Pecos National Historic Park

After a slightly traumatizing and anxiety-inducing drive through a hail storm near Fort Union, we headed down I-25 to Pecos National Historic Park. Pecos has two separate locations, so plan to visit both. The first are ruins of a Spanish mission church and the site of a Pecos Pueblo community that existed for hundreds of years. Glorieta Pass, the site of the westernmost battle of the Civil War, is about a ten-minute drive away (yes, really. Pull that out at your next trivia night.).

Address and Location

You’ll find Pecos National Historic Park at 1 Peach Drive in Pecos, New Mexico. The Glorieta Pass Battlefield site doesn’t have a proper address, so grab directions and the gate code from the staff at the Visitor’s Center.

Cost

Exploring Pecos National Historic Park is free.

What to Do

Start off with a lap around the museum in the Visitor’s Center. They have exhibits and artifacts arranged chronologically. I thought they had a great and well-preserved selection of pottery and baskets from different eras. You’ll also see an interesting exhibit on Greer Garson, the actress. She and her last husband owned a ranch in the area and donated land and money to help preserve Pecos (the Visitor’s Center is named for her husband).

From there, hike to the ruins and around the site on the Ancestral Sites Trail. You’ll find numbered stops if you want to follow the site tour. You can also explore several underground kiva from the Pecos Pueblo community. The Spanish built a mission church at the town during their colonization period. The church and the town were destroyed (along with most of the Spanish-connected NPS sites) during the Pueblo Revolt in the 1680s. A hundred or so years later, the Santa Fe Trail and the US Army passed through to protect westward American expansion.

Glorieta Pass

You’ll find the Glorieta Pass Battlefield about a ten minute drive from the Visitor’s Center. You will need a gate access code to use the parking lot. The Union and Confederate Armies accidentally collided on the Glorieta Mesa during the Civil War. The Confederates planned to invade the Southwest on their way to California, and the Union soldiers were there to stop them. A battle ensued, and the Union Army won. Afterwards, the Confederates abandoned their plans to occupy the Southwest. You can hike up to the top of the Civil War Battlefield Trail to see parts of the battlefield. You’ll find a shorter, accessible trail and a longer route.

New Mexico National Park Service sites: Aztec Ruins National Monument  |  White Sands National Park  |  Fort Union National Monument  |  Valles Caldera National Monument  |  Los Alamos  |  Bandelier National Monument  |  Carlsbad Caverns National Park