Tent Rocks is one of those places that feels completely unexpected — like you’ve stumbled onto another planet right in the middle of New Mexico. If you’re planning a Southwest road trip, this is a stop that’s absolutely worth the extra planning. Save this guide for later!
What Are Tent Rocks?
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is one of the most unique landscapes in New Mexico, known for its cone-shaped rock formations (called hoodoos) created by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.
It honestly feels like walking through another planet — especially once you hit the slot canyon.
You’ll check-in at the Visitor Center and then follow a pilot truck to the actual site
Hours & Access
Typically open Thursday–Monday
Closed Tuesday & Wednesday
Day-use only (no sunset access)
Tent Rocks opens at 8:00 am and the last pilot truck leaves the Visitor Center at 1:00 pm
⚠️ Hours can change — always double check before going
Best Hike to Do
Slot Canyon Trail (DO THIS ONE)
~3 miles round trip
Moderate
Includes:
Slot canyon section (super narrow + fun)
Short ladder climb
Panoramic overlook at the top
Is It Kid-Friendly?
Yes, but:
The slot canyon gets tight
The ladder may be tricky for little ones
Great for adventurous kids
Best Time to Go
Morning = best lighting + fewer crowds
Avoid midday heat (very exposed)
No shade for most of the hike
What to Bring
Water (no services inside)
Good hiking shoes
Sun protection
Sun glasses – it was extremely windy and sandy on our visit
Snacks if doing the full hike
Photo Tips
The slot canyon = best reel footage
Shoot upward angles to capture the scale
Overlook at the top = wide landscape shots
Things to Know Before You Go
No pets allowed
No drones
Limited facilities
Can close due to weather
Is It Worth It?
100% yes — one of the most unique hikes in New Mexico.
This ended up being one of our favorite stops on the entire trip — and honestly, I didn’t expect it to be. It’s fun, unique, and just adventurous enough to feel like a hidden gem. If you’re building out a Southwest road trip, definitely add this one to your list.
If you’re thinking about traveling to New Mexico, I have just the place you need to see! Keep reading to learn more information and my trusted tips for visiting Bandelier National Monumentin New Mexico, the land of enchantment! I truly cannot believe that more people aren’t talking about this unique place!
What is Bandelier National Monument?
Bandelier National Monument is a designated area in the state of New Mexico that preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans, who lived in the area from the 12th to the 16th centuries. The monument was designated in 1916 and named after Adolph Bandelier, a Swiss anthropologist who researched the cultures of the area and advocated for the preservation of these archaeological sites. The monument spans over 33,000 acres and contains a concentration of archaeological sites, including the remains of dwellings, petroglyphs, and kivas.
Visitors to Bandelier National Monument can learn about the history and culture of the region, enjoy hiking trails, and experience the unique landscape that was once home to a thriving indigenous community. It’s important to be respectful of the archaeological sites and follow park regulations to help preserve these historical treasures.
Favorite Hikes With Kids
We explored this park for the majority of the day. We stopped at different viewpoints and overlooks, hiked along canyon walls, climbed ladders to explore the dwellings, and walked along the most serene trails under a canopy of fall leaves. My boys truly loved this destination because it was so unique and what kid doesn’t love to climb and explore rock formations! The BEST part about this destination is that you are free to explore completely on your own without a guided tour! I would allow one full day here, I don’t really think more time is needed.
Pueblo Loop Trail
We started on the trail right behind the Visitor Center, the Pueblo Loop Trail. Here, you can walk a paved path along the Frijole Canyon walls to the first set of dwellings. There are a few ladders in this area that lead up and inside the dwellings, most were big enough to fit our family of four at one time. I loved that we were able to explore this site without being on a guided tour! This trail is about 1.5 miles, is rated as easy, and takes about 45 minutes to complete. I recommend this trail if you have limited time in the park and want to see the best sites!
Alcove House Trail
If you continue along the Pueblo Loop Trail, you will eventually come to a sign directing you to either go right to the Alcove House or left back to the Visitor Center. The Alcove House was on my list to see, so we continued on to the site. On this 2.5 mile trail, you will walk along a wide, dirt path through a covering of trees and lots of opportunities for photos. We visited in the fall and it was the perfect time with leaves changing colors!
Finally, you will come to a bridge and once you cross it, you begin to see the Alcove House and the four ladders required to climb up to it.
There is a warning here about the climb. So, if you are afraid of heights or have any health issues, it’s not recommended. My family had no problem making the climb up or down, the boys are 13 and 9 now so it was fairly easy for them. We did see much younger children making the climb too, with help from their parents.
My youngest participated in the Jr. Ranger Program. If you are not familiar with this, kids can complete a few pages of an activity book related to the Park or Monument you’re visiting. The activities are based on age/grade level. All you have to do is request one at the Visitor Center from a Park Ranger. Once the activities are complete, you return the book to a Park Ranger, they will review it, and then swear your child in as a Jr. Ranger. A badge representing the Park or Monument is given once you’ve been sworn in as a Jr. Ranger! It’s a really cool opportunity for kids to learn more about the destination you’re visiting and to promise to always protect our lands. The Jr. Ranger Program at Bandelier was really neat and had certain areas marked on the trail for us to learn more about and work on. It was really easy to complete during our visit and Jake was so proud of his badge!
