Our final NPS site during our Santa Fe weekend was Bandelier National Monument. In hindsight, we should’ve visited Bandelier first. They limit access into the park because the parking area is quite small. The rangers at the gate may turn you away, so you’ll have to come back if you get there at a busy time. Pack sunscreen and water if you’re visiting on a sunny day.
Bandelier is another Southwest cliff dwelling. The sheer cliffs and the canyon walls really struck me as we drove down to the site. I’ve mentioned before that the cliff dwelling culture and people fascinate me. This was another chance to explore and learn more about them. I’m always curious to learn about how people, families, and communities lived in these places.
Address and Location
You’ll find Bandelier National Monument at 15 Entrance Road in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The park entrance sits off NM 4. We entered Bandelier as a point of interest in our GPS and found the park easily. If you take NM 4 from the town of Los Alamos, you will drive through an ID checkpoint at the National Laboratory. Be prepared to show photo IDs for any adults in the car.
Cost
Exploring Bandelier National Monument costs $25 per vehicle. Motorcycle admission costs $20, and individual admission for people 16 and older costs $15. All passes are good for seven days. You can also buy an annual pass for $45. As always, America the Beautiful pass holders get in free.
What to Do
First and foremost, take your time driving down into the park. You drive down a narrow mountain road, and you will get very distracted by the amazing canyon views. Once you park, pop into the Visitor’s Center and museum. And you don’t need to pack snacks because Bandelier also has a restaurant.
From the Visitor’s Center, we hopped on the Main Pueblo Loop trail to the cliff dwellings. Parts of the trail are also accessible. You can actually climb into different rooms at Bandelier. Be careful when climbing the ladders as they’re pretty well worn. You will need to climb up and down multiple staircases on the trail to reach the different rooms. The rooms also have low head space, so don’t expect to be able to stand up fully in all of them. I found it best to walk bent over at the waist.
I have to say that Bandelier really hyped their Abert’s squirrel population. You’ll find squirrels on their website, on signs, and on loads of merchandise in the gift shop. I fully expected to see squirrels everywhere in the park. As someone who is obsessed with squirrels, I was very disappointed that I saw exactly zero squirrels. 0/10: would not recommend for squirrel sightings. We did see some other critters, including this bull snake. It stayed off the path, and we stayed on the path.
New Mexico National Park Service sites: Aztec Ruins National Monument | White Sands National Park | Fort Union National Historic Site | Pecos National Historic Park | Valles Caldera National Monument | Los Alamos – Manhattan Project National Historic Site | Bandelier National Monument | Carlsbad Caverns National Park | Gila Cliffs National Historic Site
