I’m hiking through the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, less than an hour from Santa Fe. I’m in the 62nd year on this glorious planet of ours and this is somehow my first hike in a slot canyon.

Above me are swooping, surging, curving walls that bend and bulge in wild patterns of pale sand and dusty orange. There’s a tiny sliver of robin’s-egg-blue sky slipping through an overhead crack in the canyon walls.

The Slot Canyon trail is a one-way trail covering 1.5 miles (2.4 km) through a slot canyon and up a climb of 630 feet (190 m) to a lookout point where the tent rocks may be viewed from above. The Cave Loop trail is approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) and leads past the base of the cliffs, near some of the tent rocks and a small cavate similar to.

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If the steep ascent and dizzying heights of the Canyon Trail cause your courage to waver like the Cowardly Lion, fear not. The Cave Loop Trail (1.2 miles long) will still provide you with an excellent opportunity to explore Tent Rocks. From the parking lot, you follow the same trail toward the slot canyon for the first half-mile. The Slot Canyon Trail is 3 miles round trip. This is the popular trail, for good reason. It is one of the best short trails in New Mexico. Shortly after branching off the Cave Loop, it follows a wash that narrows quickly into a impressive slot canyon through the tuff.

I step through a narrow gap in the rock and stroll into a wider opening with sweet-smelling evergreens and tiny plants clinging to life in the harsh desert climate. Suddenly a small monarch butterfly slides past my ear. I look up as it dances on the wind and spot a pair of hawks riding invisible thermals high overhead.

I stop and take stock of my surroundings for a minute. I listen to the quiet tune the wind is playing as it slices through the pale canyon walls and jot down some thoughts on my notepad.

Located on the Indian reservation of Cochiti Pueblo, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is about a 50-minute drive west from the city of Santa Fe and an hour northeast of Albuquerque. We arrived by 9 a.m., feeling lucky for a cloudy day, and started on the slightly longer of the two hikes—the Tent Rocks Canyon Trail, a total of 3 miles. Slot Canyon Trail, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Walk among rock hoodoos that look like tipi tents! Amid the unusual rock formations, you’ll likely imagine yourself in another world. The Slot Canyon Trail is a 3-mile/4.8-kilometer roundtrip hike into a narrow canyon shaped by geologic processes seldom seen on this lovely planet.

Glorious.

You start off a visit to Kasha-Katuwe with a relatively easy hike up a path that follows a slight incline past desert shrubs and cactus. After just a few minutes you’re at the edge of the slot canyon, which practically calls your name and sends an official, embossed invitation, so strong is the lure to explore once you reach the opening.

You’ll pass gorgeous canyon walls and peer up at large “tent rocks” that look like the ones you see in photos of Cappadocia, Turkey. To me, some of them look like the chimney vents in the buildings designed by artist Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona.

Most of the path is reasonably wide but on a couple of occasions you have to step in a ribbon that’s perhaps a few inches wide and have only a little bit of elbow room. It’s no trouble for me, but a Chicago Bears’ defensive lineman might find it a tight fit here and there.

After maybe a half hour you have to scramble up a bit of a slope and then some steps in the rock face someone has kindly created. They say there’s a magical view from a lookout high on the bluffs, but I wasn’t wearing the proper shoes and couldn’t make the last five or ten minutes of the hike. Still, I was inordinately happy sitting in the warm April sun. checking out the canyon walls and tent rocks that have been bleached by endless eons of merciless sun and unceasing winds.

If you go, I strongly suggest bringing LOTS of water (especially if it’s warm), sunscreen, layers of clothing and a walking stick. Also, don’t be a goof like me and show up in sandals. Even the sturdy ones I had were no match for the scrabbly, loose rock on the hills at the end of the hike. Bring good, unworn hiking shoes if you plan to take this hike. And you should.

The Puye Cliff Dwellings are another wonderful spot near Santa Fe. I grabbed a tour with a local native American woman who explained the history of the area and talked about the lifestyle of the inhabitants.

Puye, she explains, means “where the rabbits gather” in her native tongue. The area used to be covered with jackrabbits and cottontails. It’s also close to a good stream, which is an important reason that natives settled in the region.

It’s believed that folks began living here around 900 AD. Most inhabitants left around 1500 or 1600 due to drought, and probably the presence of the Spanish.

We learn that there are 19 native nations within the state of New Mexico, including hers. Her people speak a language called Tewa and live in what is called the Santa Clara Pueblo.

We examine the ruins of clifftop dwellings and also clamber into a hollowed-out chamber below the surface, where folks could stay warm in winter and cool in summer and where male elders would gather to discuss important issues.

