Bandelier is a beautiful spot, with diverse ecosystems, ancient cave dwellings, rich history, and lots of ladders to climb. Wear good shoes!

Just took a second southwest tour, and Banelier was one of the few places we wanted to see again. The ruins are accessible, the Frijoles Canyon is magical, especially in spring, and this year we discovered the caldera, the extraordinary plot of flat land left in the middle of the volcano eruptions long ago. It's a little bit of a... More

A great place to visit. We've been there many times and have a few tips that might help the first time visitor. Unfortunately the shuttle will be running again this year from May 24th thru November. You can avoid it by getting there before 9am or after 3pm. The problem with the shuttle is the long drive to White Rock... More

This was our second trip to Bandelier in the past two years. It's a long haul from Taos, but we were so taken with the interesting geography, great hiking, really nice (and inexpensive) campground and pretty little Frijoles Canyon -- that we had to go back for another visit. The campground (the one near the main entrance) was rehabbed a... More

Bandelier Naqtional Monument was definitely one of the highlights of our visit to Santa Fe, NM. We've been to many places and seen a lot, but nothing really compares to the cave dwellings of the Mesa Verde. You'll walk around in amazement. This place is less than an hour from Santa Fe, but you get lost in time. Some light... More

There are several high priced pueblos in the Santa Fe/Taos area which I researched before I went like the Puye Cliffs and Taos Pueblo. I am not saying these are not worth it, since I did not go there. But I decided that if I wanted to see real ancient pueblo/cliff dwellings, I should visit the Bandelier National Monument. I... More

A nice walk through a beautiful canyon, but the cliff dwellings were less than special. Few and not very interesting. The history of the area is rich, but go to Mesa Verde to see cliff dwellings. Hiking is likely better than visiting the ruins.

It is about an hour away from Santa Fe, but worht it. We spent most of the day - much longer than we planned. We did the Deputy Ranger program, viewed the viedeo in the visitor center, explored the cave dwellings and then hiked some of the many trails. There are many trails to choose from, so we got some... More

I loved, loved, loved this visit. What a spectacular place! It's a part of the history of this land that gets so overlooked in our "American History" classes. It's a beautiful park. It's fun (climbing the ladders and seeing the cave dwellings). It's also adventurous if you decide to do the higher ladder climb. My thighs are still sore, but... More