 Interested in history and hiking?Â
Check out La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Site.
The La Cieneguilla site just outside of Santa Fe, is a short hike off the Paseo Real, and is home to one of the largest collections of Native rock art (called glyphs) in the American West.
The area is overseen by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and a 1991 archeological survey recorded over 4,400 images within less than a mile.
Bird figures are a common motif, accounting for almost a third of the glyphs. Some of the panels are thought to go back to the Archaic Period (that’s around 8000 to 2000 BCE), and there are some modern glyphs (that’s archeology-speak for graffiti) as well, but most of the images are Pueblo and date to between the 13th and 17th century.
Directions to this site-Â From the intersection of Airport Road and NM 599, continue west on Airport Road for 3.3 miles. There is a gravel parking area on the west side of the road and a BLM sign. Follow a trail marked by arrows for about five to ten minutes to access the basalt cliffs where the petroglyphs are located.
