Boca Negra Canyon is another site within Petroglyph National Monument and is easy to find just a few minutes drive north from the visitor center along Unser Blvd. The location is more developed as compared to Rinconada Canyon with a small restroom and some picnic sites. On a weekday early afternoon there is enough parking but I could see weekends being busy enough to fill the overflow lot. If you can avoid the crowds, it is very easy to see everything within an hour or two. The NPS site claims there are 100 petroglyphs in total so much lower density than Rinconada but you can get a much closer look here (still no touching please!).
Mesa Point Trail
Because the entrance road went counter-clockwise I started at the Mesa Point Trail which is the first parking stop. This trail doesn’t have a total distance listed because it isn’t very long, but instead is rated as taking 30 minutes. I think that’s a reasonable estimate and would allow you to take your time and see everything at a relaxed pace so don’t rush yourself!
Taking a wider view shows more of the story: this is a slightly steep trail going up the side of a rocky hill. While it is paved, it can be narrow and steep so be sure to wear good shoes, take your time, and mind your balance.
As was the case in my other post I’m not going to try and interpret actual meanings from the images; instead I’ll just share what I think they look like for your entertainment. Imagine going back a thousand years…if this was your inscription on the rock, what were you trying to say? This one has tons of detail, and to me it looks like a story or maybe a map of the area.
A horse maybe, something that resembles a human-cyclops with a big head? Notice this rock has some pieces missing – this is somewhat due to natural erosion, but also these rocks often have bullet scars from people shooting at them many years ago and that caused chips/flakes in some spots (if you look back at the previous photo this is more obvious from the perfectly circular small scars).
One other point of interest is this large flat rock with exactly zero petroglyphs. If you look closely, there is a worn and dished area which is direct evidence that ancient Puebloans were using it as a grinding surface. The nearby informational sign states this could have been for sharpening tools, grinding seeds and flowers into pigments, and preparing medicines.
Near the top you will reach the backside of the hill which gives great views of the surrounding neighborhoods (which in itself is something you don’t usually see at an NPS site), and again the Sandia Mountains in the distance. According to the sign, this spot is almost exactly 1 mile of elevation, or 5,280 feet above sea level. The highest peaks of the Sandias reach almost 10,700 ft by comparison.
There is one small spur off the main trail that requires a bit of careful foot placement and no safety rails – be mindful of your steps!
I don’t have a wide enough lens to properly photograph them up so close, but there are several petroglyphs hidden back in the rocks. I enjoy the ones that resemble humans the most because they often look like robots with very square features.
Another great view is looking back on Boca Negra Canyon where the trail started. This area is what resulted from volcanic activity around 200,000 years ago. The liquid lava flowed down slope east towards the Rio Grande valley and created the formation I’m standing on. The canyon you see here used to be a hill but eroded away and all that is left is the volcanic rock that surrounded it. In the distance you can see several cinder cones called the Three Sisters on a 17 mile escarpment known as Albuquerque’s West Mesa.
Some images are small but very clear. This one reminded me of the Zia symbol on the New Mexico state flag, but with an arrow sticking out of it like a target.
Two bird-fishes? A drum? A star?
Here’s a view of the same trail from afar to show the scale of humans and boulders versus size of the hill.
Macaw Trail and Cliff Base Trail
The next trails are just a few hundred yards away. I chose to walk through the picnic area but most others drove over and parked. The Macaw Trail is a short 5 minute walk just to the base of the cliff for a group of petroglyphs, while the Cliff Base Trail heads a bit further but still only takes 15 minutes. Neither of these are as long or steep as the first trail. I’m grouping these together because honestly I don’t remember where one ended and the other starts. I also got my route hijacked with good conversation from a Flemish tourist, a kind man recovering from leukemia, and some super crazy far-right religious nutjobs ranting about how John Wayne would beat people up or some gibberish like that. All types out in the desert, but I digress.
Some birds? A man’s face? A…umm..hot air balloon?
This image took far less guessing thanks to the nearby info sign. Per the plaque this is a yucca pod. Ancestral Puebloans commonly featured native plants and flowers in these expressions as they were an agricultural society. Farming was a way of life, and plants were important for food as well as for medicine.
Continuing on the natural theme I can appreciate this depiction of a bird that is closer to my own artistic abilities. Is the image on the left a bird in a cage? Hmm.
Again, the humans are my favorites for sure. Left side is very human, middle is…a large rabbit-man? Right is a star with man’s face and arms? Far out, man.
Way up high was a circular or spiral shape which is a common depiction. I don’t think it was meant as a target, but judging by the bullet scars it seems other people thought differently.
A rotund man with a triangle head?
Lots going on here: a monster face, some other modern graffiti/letters, and more bullet wounds.
Many other images to find here and I can’t include them all. Definitely worth checking out, very accessible for those that don’t want to go on longer hikes.
Hiking Data
Here’s my route today. I didn’t do that short parking lot connector because I had no need to (and nothing to see over there anyways). By the map it seems I missed the true peak of the Mesa Point Trail but I’m not sure the image is accurate (or maybe it is blocked off now for protection?). Feel that I was at the top, or at least as far as the NPS allows you to go.
Not much elevation change overall, and the distance is only 3/4 mile because I hiked from one end to the other. You can see where my speed dropped to zero as I got trapped into a couple conversations from other visitors. Easy short hike with lots to see, definitely give it a look if in the ABQ.
