I hiked the Boca Negra Canyon, Rinconada Canyon and Volcanoes trails midweek in early June. The Boca Negra Canyon trails are best to see petroglyphs up close and are the most family friendly hikes of the three. Rinconada Canyon is nice for seeing wildlife and while I couldn't find too many petroglyphs, I saw several coyotes (and zero people). I hiked the Volcanoes Loop trail right after sunrise, and that was definitely my favorite hike of the three. No petroglyphs, but the views overlooking ABQ and the Sandias to the east were spectacular. I completed the entire hike without seeing another soul. Only about 3.5 mi. RT loop and took me about 1.5 hr to complete. I can imagine this trail gets hot later in the day or during midsummer.

What an amazing place. You are able to drive there in less than an hour from downtown Albuquerque. There are so many drawings that it would take days to see all of them. Wear good shoes and take plenty of water to drink. Listen to the volunteers, they have seen it all and know what you will encounter on the trails.

I went to the Boca Negra Canyon area. It is a great place for people of average fitness to see the Petroglyphs. The trails to see them are rocky and steep but not that long. School children were handling them just fine. I did fine with LL Bean hiking sandals. I also saw roadrunners, hawks, a crissal thrasher and a jack rabbit on my 3 hour visit. There are great views of downtown Albuquerque.

I have never seen a real petroglyph until this visit...and there they were. There are numerous trails that you can hike, just be aware of your ability to navigate them. We went on one of the shorter trails, did see petroglyphs but were concerned about footing as the trail continued on, so we turned around to head back.

The petroglyphs are amongst the most interesting and mysterious historical monuments in the USA. No-one knows their meaning, but we can guess. They still communicate with the viewer placing you back 800 to 1000 years. Intriguing and evocative!

Wow, what a find. And right next to an urban area. Several years ago while on I-40, we saw the signs for the National Monument and stopped by. Being late in the day, we didn't stay long and were determined to return. Our poor (literally) National Park Service. I'm so excited about what they do on a shoe-string budget. First, this Monument is free. Nice. There's a small Visitor's Kiosk (staffed by a most knowledgeable volunteer) and a small gift shop in the house originally built by the folks who worked the area years ago. Outside is a portable canopy with a video. Good video. The volunteer was a font of information about the Monument and where to see petroglyphs. Last time we went to Rinconaca Canyon, the closest and most popular area. Can be crowded. And closes at 5pm. This time we drove to Piedras Marcadas Canyon, a 15 minute drive. Nice hike near a housing development. So glad we drove a little ways. There were few people. A nice hike. And numerous petroglyphs. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Would like to try other hikes.

I went to the Boca Negra Canyon area. It is a great place for people of average fitness to see the Petroglyphs. The trails to see them are rocky and steep but not that long. School children were handling them just fine. I did fine with LL Bean hiking sandals. I also saw roadrunners, hawks, a crissal thrasher and a jack rabbit on my 3 hour visit. There are great views of downtown Albuquerque.

The petroglyphs covers a huge area and some of the hikes take a day to complete, so depending on how much time and how much hiking you want to do will determine the sectors you want to see. We visited 3 of the shorter trails, though one was up a steep hill. Everything we saw were pictographs and relatively crude compare to other petroglyph sites we have visited. Also, as the sites scattered over a large area and are easily accessible by any one who knows where to go there is modern graffiti mixed in with the original pictographs. In some instances you are not sure if you are looking at copies or the real thing. An impressive site and just wish we could have spent more time visiting other trails.

We went to the monument and picked up a map and then drove to Boca Negro. I was able to do to the 2 easier trails with a small assistance from my son. There were only a few places where I needed a hand to get down a section of rock. It is a beautiful place and well worth the visit!

Because it was on our way we decided to stop by the check it. It was easy total of 2.2 miles hike to see the drawings. Most of them were marked with signs, but there were some without, keep your eye open to spot them. But having said that we would have not drive out of our way to just to see this site to ne honest.