Slot Canyon Trail Kasha-katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument New Mexico

Flows, On the Kasha-Katuwe slot canyon trail, 2016 With Gary peeking out, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Located in north-central New Mexico between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Tent Rocks is a very unique geological area that has been designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The Bureau of Land Management in partnersh.

1. The Slot Canyon Trail is located at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, about 40 miles west of Santa Fe. Google Maps The national monument is open daily from 8 a.m.
2. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Slot canyon goodness! - See 1,562 traveler reviews, 1,919 candid photos, and great deals for Cochiti Pueblo, NM, at Tripadvisor.

queezing through two tall vertical waves of rolling white rock, I squinted my eyes as I emerged from the shadows and into a sun-baked, fossilized grove of gargantuan gnome hats that protruded up to 90 feet skyward from the solid earth. I was breaking out in a sweat, but every successive step I took resulted in my peeling lips spreading into an ever-growing smile across my reddening face. Sharing space with structures I would have never imagined existed in nature, my mind was open to whatever I was about to encounter next.

The Southwest is full of strange surprises. You don't need mescaline to experience otherworldly visions. The land provides that in spades — as long as you know where to look.

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in northwest New Mexico is one of the more peculiar landscapes I've encountered in my travels. It feels foreign and alien, like you're walking on the surface of another planet. But instead of being unnerving, the place is downright captivating as it pulls you farther into its curious crevices. There's only one other place in the world I'm aware of that has the “fairy chimney“ rock formations similar to Kasha-Katuwe (which means “white cliffs“ in the Keresan language of the Pueblo), and you have to travel to Turkey to find it.

Slot Canyon Trail Kasha-katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument State Park

The national monument feels remote, but it's easily accessible at just 44 miles from Santa Fe and 58 miles from Albuquerque. It'd be easy to spend the morning and early afternoon hiking the trails of the park and then hitting the road for an evening in the city. I camped at nearby Tetilla Peak Recreation Area (27 miles away) on a Friday night in early May and woke up with the sun to beat the Saturday crowd. And trust me, there will most likely be crowds if it's a nice weekend in the spring or summer. The parking lot is small and fills up quickly. The secret is apparently out on this place.

This National Monument is named for the cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash, and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a 'pyroclastic flow'.

Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have lost their hard, resistant caprocks, and are disintegrating. While fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet up to 90 feet.

Slot Canyon Trail Kasha-katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument Map

Slot Canyon Trail Kasha-katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument Visitor Center

The Cave Loop Trail is an easy 1.2 mile loop; the Canyon Trail longer and more difficult, but well worth the effort. The Canyon Trail meanders through a narrow slot canyon to a steep (630ft) climb to the top of the mesa commanding excellent views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia mountains and the Rio Grande Valley.