Jemez Mountain Trail

To get a taste of New Mexico's varied ancient and modern history, take a tour through the Jemez to Los Alamos and Bandelier National Monument. Start out on I-25 North, toward Santa Fe, and exit at 550 in Bernalillo. Soon you will see signes for Coronado State Monument, an excavated pueblo ruin with kivas (ceremonial rooms), murals and a small museum. Continuing on 550, you can stop to visit Zia Pueblo, or continue to the exit for Highway 4. There are several stops worth making here, including the Jemez State Monument, and the natural hot springs at Jemez Springs. Highway 4 will take you by Los Alamos, home of Oppenheimer's atom bomb and the Los Alamos National Labs. On the other side of Los Alamos, is one of New Mexico's most popular and fascinating pueblo ruins, Bandelier. Bandelier National Monument has many hiking trails, a large excavated ruin, cliff dwellings, and striking ceremonial cave located a rigorous climb up a series of ladders. You can return by the same route, or continue on to 285 SOuth, through Santa Fe and back to Albuquerque via I-25 South. This takes a day.