Our guide shows us broken pieces of pottery that litter the clifftop.

“When my people left here they broke the potter into shards to return the clay to mother earth. My mother does the same thing when a piece of pottery she’s making doesn’t come out right. Then she uses the pieces in her next pots to continue the cycle.”

If you clamber down some stairs carved into the rock you can find the cliff dwellings, small rooms carved out of the living rock. I spot telltale signs of smoke and fire on the walls and admire the views of distant mountains and rolling plains and try to imagine what life was like here 500 years ago.

I climb back in my car for the drive back to Albuquerque, stopping often to admire towering formations of stone and exposed slashes of bright orange rock. I can feel the history all around me; the sun and the wind and the pockmarked, ageless stone.

Slot Canyons Near Albuquerque

This is a place I won’t soon forget.

IF YOU GO

Albuquerque is about an hour’s drive from Kasha-Katuwe and roughly 90 minutes from Puye Cliffs. The Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown is a great spot near shops, restaurants and movie theaters, with a super-friendly staff and a great top-floor lounge. A little closer to both Kasha-Katuwe and Puye Cliffs is the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North, a large hotel with a beautiful atrium lobby and modern rooms with all the amenities you need.

Photos

Quicklinks

Fees

• Monument Fee Booth - 505-331-6259
• Private Vehicles - $5
• Groups:
  Up to 25 individuals - $25
  25-100 individuals - $100
• Schools:
  No fee. Day-use permit required from BLM.
  Educational Permit Request Form
• Commercial Tours, Non-Profit Organizations, Commercial Filming, and Commercial Photography:
  Specials-use permit required from BLM. Please contact Rio Puerco Field Office at 505-761-8700.

Season/Hours

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks has changed its hours of operation.
The Monument gates will be open 8am to 4pm, and the Monument will fully close at 5pm.

Hours of Operation
Entry into the Monument between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Closing procedures begin at 3:30 p.m. to clear the Monument by 5:00 p.m.

Visitors must be out of the fee booth gated area by closing time.

During the summer months, the Monument experiences increased visitation. Please be aware that visitors may experience entrance delays starting at 9am due to increased visitation and lack of available parking. Wait times may range from 30 to 90 minutes. As parking is made available, new visitors will be allowed entry.

Notice

To allow for Pueblo de Cochiti cultural observances and routine BLM maintenance, the Monument will be closed on:

New Year’s Day (January 1)
January 6
Friday before Easter
Saturday before Easter
Easter Sunday
Monday after Easter Sunday
May 3
July 13
July 14
July 25
November 1
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
New Year’s Eve

Accessibility

There are ADA compliant rest rooms, picnic facilities, kiosks and parking.

The Cave Loop Trail is 1.2 miles long and is rated as easy. While the trail is gravel/sand there are a few sections that are accessible to wheelchairs.

At the Veterans' Memorial Overlook you will find ADA-accessible picnic areas, rest rooms, trails and facilities.

Trail Information

The national monument includes a national recreational trail. It is for foot travel only, and contains two segments that provide opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, geologic observation and plant identification. Both segments of the trail begin at the designated monument parking area.

The Cave Loop Trail is 1.2 miles long, rated as easy. The more difficult Canyon Trail is a 1.5-mile, one-way trek into a narrow canyon with a steep (630-ft) climb to the mesa top for excellent views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia mountains and the Rio Grande Valley. Both trails are maintained; however, during inclement weather the canyon may flash flood and lightning may strike the ridges.

The Veterans Memorial Trail is a 1-mile long loop trail, rated as very easy and is wheel chair accessible. The Veterans Memorial is located at the end of a 3 mile long gravel surfaced road overlooking picturesque Peralta Canyon and Jemez Mountain peaks. Picnic tables, shelters and toilets are available at both sites.

Prohibitions and Restrictions

The Monument is closed to dogs, excluding service animals.

Day Use Only

No open fires, shooting, alcoholic beverages, glass containers or climbing on the 'tent rocks.'

Do not trespass on tribal, private, or state land.

Access to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks may be closed by order of the Cochiti Tribal Governor. Closures will be posted at the gate.

No motorized vehicles or mountain bikes are allowed.

Protect live trees and shrubs. You may not cut green trees or firewood without a permit.

No collecting of plants, rocks, obsidian 'apache tears,' or wildlife.

Slot Canyon Albuquerque Hotel

Please stay on designated roads and trails.

Geocaching is prohibited.

Please, do not feed the wildlife

Hunting and recreational shooting is not allowed in the Monument.

Brochures, Maps, and Publications

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