Exploring nine New Mexico national monuments this fall
New Mexico has nine national monuments scattered across the state, offering outdoor sights ranging from ancestral Pueblo ruins and petroglyphs to volcanic craters and lava flows. Fall’s milder temperatures make the sites a draw for visitors looking to explore the Land of Enchantment.
The monuments and their details:
Aztec Ruins is an ancestral Pueblo site in northwestern New Mexico, about 12 miles northeast of Farmington. The settlement, built by ancestral Puebloans, includes large public buildings, smaller structures, earthworks and ceremonial buildings, and dates to the late 1000s to 1200s.
It is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with free entry. The visitor center operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a museum and 15-minute film. The address is 725 Ruins Road, Aztec, NM 87410.
Bandelier covers over 33,000 acres of canyon and mesa country with petroglyphs and ancestral Puebloan homes near Los Alamos. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 15, 1966.
Hours run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with entry from $15 to $25 for a standard pass. Cash is not accepted. The visitor center, in Frijoles Canyon, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The address is 15 Entrance Rd, Los Alamos, NM 87544.
Capulin Volcano offers views of four states from the volcanic rim and dark night skies in northeast New Mexico. The monument encompasses about 800 acres at an elevation of 8,182 feet.
Volcano Road is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Standard passes range from $10 to $20, cash not accepted. The visitor center is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The address is 46 Volcano Highway, Capulin, NM 88414.
El Malpais, known as the “Land of Frozen Fire,” features young lava flows, cinder cones, lava tubes and sandstone bluffs. The monument, which became a national monument in 1987, holds the second largest volcanic field in its province.
The monument is open 24/7 with free entry. The visitor center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The address is 1900 E Santa Fe Ave, Grants, NM 87020.
El Morro preserves a prehistoric pueblo atop sandstone, with a pool of water at the base. The 1,278-acre site served as a resting place for travelers, whose names, dates and poems are inscribed on the walls.
Hours vary by season and entry is free. The address is NM-53, Ramah, NM 87321.
Fort Union preserves the remains of three forts built starting in the 1850s in the Mora Valley near Watrous. The 720-acre site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 15, 1966.
Hours run daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free entry. The visitor center is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offers oversized parking for campers. The address is 3115 NM-161, Watrous, NM 87753.
Gila Cliff Dwellings features caves above Cliff Dweller Creek used as temporary shelters for thousands of years. In the late 1200s, people of Southern Ancestral Pueblo made it home, building rooms and raising children for a couple generations before moving by about 1300.
Hours run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free entry. The visitor center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The address is 26 Jim Bradford Trail, Mimbres, NM 88049.
Petroglyphs is one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, with designs and symbols carved into volcanic rock across 7,236 acres along Albuquerque’s West Mesa. Established in 1990, it is a partnership between the National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division.
Hours run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with free entry. The visitor center is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The address is Western Trail NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120.
Salinas Pueblo Missions encompasses three distinct sites showing Spanish and Pueblo peoples’ early encounters. The 1,076-acre site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 15, 1966.
Hours vary by season and entry is free. The address is 105 S Ripley Ave, Mountainair, NM.
