Petroglyph National Monument · New Mexico

Escarpment Trail

4.5 mi of trail, end to end · Rinconada Canyon: 2.2 mi round trip in the Service's write-up · about 250 ft of climbing · 5,111 ft–5,526 ft · native, sand surface · trail class Moderately Developed · hiking

Visitor centers

5,472 ft 5,386 ft · 1.1 mi high 5,472 ft

Along the way Visitor Center

Rinconada Canyon 2.2 mi round trip · the Park Service's write-up

90-120 Minutes · dogs allowed

Start Rinconada Canyon

A petroglyph of a bird on a dark volcanic boulder.
This bird is one of around 300 petroglyphs you can see at Rinconada Canyon. Photo: NPS Photo/Daniel Leifheit

Rinconada Canyon Parking Lot Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 PM daily.

Rinconada Canyon offers an insight into the geologic, cultural, and natural resources of this region. From the parking lot a sandy path follows the northern escarpment, carrying you over sand dunes. As you walk into the canyon, the sounds and sights of the city fade away and may be replaced with the coo of a mourning dove or a collared lizard sunning itself on a basalt boulder. Here you see prehistoric and historic petroglyphs, rock wall alignments and shelters, and wildlife living in the vegetation growing throughout the canyon.

The geology of the area shows the remnants of volcanic eruptions of 200,000 years ago. The basalt from these flows capped the sandstone of the Santa Fe Formation. As the softer sandstone eroded away, the basalt broke off and tumbled down the hillside. This naturally occurring geologic action of weathering and erosion formed the volcanic escarpment as we see it today and is also where the Ancestral Pueblo People carved petroglyphs.

The Rinconada Canyon trail follows the northern escarpment, allowing the hiker views of a variety of petroglyphs. The trail is 1.1 miles long to the back of the canyon (2.2 miles roundtrip) and is moderately strenuous.

As with any hiking in the park, or the desert Southwest, carry plenty of water and drink often. Wear a hat, sunscreen, and sturdy walking shoes or boots. Watch out for rattlesnakes which inhabit the canyon.

DO NOT leave valuables visible inside your vehicle. Lock your vehicle and set alarm.

Accessibility Not stroller nor wheelchair accessible. Service animals are allowed. Natural earth surface with 3 slight inclines.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 36 trails in Petroglyph National MonumentFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.