New Mexico's National Parks

Carlsbad Caverns National Park consists of approximately 100 protected caves with intricate stalactite and stalagmite formations. Eons of undisturbed water erosion has created the caves, amphitheaters, tubes, and stalactite/stalagmite formations (some pushing 60 feet in size) including Lechuguilla Cave which is the deepest limestone cave in the United States at 1,567 feet.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is the ancient remains of a once great civilzation that spanned much of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. The ruins are actively studied and written about, and visitors can walk amongst what was, for 250 years, the height of culture and civilzation in North America.

Pecos National Historical Park preserves 12,000 years of history including the ancient pueblo of Pecos, Colonial Missions, Santa Fe Trail sites, 20th century ranch history of Forked Lightning Ranch, and the site of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass.

Aztec Ruins National Monument was built in just three decades, with one part standing three-stories high, stretching longer than a football field and once had as many as 500-rooms including a ceremonial “great kiva” over 40-feet in diameter. A short trail winds through room blocks of this massive site offering visitors a uniquely intimate experience.

Bandelier National Monument is designated wilderness area, meaning it is for camping, hiking, etc and falls under Leave No Trace guidelines. The Frijoles Canyon features restored and original cave and rock dwellings from ancestral peublo tribes, with visitor trails ranging from well developed loops to ones leading into the wilderness area where less visited ruins and waterfalls abound.

Capulin Volcano National Monument, a nearly perfectly-shaped cinder cone, rises more than 1000 feet above the surrounding landscape. Although long extinct, Capulin Volcano is dramatic evidence of the volcanic processes that shaped northeastern New Mexico.

El Malpais National Monument refers to badlands, but this volcanic area holds many surprises. Lava flows, cinder cones, pressure ridges and complex lava tubes dominate the landscape. A closer look reveals high desert environments where animals and plants thrive. Prehistoric ruins, ancient cairns, rock structures, and homesteads remind us of past times.

El Morro National Monument was settled over 700 years ago by ancestral Pueblo tribes and later frequented by Spanish and American travellers seeking the area's water. Today, El Morro National Monument protects over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins.

Fort Union National Monument encompases the three Fort's Union that lasted for fourty years as a military garrison, territorial arsenal, and military supply depot for the southwest. The largest visible network of Santa Fe Trail ruts can be seen here.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of the people of the Mogollon culture who lived in the Gila Wilderness from the 1280s through the early 1300s. Archaeologists believe the residents of this small enclave originated at the Chaco Canyon civilization and that they came to the Gila Wilderness when drought forced that site to be abandoned.

Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including volcanos, archeological sites and an estimated 20,000 carved images. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses; others are more complex.

Salina Pueblo Missions National Monument comprises 1,100 acres of land, covering four mission churches and several peublos which were abandoned in the 17th century after Spanish missionary attempts to convert the locals led to overpopulation of the area and a rapid collapse of available resources.

White Sands National Monument is one of the world's great natural wonders. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field.