Second attempt at the Rinconada Canyon Trail area of Petroglyph National Monument. First try was on the weekend, and the signs posted from the park service warning about thefts & break-ins plus the local crowd told me to move along; today on a Tuesday at noon I nearly had it to myself. Be sure to read the sign at the entrance; take note this is the ancestral lands of the Pueblo people, and this is sacred land to 29 indigenous tribes. Respect the area, take only pictures, leave everything just the way it is. Watch out for rattlesnakes. Take some water, and enjoy the 2.2 mile loop trail if you do the whole thing.
There are over 23,000 petroglyphs here, and if you keep your eyes peeled you will see them very quickly as you start the trail. I’m not going to comment much on my photos below other than sharing my guesses on what the shapes are just for entertainment. There are many different interpretations and from what I understand there is no one definitive answer. They are cultural expressions and records but most are an eternal mystery. This one has a snowman-shaped person, a circle with lots of dots, and a group of what seem like human stickmen.
Some winding shapes that look like snakes, something with many feet/legs, and a spiral.
As you can see the sandy trail leads along the base of the Rinconada Canyon, a large volcanic escarpment with thousands of large and small rocks. Be mindful of the wire fence and stay on the trail.
Take notice of the small signs along the trail to gain insight into details about the location and history. This will also give you some reference to how far along you are on the hike.
I didn’t see any snakes today (thankfully), but I did see many desert millipedes which was a first for me. Interesting little creatures for sure!
Starting to see human-like shapes, almost look like robots to me at times. A round shape, maybe a shield? Miscellaneous snakes and less discernible objects.
Overall the trail is very flat with only minor rises & falls in elevation. There are a handful of spots where wooden timbers have been arranged into steps of gravel – likely to prevent erosion – but even these are easy to traverse for most visitors.
As mentioned earlier the signs are great sources of information. Ancestral Pueblo people did not leave directly at the petroglyph site. Instead, they lived about 2 miles away along the Rio Grande river.
A bird with a circle around it? Something shaped like a ‘T’ or a pick-axe?
Marks on the rocks were not made by the ancients alone. When the Spanish arrived, sheepherders left behind their own relics and more modern markings like crosses and sheep brands.
A few, like these, even have modern writing and dates going back to 1919.
A man with raised arms? A snake with a big head, or maybe a river?
This one is especially curious – is it an alien, perhaps a monster? Maybe a diagram of the landscape or a village? Many things to imagine.
Further along the trail now and you can see where the escarpment turns 90 degrees. The trail follows the canyon along this route before looping back to the trailhead.
This sign details how the Rio Grande style of petroglyphs arose around the year 1300 as the population suddenly grew. Some of these images use three-dimensional elements of the boulders in their design.
A great example of the natural elements being incorporated, notice how the edge of the rock splits the face/mask on the left. Also seen: a turtle? A snake? And a human or a lizard?
Some stones even have what appear to be entire stories that I won’t pretend to understand (but I will enjoy seeing them!).
A few final signs: First one describes how archaeologists dates the images from between 1000 B.C.E – 1700 C.E. The second details how the density of petroglyphs is highest here at the back of Rinconada Canyon.
A snake, a lizard, a human face?
These are my favorite…a robot? Human faces? One looks a bit like a college football with the stripes.
Here is where the trail turns. Not as much to see other than the nearby Sandia Mountains on the east side of Albuquerque, but still great scenery.
One final new curiosity for me was this black bladder-bodied meloid beetle – or at least that is what online searches tell me. Not very large but it’s body is this big round thing, very unusual compared to what I see back home in the Midwest.
From here it was back at the trailhead and on to the next site. More petroglyphs in store before the day is over!
Hiking Data
Here’s the hiking path for today’s look trail. You can see how it mirrors the escarpment down in the canyon and then comes back in a more direct line through the desert. There is more trail connecting the main visitor center and the adjoining neighborhoods which you can see on the map as a dotted-line; it seems quite popular for people walking dogs, but I didn’t make the full trip today due to time.
Distance just short of the listed 2.2 miles but pretty close and minimal elevation difference. Overall elevation around 5,200 feet here – some people from the flat-lands might feel it, to me elevation isn’t something I’ve ever noticed much until getting a lot higher.
