Went on a nice long hike and there was nearly nobody else in the trail, just how I like it! Worth a…read morevisit to this hidden gem!

Amazing landscape of black lava flows. Make sure to wear hiking boots or good secure shoes if…read morewalking in the Malapais. Check out the Sandstone Bluffs nearby as well, with views overlooking the lava flow.

Had a blast on the new trail. I have been here several times and I learn something new every time.read more

I had a lovely visit to see the ice cave and extinct volcano. I feel like the views are amazing and…read moretrees are lush. There are plenty of volcanic caves to check out and the trails are well labeled. I truly felt transported back to a semi Jurassic period. I would recommend this hike for families as it's easy enough and visually stimulating for all ages.

Surprisingly lovely and new looking visitors center! Perfect for kids and not far from the town of…read moreGrants

Interesting stop. Good displays as an introduction to this volcanic region dotted with ice caves,…read morehiking trails, and forests. The ranger was mapping out a hike with another visiting couple when we were there. The gift shop had fun stuff on bats since one of the caves has a nightly bat flyout. Star gazing is also good in this area.

This was a terrible stop today. There isn't any open washrooms and was nobody to find any help…read morewith. We didn't even find a place to pay for our stay. There is no camp hosts or rangers and this was at 230 in the afternoon. The drive in is full off old run down buildings and cars

The setting is beautiful- BUT the showers and bathhouse were locked and closed. The only toilets…read moreavailable were 2 really dirty pit toilets with no toilet paper. There were water spigots but the water that came out was yellow. Almost every site had a red reserved sign but the campground was empty. Will not stay again.

Wonderful park with a 2 mile scenic scenic loop trail taking you by inscriptions in the rock dating…read moreback to the 1800's.

El Morro is an unexpected and therefore under visited national park site. Because of this, it is…read moreeven more worth the visit. Well off the modern beaten path, it was much less so over 150 years ago. Travelers of all kinds "pasó por aqui" (passed through here), leaving inscriptions on the rock face while seeking refuge from the harsh desert environment. The water pool oasis at the base of the jutting rock face fills only from precipitation and never dries. It's been a waypoint for at least a millennium. If you are less inclined to the post-colonial history, you'll still be happy to visit here. Pueblo dwelling walls of stone still remain just beside the Headland/Mesa Top Trail that takes you up to the top of this landmark for a high view over the surrounding plains and even down into the so-called Box Canyon. The original carvings in the sandstone predate settlers as petroglyphs featuring animals that once roamed here. The visitor center is very informative with friendly staff, a small museum, and a short film about site history. Naturally, a gift shop seals the deal with plenty of gifts and books to send or carry back home. With no fee entry, it's absolutely worth a step off the beaten path to "pass through here".

Came in after the bar next door apparently had no bartender after 8 minutes of waiting at the bar…read more Served here immediately with a smile. Recommended.

Good hiking spot just outside of Socorro New Mexico. Blink and you'll miss the sign for "the box"…read more Nice parking lot and clearly marked paths. Beware of flash floods, you can see where the water runs off and the climb to safe ground can be steep. Good shots of the New Mexican dessert scape. If you happen to run into a group of Castle grazing even better.

If you're unfamiliar with the area but an avid hiker, Bisti Badlands is an amazing area to check…read moreout on your own, so long as you've come prepared with GPS coordinates, maps, and parking advice. I have no affiliation with it, but we used Firefall Photography's website for excellent resources on all of that, including pinpoints for the north/south parking areas. As experienced hikers (Grand Canyon, Utah parks, Himalayas, etc.), we know our limitations, including the fact that our GPS apps often make quirky jumps in extremely remote areas, so we tried to pick and choose our priorities, ultimately deciding that we could manage the Bisti portion by ourselves. (We did the De-Na-Zin side the following day, with a guide. We had limited time to explore and didn't want to waste it false-navigating to permitted parking sites or major landmarks on our own, especially in monsoon season, so we signed up for the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah tour offered by Navajo Wilderness Adventures for that area -- absolutely wonderful!) On our independent day at Bisti, we arrived around 3 p.m., and a few sprinkles started just after 7 p.m., cutting off our desire to stay into the golden/blue hours, but it's worth visiting no matter the time of day. Since we had only one sunrise moment to spend there, we decided to end at Wings, despite having read that the Eggs don't photograph well in brighter light, and we were pleased with that choice in the end, since we had "near sunset" at the gorgeous hill of wings. Overall, in just under five hours, we made it from the Eggs to the Wings and hit nearly every major formation in between, including the Rock Garden, petrified wood, Hoodoo City, Vanilla Hoodoos, Manta Ray, and more. We found that some of our GPS points didn't quite match the Firefall map (including at the Beige Hoodoos and Manta Ray), but going armed with general AllTrails locations, Firefall and AllTrails maps, Gaia, and a tiny print map with photos made it all come together, allowing us plenty of time to photograph the landscape from vantages up, down, and all around. The relatively flat terrain made our nine miles of hiking relatively simple (but do avoid it after rain where possible), and it was a fantastic journey -- such mesmerizing formations and astounding landscape!

This is one of my favorite places I have ever been to! I took a tour through Navajo tours and he…read moredid an excellent job showing us the great rock formations and the petrified wood. It is a little remote and had little service, so be aware!

Now this was my by far favorite hike/picnic in New Mexico…read more On the way from Valles Caldera to Santa Fe, we noticed few cars parked on the side off NM State Highway 4. I read about this trailhead but was also sure we'll probably miss it since location was not very detailed. There are two smaller parking areas (both on the left side of the road if you're driving to Santa Fe) and they fill out fast. This trailhead provides access to the East Fork Jemez River and views of lush meadows, gorgeous wildflowers and animals on the way. The trail is rated as easy for the first 2 miles and than moderate for the rest of the way to the East Fork Trailhead ( 5 miles). We only walked 1.5 miles, took some food with us and had a lunch on the banks of the East Fork Jemez River. It was mesmerizing. I wish we had more time to walk the whole trail, maybe some other time.

We stayed in the west campground, when booking I had been fore warned that the bathrooms were…read morelacking and due to be renovated this summer. My issues came with the camp sites themselves. We really had no idea where they actually were. Each campsite was sold with electric and water, but while there were two electrical hookups there was only one water and one picnic table between the two sites. Crews picked up trash and cleaned bathrooms. Feral dogs were noted several times and prairie dogs had their holes everywhere. With that said, I would stay there again. Do not miss going to the Red Rock Museum. Alayna, the curate, was wonderful and very knowledgeable. The displays were great.

Very muddy and messy! There are also loose dogs running around and I couldn't take my own dogs out…read moreto walk.

This Would Be Cooler If I Didn't Live With This Stuff…read more... If you are driving through the area stop by and stretch your legs out! This is a nice short hike in the middle of nowhere to see some lava flows that are SUPER OLD. Not much else to say about this...