Restaurant
Sirphey at Bandelier is a seasonal restaurant on site at the Monument. It is right next to the Visitor Center by the Pueblo Loop Trailhead parking lot. It was a nice place to grab a late lunch once we finished out hikes. It’s open daily from 10 am until 3:30 pm, but closes for the winter season. The restaurant has green chili burgers, chicken tenders, salads, and even adult beverages! I had a sangria and it was very tasty!
Tips for Visiting Bandelier National Monument
My best tips for visiting Bandelier National Monument are included below:
Arrive early before the parking lot fills up. We arrived around 9:00 am and had no trouble finding a spot. When we finished our day of exploring around 3:00 pm, the lot was completely full and there were cars just waiting for people to leave.
Bring water & snacks, especially if you’re hiking with kids.
Hikes – be sure to hike the Pueblo Loop Trail and if you’re more adventurous go see the Alcove House!
Pack the camera/phone. The landscape is gorgeous and there are many places for photographic opportunities.
Jr. Ranger Program – if you have kids, check it out!
Pack your Patience. Everyone is excited to explore, so remember to be kind while waiting for others to climb ladders or have their time in the cliff dwellings.
Most importantly, do your part to help preserve this amazing area for future generations to continue to enjoy!
Physical Address: 15 Entrance RD, Los Alamos 87544
Phone Number: 505 672-3861 x0
Hours: Daily from 9 am to 5 pm (closed Christmas Day)
Fees: Private Vehicle $25
Where to Stay
For us, we opted to stay in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the Hilton Buffalo Thunder Casino Resort. We enjoyed the various dining options right at the hotel. We visited over Thanksgiving Break, so it was nice when we had one night of cold, rainy weather and didn’t have to leave for dinner. Plus, we were able to explore all that Santa Fe has to offer at the same time!
If you’re just visiting my site, thank you for taking the time to read all of my tips for visiting Bandelier National Monument! I hope you found the information helpful. Be sure to follow the blog for more adventures, tips, recommendations, and itineraries. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that 2024 brings you peace, happiness, and amazing travels.
We decided to take our first road trip of 2023 over MLK weekend, since the boys and I all had Monday off. Carlsbad, NM is roughly a seven hour drive from where we live and home to a National Park that none of us had ever visited. This sounded like the perfect way to get out and explore while we had the time off. So, we hit the road and headed west. I am so excited to share about our weekend road trip and our time spent in New Mexico! We had an amazing adventure and this destination makes for the perfect getaway when you have a long weekend and an extra day off work and school!
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Our driving route to Carlsbad, NM
Weekend Itinerary:
Saturday: Drive to Carlsbad, NM
Stop at Monahans Sandhills State Park in Monahans, TX
Dinner at El Jimador Restaurant in Carlsbad, NM
Sunday: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Dinner at YellowBrix in Carlsbad, NM
Monday: Drive home
If you glanced at our weekend itinerary above, you probably noticed that we only spent a day at Carlsbad Caverns. I believe a day is all that you need to experience the caves. We opted for a self-guided tour of the Big Room and it was quite the adventure! There are also several other guided caving options that you can purchase tickets for. But, what I loved the most about this National Park is that you can truly experience these amazing cave formations in just a day. Please continue reading for a more detailed itinerary for each day of our trip and general information about Carlsbad Caverns.
Day 1: Saturday
Sliding down the first hill!
If you are familiar with road tripping with kids, then you know that it’s always best to find a fun stop along the route. We decided to stop at Monahans Sandhills State Park and check it out. It did not disappoint!
It was hilarious to watch!
My boys absolutely loved this stop! They were sandy from head to toe, but grinning ear to ear! This State Park is truly a hidden gem. I have lived in Texas my whole life and had never heard of this place until about 2 days before we left on this trip. Not only were the sand dunes really photogenic, the facilities were top notch. There were nice restrooms and showers right on site, and you bet we had our boys rinse off before getting back on the road!
We brought along these little sleds and let the boys slide down sand hill after sand hill. This was an amazing stop after about 5.5 hours of driving! We all stretched our legs and enjoyed playing in Texas’ biggest sandbox! If you are ever in the area, be sure to check this place out. You do need to make reservations here, the price for day use is $4 per adult and kids under 13 are free. Bring towels for the showers if you just plan to visit for the day!
From here, it was about a 2 hour drive to Carlsbad, NM. We arrived in town around 5:00 pm and immediately checked into the hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Carlsbad. It wasn’t the best Holiday Inn we’ve stayed in, but it was clean and the free breakfast was actually pretty decent. After checking in, we ate dinner at El Jimador Restaurant. We got there before 6:00 pm and didn’t have to wait for a table. But within thirty minutes or so, there was a super long wait for tables. It was good Mexican food. We all had enchiladas and enjoyed our plates! Then, we called it an early night and just went back to the hotel. There’s an indoor pool and fitness center there, but we had an early bedtime to get ready for Carlsbad Caverns the next day!
