Best Hikes in Northwest New Mexico
Location: The northwestern quadrant of the state bounded by New Mexico Highway 84 to the west and Interstate 40 to the south.
Featured Hikes
Distance: 3.8 - 6.0 miles (Loop)
This popular hike visits spectacular overlooks with views of Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and Kin Kletso, explores Pueblo Alto and New Alto and passes by Chacoan basins, stairways, ramps, and roads.
Penasco Blanco in Chaco Canyon 
Distance: 4.0 - 8.2 miles (Round Trip)
Leave the crowds behind on this nice walk visiting a Chacoan Great House. Along the way the trail views the rock art sites along the Petroglyph Trail and passes the “Supernova” pictograph site.
Distance: 3.8 miles (Round Trip)
This nice, short hike visits Wijiji, a late-period Chaco great house, along with an alcove with pictographs and petroglyphs.
Distance: 1.0 miles (Round Trip)
This easy hike visits Una Vida, a Chacoan “Great House” near the Visitor Center. An optional spur path climbs to view small petroglyph panels.
Distance: 3.4 - 4.9 miles (Loop)
This hike climbs to a high point on the South Mesa to visit Tsin Kletzin, a Chacoan Great House. Along the way the hike enjoys nice vistas of the surrounding country as well as the fine views of great houses located at the western end of Chaco Canyon.
View Hikes by Area:
Chaco Canyon
The Region, the Hikes & the Base Camps
Northwest New Mexico is "Indian Country." A wealth of Native American culture is yours to explore from ancestral Puebloan ruins at Chaco Canyon to the largest Indian reservation, the Navajo Nation, along with the pueblos of the Laguna, Zuni and Acoma and the Jicarilla Apache, spread across a starkly beautiful desert landscape with vast plateaus, sinuous canyons and photogenic rock formations.
Base Camp Information: Chaco Canyon