New Mexico Hikes: Pueblo Loop Trail & Alcove House at Bandelier National Monument
The Pueblo Loop Trail is the main trail at Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico. This 1.4 mile trail takes you from the Visitor Center through the park’s archaeological sites, with an option to access Alcove House partway through.
About Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier National Monument is over 33,000 acres of national preserve near Los Alamos, New Mexico and about an hour drive from Santa Fe.
This amazing landscape of rugged red-rocked canyon and mesa country was once home to Ancestral Pueblo people. There is evidence of human presence in the area, like cave dwellings and petroglyphs, going back 11,000 years.
Pueblo Loop Trail Hike
The Pueblo Loop Trail (also called the Main Loop) is a 1.4 mile trail through the park’s archaeological sites. The trail is paved partway from the Visitor Center to the cliff dwellings, where it then shifts to a maintained gravel path at the Long House, and then to an unpaved nature trail about halfway through the loop.
The trail departs from the Visitor Center and follows along a paved sidewalk as it winds its way through Frijoles Canyon.
Big Kiva
Along the trail, you’ll pass by many of the park’s most fascinating archaeological finds. The first structure is the circular Kiva. This building was used for religious and social activity and was where important information was shared and decisions were made.
Tyuonyi
Further along, you’ll pass the remnants of the village of Tyuonyi. The over 400 rooms of this circular structure were once two stories tall and were mostly used for storing food.
Just past Tyuonyi, the trail comes to a junction. You can either keep right to follow the unpaved trail to climb into the cavates, human-made openings used for housing and food storage, or you can stay on the paved trail and admire them from afar.
Talus House
If you take the unpaved route, you’ll be able to see Talus House, a reconstruction that shows the type of structures that would have been in front of many of the cavates. There are three ladders you can climb to get a better look inside the cavates.
You’ll pass by a dirt trail leading to the longer Frey Trail on your right before coming back to a junction with the paved portion of the Pueblo Loop Trail. Turn right to continue on the Pueblo Loop toward Long House.
Long House
The trail becomes unpaved, but well-maintained, at the Long House. This row of apartment-like dwellings that would have been 3 to 4 stories tall continues on for about a hundred yards.
The outer walls of the home no longer survive, but you can still see the beam holes that were used to support the structure. On the walls, you can see faint petroglyph carvings. There are hundreds of them in this area.
Past Long House, the path becomes a completely unpaved nature trail that passes over Frijoles Creek. A junction shortly after offers an off-shoot where you can climb to see the Alcove House (formerly known as Ceremonial Cave). Or you can complete the hike by turning left and continuing back to the Visitor Center on the wooded, canopied trail.
Alcove House Trail
I highly recommend taking this detour to the right and hiking the 0.5 miles to Alcove House.
The Alcove House Trail takes you to the steep climb up four ladders and 140 feet to a dwelling which once housed 25 Ancestral Pueblo people.
The half-mile hike takes you through the woods on a canopied nature trail that is relatively flat. Signs warning you of the steep climb up four ladders let you know that this isn’t for the faint of heart, or those with a fear of heights.
A Steep Climb
It’s not long before you find yourself at the base of the cliff staring up a long ladder. The climb up is challenging, and you should be prepared to squeeze past other people on the narrow stone steps and wait for other groups to pass for your turn on the ladders.
There’s a nice resting spot after the second ladder where you can sit and enjoy the view. But you’re only about halfway up at this point!
At the top, you’ll enter a huge cavern with cavates, viga holes, and a kiva. Ancient Pueblo people used to make this climb daily carrying whatever supplies they needed on their backs; can you imagine?
The views from up here are amazing, and the climb is well worth it.
Going down is harder than going up, though. It’s the first step down, going backwards on the ladder, that is the trickiest.
You’ll complete your hike back to the Visitor Center under the canopy of the trees.
The hike is 1.4 miles if you only took the Pueblo Loop Trail, and 2.4 miles if you added the Alcove Trail detour.
Hiking Essentials
Come prepared for your hike by making sure you pack the essentials. Check out this must-have hiking gear before you set off on the trails:
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Ready to visit Los Alamos, New Mexico? Plan your trip with these tips.
- Find accommodation: You can find top hotels in Los Alamos using Booking.com.
- Book your flight: Find the cheapest flights using Skyscanner, my favorite flight search engine.
- Get packing: Make sure you’ve packed everything you need with my packing list resources.
Cheers!
Paige
Have you hiked the Pueblo Loop Trail or Alcove House Trail at Bandelier National Monument? Let me know in the comments!
