Rinconada Canyon

Petroglyph National Monument, NM Central New Mexico + Albuquerque

Trip stats

Distance
2.2 mi
Net Gain
Minimal ft
Time
<1 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 1
Route
Loop

Ratings out of 10

Effort
0.5/10
Personality
3/10
Beauty
1/10
Solitude
0.5/10
What do these mean? →

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

35.126909, -106.724559

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Jan 12, 2016 — A nice introduction to some of the petrogoglyphs from the Pueblo people, and later from Spanish travelers, Petroglyph National Monument rests right next to the sprawling suburbs of Albuquerque. An easy loop brings you along the base of a steep slope along a wide trail with the sole purpose of viewing petroglyphs. Some of the artwork is interesting, and gets much more dense the farther on the trail you go.

In addition to the Rinconada Canyon Trail, drive three miles north (passing the visitor center) and visit Boca Negra Canyon to get some nice views of Albuquerque while slightly elevated.

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Photos

11 photos

  1. The well-traveled, not-so-scenic trail to the petroglyphs.
  2. A few little petroglyphs begin to appear about halfway down the trail.
  3. Some are pretty neat, and there didn't seem to be any graffiti, which was nice.
  4. The end of the trail before completing the loop was sort of the best spot to view some petroglyphs.
  5. They're pretty neat.
  8. Heading back to complete the loop.
  9. The start of of the Mesa Point Trail in Petroglyph National Monument (located three miles north of Rinconada Canyon).
  10. Along the short Mesa Point Trail in Petroglyph National Monument (located three miles north of Rinconada Canyon).
  11. The end of the Mesa Point Trail in Petroglyph National Monument, overlooking Albuquerque (located three miles north of Rinconada Canyon).

Photo 1 of 1

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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