spending a lot of time in and by the water.
I love petroglyphs. This looks like a great park to view them. Baby is seeing some amazing scenery. xo
The best way to view the petroglyphs is by hiking. It’s nice that there’s a variety of trails ranging in length and difficulty so there’s plenty of options depending on how long you want to spend in the sun …or until baby M had had enough in our case!
We saw some petroglyphs in Capitol Reef NP; but just a handful compared to what you saw here. They’re so interesting! The big round one looks like an alien, or a cartoon character; maybe it was drawn by a child? I wish we knew!
We totally missed the petroglyphs when we visited Capitol Reef last winter. Bummer! We stumbled upon some secret ones at Arches as we were hiking through the Devils Garden though which was pretty cool. It’s fun to try to guess the meaning of some of them. Seems like they have an active imagination!
wow, what an incredible collection of petroglyphs! That must have been a really fun job to have gone through and counted all 25,000 of them. I can only imagine the nicknames they would receive and the made up stories to go with them in that project 🙂 Fantastic pictures from around the park!
Oh I know! It’s impressive how there’s such a high concentration of petroglyphs here and that many of them are quite visible and in good shape. It’s too bad the meaning of them is lost, but we can still use our imagination to try guess the stories behind them.
Whoever engraved those petroglyphs must have really wanted to make a good impression.
It’s kind of neat that even then there was a need to want to leave your mark behind, whether some wisdom, stories or records. Some things never change with us humans.
Lovely pics
Thanks for your kind words and for leaving a comment. Even though it was hot, I’m glad we had lots of sunshine which made it easier to spot the petroglyphs. It’s impressive how so many of them are in such good shape still.
Thank you for sharing the details and photos from your hike. I’ve been to Albuquerque but only the city. Sure looks a lot like places I’ve hike in AZ. Not too surprising. Love the blooming cacti!
Thanks for your lovely comment. We pretty much just drove through Albuquerque to get to this spot. It’s too bad we didn’t have more time otherwise it would have been nice to see more of the city. We’ve been to the desert a few times, but this was our first time visiting in the spring. It was really nice to see some cacti in bloom.
More time is always a treasure, yes. The blooming cacti are jewels of the desert! 🌸
That they are. We saw a few more cacti in bloom when we were in Bandelier National Monument as well, but this was the prettiest.
It’s interesting to see how ancient civilisations saw the world around them.
Oh I know. While the meaning of the petroglyphs has been lost, they are a great reminder that the ancestral Pueblo people once travelled in this area. It’s amazing that there are so many of them.
Such an interesting place! These petroglyphs are really clear too! Thanks for sharing!
It became a bit of a scavenger hunt to try to find them along the trails. I’m glad there were multiple sets of eyes that were on the look-out and some helpful signs to point us in the right direction too. Thanks for reading. Linda
Looks like interesting experience.
Thank’s for comment Linda it’s a pleasure visit your blog.
Have a wonderful week.
Keep well. Elvira
You are too kind. It’s always fun to explore a new trail and learn more about the history of the area. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Thank’s for share Linda.
Agree with you,learn more about the historia of that place. Have a wonderful Sunday evening and week.
It’s always nice to sneak in a bit of history while we’re hiking! Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
That’s sounds great, keep enjoying your hikings. Thank’s hope yours as well a wonderful weekend.
Thanks! We’re looking forward to spending more time outside this weekend. Enjoy the rest of the day.
Wonderful place, very interesting. Thank’s for share Linda.
Have a lovely and relaxing weekend.
Keep well.
Elvira
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. It was a lovely adventure to explore the desert and try to find as many petroglyphs as we could. Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well. Cheers. Linda
This is one I have not heard of! Great petroglyphs! Looks like a fun place to explore! lori
It’s impressive how many petroglyphs there are in this area and it was fun to try to find as many as we could. I was surprised that some of them were in such good shape and were very visible from the trail.
These sites are right up my alley! It’s nice that it was sunny when you visited the petroglyphs, making them easier to spot, at least on photos. I also love how the cactus flowers bring a pop of color to the landscape.
