When it comes to desert destinations in the United States, the Grand Canyon and the parks around Las Vegas, Nevada receive all of the attention, leaving New Mexico to remain largely off the tourist radar. Why? After visiting
the Santa Fe area, I’m not sure – the scenery is spectacular, the parks accessible, and the crowds far and few between, even during a holiday weekend in summer. And if you love hiking and breathtaking natural vistas as much as I do, then do I ever have a vacation spot for you. While there’s much to love about Santa Fe proper, my favorite destination in New Mexico’s capital city is, without a doubt, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks is part of the United States National Parks Service (thanks, Leslie Knope!) and offers visitors unblemished natural beauty just forty minutes from downtown Santa Fe. The park’s most distinctive feature? The tent-shaped rocks that gave the park its name, as seen in the photo above. Amazing, right?
The park has two primary trails: Slot Canyon Trail and Cave Loop Trail. The latter of the two is handicap accessible, making this park a wonderful family destination for travelers of all hiking abilities. The Slot Canyon Trail, meanwhile, is more rigorous and steep but offers those who climb it panoramic views of the desert.
Both trails are well-maintained and clearly marked; as someone who has hiked at state and national parks across the country, nothing confuses me as easily as ill-defined trails. Instead, Kevin and I were able to hike stress-free (not that he ever gets lost, but still, frustration stemming from poorly marked trails is real) and soak up the beautiful desert views.
I absolutely love the desert. Dusty red, brown, and orange hues, cacti, and massive rock formations adding visual interest to an otherwise flat landscape – whenever I’m visiting a desert, my camera and I tend to get a little shutter-happy. I took hundreds of photos at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks. Hundreds. Meaning this is a fabulous park for fellow nature photography nerds to work on their skills. The only caveat to visiting the desert is that weather changes fast – if some of the photos in this article hint at an oncoming storm, that’s only because rain started to fall as soon as we started driving out of the park. We also noticed the temperature was about twenty degrees higher than in Santa Fe proper – so dress in layers and arrive prepared.
Strolling through the park’s winding, red-walled canyons reminded me of the film 127 Hours; although the story took place at a national park in Utah, not New Mexico, I still couldn’t help but feel as though I’d stepped onto the set of the Oscar-nominated James Franco flick.
Side note: if you haven’t seen 127 Hours yet, please do. It’s one of my favorite travel/adventure movies, up there with Wild, which stars Reese Witherspoon.
Kevin and I hiked both Slot Canyon and Cave Loops trails in their entirety, an endeavor that lasted approximately three hours…including time used for my excessive photo-taking. I’d recommend Kasha-Katuwe for a half-day trek from Santa Fe, and for those hoping to get the most from their vacation day, hikers can visit Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks in the morning and then drive over to the spectacular Bandelier National Monument in the afternoon. This was Kevin’s and my itinerary for our first full day in Santa Fe, and I can’t recommend it more! What a wonderful sampling of northern New Mexico’s desert landscape combined with its rich, centuries-old history.
If your vehicle is capable, do drive out to the Veteran’s Memorial Scenic Overlook, a wonderful vista just a few miles into the park accessible via an unpaved road. I recommend having a vehicle with four-wheel or all-wheel drive capabilities, even during the summer months, as the road is narrow, winding, and at times uneven. However, the panoramic view, as you can see below, is absolutely stunning:
While I’d describe the hiking at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks as moderate in difficulty (definitely not strenuous), I still recommend travelers wear sturdy shoes and pack plenty of sunscreen and drinking water. The desert sun gets hot, especially during summertime, and temperatures climb steadily driving to the park from even nearby Santa Fe. Bug spray might also be a handy item to pack.
True story: Kevin and I visited Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks over July 4th weekend, and it was hot, buggy, and the trails definitely had more hikers than other weekends. Even so, we passed a man in his early thirties hiking barefoot. He wasn’t even carrying his shoes; rather, he hit the trails without them. I do not recommend following in his footsteps, so to speak. Ha! Footsteps. Shoes. Get it? I’m forever the maker of bad puns, I apologize.
To learn more about Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, please check out the park’s official trail map here.
