Petroglyph National Monument

Duration: 2-3 hours

For the next stop on National Park Trip Season 3: Spring Break edition we traveled north to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Petroglyph National Monument is located just off to the west of Albuquerque, directly north of I40.

We headed straight to the Visitor Center to pick up our Junior Ranger booklets and find a great trail to discover Petroglyphs.  We watched the short film, picked up some goodies in the gift shop, talked with the rangers and headed out to Boca Negra Canyon.

There are actually 4 hiking spots at the Monument:

Boca Negra Canyon: 3 short trails, restrooms, picnic area, water and ~100 petroglyphs

Rinconada Canyon: 2.2 mile trail, no water, no restrooms and ~300 petroglyphs

Piedras Marcadas Canyon: 1.5 mil loop, no water, no restrooms and ~ 300 images

Volcanoes: 1-4 miles of hiking, no water, restrooms, and no petroglyphs

Boca Negra Canyon was just less than a mile up the road from the Visitor Center.  The city charges you parking ($1 on weekdays, $2 on the weekends).  We found a place to park, filled up on water and headed out on what was a sunny, warm and beautiful day.  Luckily we have had plenty of those on this trip.

It doesn’t take long before you discover the petroglyphs.  The kids and I had a great time finding them and guessing what they were and what they could possibly mean to the people that left them.

We hiked all three trails: Cliff base trail, Macaw Trail and our favorite, Mesa Point Trail.

The top of Mesa Point Trail gives you this stunning view.

We spent a little over an hour out at Boca Negra before sitting down at a picnic table and finishing up the Junior Ranger booklets. We headed back to the Visitor Center just before closing time to do our pledge and earn those badges and patches.

Boys are pretty proud of them 🤓 This was a really fun Junior Ranger program to do.

We got another cancellation (stamp) for the Passport book ❤️❤️

Petroglyph National Monument “rocked”. Whats not to “lava” about it? 🤪 Have you been there?