The sun was quite bright and there really wasn’t any shade on the trails, but the conditions were perfect for spotting the petroglyphs. We made sure to carry a lot of water with us and an umbrella for the little one. It was a huge bonus to see some of the cacti start to bloom. They looked so pretty.
I adore petroglyphs- it reminds me that we’ve always been the same as we are now. It’s so cool that these ancient artworks are still appreciated by us today!
Totally! Even though the meaning of many of the petroglyphs has been lost, it’s still fascinating to try to guess what stories and records they were leaving behind. And it’s incredible how many of them are still in great shape despite being exposed to the elements.
I love the ones that are just hand prints in particular! They get me a little teary eyed every time.
Oh I know. There’s always something special about hands in particular.
Wow! 25,000 petroglyphs! That’s amazing! What a treasure and one that I have never heard of. Thanks for sharing!
This must have been a special spot for the ancestral Pueblo people given how many petroglyphs there are in the area. It’s amazing how many of them are still in great shape and were easily visible from some of the trails. Thanks for reading. Linda
It does make you wonder what it was about this place that made it so important.
I did a bit more research as I was curious as to why this spot has so many petroglyphs even though the ancestral Puebloans didn’t live here. They travelled here because of the volcanoes, which were considered sacred and provided a connection to the earth.
Oh. That makes sense! Very cool!
What very neat places to visit! When I think of Albuquerque, I think of Breaking Bad and Walter White and wonder if you saw any trailers parked suspiciously during your hikes!
How cool for baby M to have visited this spot and how hot and sweltering it must’ve been. She’s gonna be an all seasons girl for sure! 💪
Ha! We didn’t see any sketchy trailers, but then again we were visiting a national monument. That sun was brutal and there was zero shade coverage on the trails. I used an umbrella to try to keep the sun off M (and myself). Thankfully it was a dry heat and that it wasn’t very humid … unlike the weather here.
This place is very interesting.
Oh I know. It’s incredible how there’s so many petroglyphs in this one area. It was fun to try to find them along the trail.
I found it cool how many of the drawings looked like emojies! I was surprised that they were only 400 to 700 years old. I would have thought them much older. What a fascinating walk that was. Too bad about the wind issue. She’s a little trooper for sure!
I must say, we had a lot of fun trying to guess what some of the petroglyphs were. Some of them certainly do look like interesting emojis. We were ready to call it quits anyway as the sun was quite harsh. While it would have been nice to complete the last trail, we were quite pleased with how many petroglyphs we already saw. We might as well end on a high note (and before the baby gets too fussy)!
Can you imagine being there in the summer? How intense it must have been to live there. I wonder if they were nomadic like the Cree and Dene.
Oh gosh! That’s one of the main reasons we visited later in the spring. We would have gone even earlier in the year but since we also planned to drive through Colorado, we were a bit worried about the snow. The timing actually worked out quite well.
Fascinating.
For sure. It’s amazing how many stories and memories have been left behind in this area and that many of the petroglyphs are still in such great condition.
What a fascinating hike! The petroglyphs are incredible. The flowering cactii are very pretty, too.
For sure. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we ended up seeing quite a few of the petroglyphs. The cacti in bloom was also another nice surprise.
We have hundreds of them in the U.K.. mostly different to yours, our are mainly the ‘cup & ring’ type but many have elaborate patterns. They are approx 5-7000 years old and their meaning is lost in time.
How fascinating. We have some petroglyphs and pictographs in Canada too, but they aren’t nearly as old.
Great stuff. We didn’t get to that park. We went to another park which is now closed off to public. Just hope no vandalism in petroglyphs areas.
Which park was that? Good thing you went if it’s now closed to the public. The petroglyphs were pretty well-kept and thankfully we didn’t see any obvious signs of vandalism.
Honestly petroglyphs by themselves are not enough to usually catch my travel interest even though the ones you saw were interesting designs. So what do you think you learned about the Pueblo Indians from them?