Day 2: Sunday
Oh, what a wonderful day Sunday was! We finally got to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park! From the hotel we were staying at, it took about 30 minutes to drive to the entrance at Carlsbad Caverns. Once you reach the sign, it’s about another 7 mile scenic drive through the Chihuahuan Desert to the Visitor Center. On our drive in, we saw a herd of bighorn sheep! We were already so enthralled and we hadn’t even seen the main attraction yet!
Do you see the herd?
Everyone that visits needs to reserve tickets online and then pay the National Park fee at the Visitor Center upon arriving. We had reserved the 10:30-11:30 am self-guided tickets which allowed us entrance any time between 10:30-11:30, but there was no time limit on how long we stayed! We arrived at the entrance right at 10:30, but it was 10:50 by the time we made it to the Visitor Center. There was a short line we had to wait in to show our reservation and pay the fee. Luckily our America the Beautiful Pass is still valid, so we didn’t have to pay this time. While I waited in line for this, Jereme took our youngest to get the Jr. Ranger booklet to work on so that he could get his Jr. Ranger badge, which is now one of our favorite National Park activities and our boys love adding new badges to their collection.
He was so excited to participate in the Jr. Ranger Program!
The facilities were really nice and the Park Rangers were very helpful. Once we had the okay to enter, we headed through the museum in the Visitor Center to the natural entrance to the cave. There are two ways to go down into the cave, you can ride an elevator or walk about 1.25 miles through the natural entrance. We opted to walk in and I am so glad we did! Just seeing the cave for the first time is truly amazing! The walk is mostly all downhill, so it wasn’t too bad at all. We were just entranced the whole way down, it’s so cool! We kept saying it felt like we were on a different planet. And this was just the entrance area, we hadn’t even made it to the main attraction, The Big Room!
First sight of the cave – isn’t is awesome! This is the beginning of the 1.25 mile walk down!
I honestly have no words that can adequately describe the Big Room area of the caverns. Maybe otherworldly, it was just unlike anything we have ever experienced before. I have never been inside of a cave so vast. We love exploring caves, but this adventure was different. We didn’t have a tour guide leading the way and we were able to spend as much time as we wanted inside. We ended up being there for over 3 hours and walked a total of 2.9 miles!
Hard to put into words how cool these caverns are!
To the left of the Big Room is an area with snacks and restrooms. We did grab a bite to eat while there and the boys rested their legs for a bit. Then we continued on to the Big Room and when we finished, we opted to ride the elevator back up. Since we were visiting in the off-season, there wasn’t a wait at all for the elevators. But I have heard that in the summer the wait can exceed an hour. We ventured around the museum and then Jake was sworn in as a Jr. Ranger and received the Centennial Badge because Carlsbad Caverns turns 100 years old this year!
He did it! We love the Centennial Badge!
We really were pretty tired after our visit! We had planned to stop on the drive back out and hike some of the trails along the drive through the Chihuahuan Desert. But we were way too tired for this! I would’ve loved another day to explore this area, it was gorgeous and the weather was beautiful on the weekend of our visit. We will likely return to this Park, we all want to see the bat flight but the bats are only at the caves from April through November. Maybe we’ll take a guided tour on our next visit!
When we returned to the hotel, we all rested for a bit and then went to dinner at YellowBrix in Carlsbad. It’s an amazing steak and seafood restaurant! Everything we had was delicious and the restaurant and patio area was adorable! We started with shrimp, crab, and artichoke dip. I got the filet medallions and Jereme got the green chili cheeseburger. It was all so yummy!
Shrimp, crab, and artichoke dipFilet medallionsGreen chili cheeseburger
Day 3: Monday
Monday just consisted of us driving home. We drove straight back to Texas without many stops because we had to get back in time to watch the Dallas Cowboys play! It was a quick trip, but so much fun! Again, if you have a long weekend and want to have an adventure, Carlsbad Caverns National Park is the perfect destination!
Information About Carlsbad Caverns
Our only family photo in the cave – pictures just don’t take very well down there in the dark!
Carlsbad Caverns are located in Southern New Mexico. The caverns are humid, damp, and stay 56 degrees year round. I recommend wearing a sweatshirt and pants, it’s a little chilly. The hike down into the cave through the natural entrance is about 1.25 miles and it takes about an hour just to hike down. The caverns are about 750 feet below ground, which is equivalent to walking down about 70 stories. I recommend bringing a flashlight or using these cool headlamps that we brought along! Don’t miss visiting the Big Room, it truly is the most epic part of the caverns in our opinion! This area of the cave is 8.2 acres and is the largest accessible cave chamber in North America!
Elevator: INTO Cave 8:30a -2:30p, OUT of Cave 4:45p
Entrance Fees: Ages 16+ is $15 per person, Under 15 is FREE
Bat Flight: April – November
I hope this information is helpful! Please reach out or leave a comment if you have any questions about our visit, I’d love to connect with you. Check back in to see what we’re up to next! Happy Travels!
Road Trip Queen 