The Petroglyph Trail

Hiking along the Petroglyph Trail

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The trail that takes you past some of the most interesting and dramatic petroglyphs in the Park departs at Pueblo Bonito. You need a permit to hike this trail, despite its relatively short length and stable pathways. The permits are free at the Visitor's Center and a copy must be with you at all times on the trail.

Having filled out the appropriate forms in triplicate, we set off down the trail before lunchtime. Most of the petroglyphs were at eye-level or just above and were very clear to us. There were a few indications of vandalism and fake petroglyphs along the way, too, which is disheartening. It's interesting, though, that apparently many different trives inscribed their messages on the same walls. According to the guide book, some of the petroglyphs date back to Chaco's time (800-1100 A.D.) and others are more recent such as the Navajo etchings depicting animals and even railroad tracks. In some cases, there are messages scrawled in English into the stone by travelers through the region in the 1800's and by government survey groups of those times.

page maintained by Cheryl

The trail that takes you past some of the most interesting and dramatic petroglyphs in the Park departs at Pueblo Bonito. You need a permit to hike this trail, despite its relatively short length and stable pathways. The permits are free at the Visitor's Center and a copy must be with you at all times on the trail.

Having filled out the appropriate forms in triplicate, we set off down the trail before lunchtime. Most of the petroglyphs were at eye-level or just above and were very clear to us. There were a few indications of vandalism and fake petroglyphs along the way, too, which is disheartening. It's interesting, though, that apparently many different trives inscribed their messages on the same walls. According to the guide book, some of the petroglyphs date back to Chaco's time (800-1100 A.D.) and others are more recent such as the Navajo etchings depicting animals and even railroad tracks. In some cases, there are messages scrawled in English into the stone by travelers through the region in the 1800's and by government survey groups of those times.