We were passing through Albuquerque anyway and this seemed like an interesting spot to stretch our legs. We visited a few of the ruins and cliff dwellings by the ancestral Pubelo people and the petroglyphs here provided more insights about their culture. They believed that they came from the underworld. They travelled to this area for spiritual reasons because of the volcanoes and how it provided a connection to the earth. While the meaning of many of the petroglyphs is unknown, it was fun to use our imagination and try to guess what stories they were leaving behind for future generations.
What an interesting post about a fascinating place.
Thanks for your kind words. The petroglyphs are pretty neat. It’s incredible how there’s so many of them in this area and that some of them are so well-kept.
Seeing the stones that once served as notepads to the ancestors long passed, carrying thousands of messages in the form of design, symbols and animal depiction is truly fascinating, Linda 🙂 It’s a great place to visit if you wish to understand a bit more about the history and cultures of New Mexico. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
For sure. It is pretty neat how us humans have such a strong desire to record things and leave our stories and memories behind for future generations. While the meaning of these petroglyphs have been lost, it’s remarkable how they’ve stood the test of time. It makes me wonder what we’ll be remembered by. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. Cheers. Linda
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When I think how easy it is these days to just pick up a pen (or type on your keyboard from your computer), I have renewed admiration for people who had to carve something out on a rock for hours! It’s great when the petroglyphs are still visible after all these centuries – it’s actually amazing! I also like the colorful cacti just as much.
No kidding! I wonder how long it would have taken to carve out one of these designs in the volcanic rocks. Given the amount of effort, I’m sure the messages and stories would have been important and carefully considered. It’s too bad their meaning has been lost. We had a lot of fun trying to guess what they meant though.
So cool! We just went to Writing on Stone in Alberta recently. Would love to see this one!
We haven’t been to that provincial park yet. I just looked it up. It sounds interesting. We’ll have to add it to the list for the next time we’re in Alberta. I find place like this so fascinating.
I’ve heard of this park and hope to visit sometime, maybe next year, when I’m down around Albuquerque.
It’s really close to the city so it’s pretty easy to get to. It’s incredible how many petroglyphs there are in this one area. There’s a range of trails so you could spend a little bit of time there or the whole day.
The petroglyphs are amazing. I hope to make it there one day to see them.
It was neat to see so many petroglyphs. It’s too bad their meaning has been most over time, but it was fun to try to guess what messages and stories they were leaving behind for future generations. Hopefully you’re able to visit someday. The history and ruins of the ancestral Pueblo people are so fascinating.
I would strongly recommend a ride north & east (6.5 miles) to Piedras Marcadas Canyon next time you’re here visiting ABQ. It has the greatest number of images visible from the trail. And it’s open from sunup-sundown so you can visit early or later in the day.
The most perfect viewing conditions are when we have a cloud cover- the images are easier to see, really!
Thanks so much for putting Piedras Marcadas Canyon on our radar. I find petroglyphs so fascinating. We’ll keep this in mind for the next time we’re in the area. We’d love to return to New Mexico at some point as there’s still so much left for us to explore. Cheers. Linda
This is so neat!!!! I have never heard of petroglyphs. It’s amazing that they still held up after 400/years. It’s nice that these places preserve them
It’s pretty incredible how there are so many petroglyphs in this one area. Some of them were hard to spot, but others were right next to the trail. Thankfully we didn’t see any major signs of vandalism, which was actually kind of surprising as us humans have a way of ruining things.
Honestly, though. Im glad you didn’t see too much of it, at least. I wish more people would respect history .
Oh I know! It’s terrible to see and hear about the damage some tourists have caused to historic structures. I just don’t understand the appeal or need to carve my initials or vandalize something of such historic value.
Just moved to Albuquerque can’t wait to see the petroglyphs!
How fun! It’s pretty neat how there’s such a high concentration of petroglyphs in this area. And it’s very convenient how close they are to the city. Happy exploring!
Yes most definitely! Really just a high concentration of everything, so much to do in this city! I love it.
That’s awesome! It sounds like we need to return to Albuquerque and explore it more fully!