Cliff Base Trail at Boca Negra Canyon in the Petroglyph National Monument

1000 year-old petroglyphs await you on this short hike near Albuquerque. In spite of the hike being so short, it has a lot of interesting petroglyphs and lava formations.

Hike data

Waypoints

Maps

Getting to the trailhead

About the hike

Plants along the trail

Comments

Hike data:

Controlling agency:

National Park Service; Petroglyph National Monument

Official URL:

Petroglyph National Monument Boca Negra Canyon Trails

Region:

Central; Albuquerque's west side.

Elevation:

start:	5229ft; 1594m	end:	5239ft; 1597m
min:	5229ft; 1594m	max:	5239ft; 1597m

elevation gain/loss: 9ft; 3m.

Length:

0.15mi; 0.24km.

Trail:

surface: paved

condition: Good

ease of following: Easy

obstacles: None.

Fee:

$2.00. The fee is $1.00 on weekdays and $2.00 on weekends.

Season:

All year.

Dogs:

No.

Bikes:

No.

Handicapped accessible:

No. Trails are not accessible, however, petrogyphs may be easily viewed from the McCaw/Cliff Base Trail shade ramada.

General notes:

Morning light is probably best for this hike.

I would expect heavy usage based on our experience with the nearby Mesa Point Trail, which is heavily hiked.

The park service has an online map of the trail.

Trailhead facilities:

flush toilet(s), picnic area, trash can(s), water.

Hike attractions:

geology, history.

When we hiked it:

Date:	2003-01-26
Time it took us:	0:30.
Usage (people/hour):	0.00. We hiked right before park closing.
Cleanliness:	9.

Waypoints:

Waypoint	Type	Description
BNCCBT	Trailhead	Cliff Base trailhead at Boca Negra Canyon

Maps:

Paper maps:

Map name	Cartographer	Year	Scale	Topo map?	Online access	Notes
Albuquerque New Mexico	USGS	1983	1:100000	Y	from sar.lanl.gov (free)
Guide to Indian Country of Arizona Colorado New Mexico Utah	Automobile Club of Southern California	1998	1:0	N	from Amazon (purchase)	Good overview road map for northwest NM. No scale is given on the map. The corner coordinates are approximate.
Wildernesses of New Mexico	US Forest Service	1981	1:1000000	N	No online copies.	Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways.

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Getting to the trailhead:

From I-40 Westbound from Albuquerque, take exit 154 (Unser Blvd, State Highway 345). Head north on Unser for 4.6 miles. Just past Montaño where Unser is about to climb to the mesa top, turn right on Atrisco (which dead-ends on the mesa top, just past the entrance to another picnic area). Go another 0.3 miles. The entrance to the park is on the right.

Go around the loop road until you see a sign indicating the parking area for this hike.

The parking lot is small, and you might have to park elsewhere and hike over to the trailhead. Trails lead between all of the parking areas, so this is not a problem. According to the map, overflow parking is near the building just outside the entrance. A sign indicates that it is bus and RV parking.

The trailhead is to the west (left as you look at it) of the toilet building.

About the hike:

	This trail is short, but it has many good petroglyphs.
You can also see interesting lava formations.

Plants we saw along the trail:

Fourwing saltbush (Chenopodiaceae Atriplex canescens)
Dock (Polygonaceae Rumex)

Reader comments about this hike:

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