Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

National Conservation Lands – Cochiti Lakes, NM

GPS coordinates: 35 36′ 52.0″, N106, 21′ 33.2″W

If you find yourself in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, New Mexico do yourself a favor and visit the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This monument includes 5610 acres of public land located 35 miles south of Santa Fe and 52 miles north of Albuquerque.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the park in close coordination and cooperation with Pueblo de Cochiti providing access, maintenance, research and public education. The Pueblo de Cochiti considers this area a significant place.

Kasha-Katuwe means white cliffs and it is a fitting description.

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National Recreation Trail (NRT)

I arrived at the park at 1:30pm on a Sunday afternoon and decided to hike the National Recreation Trail (NRT). The NRT trail has two sections; the cave loop trail (1.2 miles) which stays on the valley floor and the Slot Canyon trail (1.0 mile) that winds through a narrow canyon into a box canyon and then ascends to a scenic overlook on top of the mesa.

This is a popular hike so Parking at the trailhead is limited. Once full, the rangers will hold you at the ranger station and apply the “one out one in” policy. This simply means you will not be permitted into the park until someone comes out. In the parking area has a few pit toilets and several picnic tables to enjoy a nice lunch. The NRT starts on the north-side of the parking area the trail is a wide with various informational signs outlining some of the significant historical and cultural aspects of the park.

Slot Canyon

In approximately a half mile the trail will split. If you go left, the trail leads to the cave and will continue to the parking area creating a 1.2 mile loop. If you continue straight you will enter a slot canyon.

The trail through the slot canyon is awesome, weaving between the white cliffs and providing spectacular views of the larger Tent Rock formations. The canyon walls are very smooth and striated and in someplace wide enough for only one person to pass at a time.

The short video below will give you a feel of what the slot canyon is like but really does not do it justice. It is one of those things you must experience in person.

The views are awesome and the unique shape and color patterns of these tent shaped rocks are mesmerizing.

With every passing minute the landscape seems to transform as the angle of sun creates new shadows and illuminates once hidden parts of the cliffs and spires. Since I was there later in the day, the sun was low on the horizon, treating me to a spectacular show of color. As a result, I took 109 photos.

Tent Rocks

Once exiting the slot canyon you enter a box canyon providing 2 options; turn around or go for a climb. I of course I chose to climb to the top of the mesa. The climb is steep climb but short with an elevation gain of about 630 feet.

From the summit the perspective of the Tent Rocks completely changed. Now instead of standing at the base look up at these gigantic features I was eye level and at some points was looking down on them. On all my hikes across the USA I had never seen such a unique feature.

Mesa views

Once on top it was just a short walk to the overlook and panoramic view of what I had come to expect of the New Mexico desert. It was very windy and cool on top so my stay was short and started my return into the canyon.

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The park closes fairly earlier in the day (4 pm I think) and at 3:30 the park rangers start herding all hikers down from the Mesa so they can lock the gate at 4:00 pm and not trap any visitor inside. This also was a factor limiting my time on top.

After retracing my steps through the slot canyon (and taking more pictures) I reached the trail split and decided that I would have time to include the cave loop. The trail is moderately level and completely exposed to the sun. To be honest, after experiencing the winds on top and the cool air in the canyon the warmth of the sun felt great!

Cave dwelling

The cave was not overly impressive (at least to me) but per the the sign the Pueblo’s dug out this cave and actually used it as a dwelling. It is prohibited to enter the cave but you could see evidence of soot on the ceiling as a result of a fire used as a heat source and food prep.

After a quick stop and few pictures I made a beeline to the parking area. The tent rocks along this section are not as massive as in the canyon but still unique and if I wasn’t racing against the clock would have taken a little more time to appreciate them.

I spent about 3 hours at this park and didn’t see it all. Approximately 3.5 miles west on BLM 1011 is the Veteran’s Memorial Overlook which was dedicated in 2004, to all American Veterans. The overlook provides vistas of Camada and Peralta Canyons, the Dome Wilderness and the Jemez Mountains.

Getting there

From Albuquerque take the exit for Santo Domingo/Cochiti Lake Recreation Area (Exit 259) off I-25 onto NM Route (SR) 22. Follow the signs on SR22 to Cochiti Pueblo and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Turn right off of SR22. At the Pueblo turquoise-colored water towers turn onto the access road, Tribal Route 92, which connects to BLM 1011/FA 266. From the fee station, travel 4 miles to the monument’s designated parking/picnic area and trailhead.

From Santa Fe, take the Cochiti Pueblo Exit 264 off of I-25 onto NM Route 16. Turn right off of SR16 onto SR 22 and follow the signs to Cochiti Pueblo and KKTR.

I would highly recommend a day at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Memorial. The size of the park, the geological features and shortness of the trails make it a perfect place to spend a half or full day. You will definitely lose track of time in this gem in the middle of New Mexico.

Slow-LEE hiking