Bandelier National Monument

I recently had a few short adventures in Bandelier National Monument in white Rock, NM which is next door to Los Alamos, NM. I ran the Jemez Mountain Trail 50 Miler last month and decided to visit this nearby park. Parking is limited so they require you to take a free shuttle bus at the White Rock Visitor Center. Since I was saving my legs for 11,000’ of elevation gain the next day, I decided to walk the short main loop trail to see the cliff dwellings and out to the Alcove House (2.5 miles total). 

Frijoles Canyon with the Jemez Mountains in the background

Visitor Center

Big Kiva

I started my hike at the Bandelier Visitor Center that sits adjacent to cliffs of tufa or volcanic ash. The cliffs are pocked with honeycomb like weathering known as tafoni. Some of the holes were enlarged to create cavates (pronounced CAVE-eights) by ancestral pueblo peoples who lived in the cliffs and surrounding area. This indigenous population also built structures beside the caves where they thrived for many years by hunting and growing bean, corn and squash. 

Little kids love climbing stuff.

The trail was mostly flat and would make an excellent hike with children. Parts of the trail were shaded by trees that grew along the El Rito de los Frijoles (Frijoles Creek).

Frijoles means beans in Spanish and the creek, which flows year round, was important to irrigation in an otherwise arid region. 

The trail took me to several interesting cliff dwellings with ladders that were fun to climb. The upper rooms afforded fine views of the surrounding landscape and ruins on the ground. There are petroglyphs inside some of the caves that are inaccessible to visitors, but if you look closely you can see them. I was able to zoom my camera lens inside to capture a few. 

Petroglyphs inside one of the cavates

After walking along the creek for a bit I reached the Alcove House which had many stone steps and four ladders which led hikers up 140 feet to the large room above. Other tourists were coming down when I arrived so I had to wait my turn to ascend. Another group was also waiting to go up and everyone seemed a bit nervous of the steep climb ahead. Since I was trained and rested for a 50 miler, I didn’t have much trouble climbing up to the dwelling, but the steepness of the ladders made me a little on edge. The large room was very interesting and included a reconstructed kiva, a round room that was used for religious rituals.

The small kiva inside the Alcove House

I always prefer climbing up, so I was even more nervous descending. I went down with my back to the ladder so I could see where I was placing my feet. The hike back was very pleasant; the sound of the brook and singing birds kept me company. Several foot bridges across the stream kept my feet dry and the shade was most appreciated on a hot afternoon. 

Hold on tight!

The Alcove House from the ground

The day after my race I decided to head back to Bandelier to get in a little recovery hike. This time I sauntered along the Frjoles Creek to a waterfall that was about a mile or so downstream. At one time the Falls Trail went all the way to the confluence of the Rio Grande, but flooding in 2011 and 2013 destroyed the trail. 

Frijoles Creek

NM locust flower

Sidebells penstemon

The path was a gentle downslope with high cliff walls on both sides of the gorge. Ponderosa pines towered above and blooming flowers lined the trail. I passed through stands of New Mexico locust trees teaming with pink flowers while Indian paintbrush and Sidebells penstemon flourished along the way. Eventually the dramatic gorge with high sheer walls came into view. Stratified layers of brown, tan and red were contrasted by green vegetation with the stream slicing through the middle. The silky ribbons of the upper falls plunge about 90 feet through a notch in the narrow canyon, splitting on a rock about half way down and then converging again before pooling at the bottom. In the distance, where the water was headed, I could see the Rio Grande, but the trail stopped here at the upper falls overlook. 

Indian paintbrush

Upper Falls

I took time to enjoy the view and then moseyed back the way I came. I enjoyed the solitude and appreciated the ease of the hike after running an arduous race the day before. I only hiked a few of the short trails on my visit to Bandelier, but there are longer trails that would be suitable for trail running and plenty of outdoor adventure awaits in the surrounding Jemez mountains.

See you on the trail.