Badlands of New Mexico's San Juan Basin

Badlands of New Mexico's San Juan Basin

Page Type Page Type: Area/Range
Location Lat/Lon: 36.45000°N / 108.08°W
Activities Activities: Hiking
Seasons Season: Spring, Fall
Additional Information Elevation: 6000 ft / 1829 m
Sign the Climber's Log

Overview

New Mexico’s San Juan Basin is an arid plateau that sits at an elevation of 5500-6500 ft in the northwestern corner of the state. The plateau is sparsely populated. Much of it falls inside the boundaries of Native American Tribal Lands. Scenic badlands can be found in many places on the plateau, usually along the length of escarpments or dry arroyos. These areas often include colorful eroded hills gouged by networks of ravines, strangely shaped hoodoos and petrified wood/fossils. Despite their fantastic beauty, no national park preserves any of the badlands (see Chaco Park below). The Bureau of Land Management has however declared several areas as wilderness. These, among others, include: Bisti/De-Na-Zin, Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah and Angel Peak. There are no trails inside the wilderness areas. You will have to explore them on your own.

 

Chaco Culture National Historical Park sits on the south side of San Juan Basin. Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to explore the park but it is my understanding that it preserves the remains of the ancestral Pueblo civilization that flourished in the area between 850 and 1250 A.D.

 

 

 

King of Wings

King of Wings Hoodoo

De-Na-Zin Arch

De-Na-Zin Arch

 

 

 

Getting There

Access to the wilderness areas can be had via New Mexico Route 371 and US Rote 550 south of the towns of Farmington and Bloomfield (see individual pages attached).

 

Chocolate Hoodoo Basin
Chocolate Hoodoo Basin

 

 

Bonnet Twin Hoodoo
Bonnet Twin Hoodoo
Angel Peak
Angel Peak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No fees or permits required.

 



Table of Contents
Children

Children

Children refers to the set of objects that logically fall under a given object. For example, the Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' The Aconcagua mountain itself has many routes, photos, and trip reports as children.